Red and Yellow Make Orange

Five years ago Orangewood Christian School, located in Maitland, FL, was struggling with its brand identity and enrollment. In 2004 the total enrollment at the school was 540 students.

At that time, the board hired a new head of school, LuAnne Schendel. She brought a focus on improving the academic quality and she devoted her time on the curriculum, teaching and faculty.

However, she realized that her strengths weren’t in marketing and needed someone to focus on this important area. She made one of the most important decisions of her tenure; she hired Bob Sterling to lead the development, marketing and facility improvements at the school.

One of the first things Bob did was to hire a marketing firm, Cherry+Company, to create a strong and compelling brand image and marketing package for the school.

Orangewood’s school colors are red and yellow. Since it was obvious that red and yellow make orange, and it was important to tie in the brand to the school’s name, Liz Cherry developed an award-winning brand for the school focusing on an energetic logomark, clear messaging, and an emphasis on the color orange.

In addition, they not only focused on improving the academics of the school, they also improved the facilities, built a new upper school building, and emphasized growth in the upper school.

The result? Six years of enrollment growth from 540 students to 710. That’s a 31% increase!

Bob recently said that if he wouldn’t have made the decision to invest dollars into the school’s brand, the school would not have been in the position it is today. While branding wasn’t the only thing they did, it was a key ingredient to their growth.

Branding does make a difference in the growth and success of your school.

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