Hofstra Law School, a top-100 institution located near New York City, engaged Slover Linett a year ago to conduct a brand-perceptions study of their various audiences. The school has already put our findings and recommendations to good use in a number of areas.
The research has been a collaboration between our firm and mStoner, our partner on branding and communications projects in higher ed. The study was meant to serve two broad purposes: to inform the administration’s strategy and planning discussions, and to provide a foundation for the brand platform mStoner would develop.
The collaborative project encompassed two phases:
- Brand assessment focus groups and surveys, led by Slover Linett, to learn how Hofstra’s brand is perceived;
- Brand development, led by mStoner, to marry Hofstra’s internal vision and values with the findings from our research in order to articulate a compelling new message and identity for the school.
To understand perceptions of Hofstra Law throughout the constituent life-cycle, we conducted research among prospects, admitted students, current students, and alumni. We used qualitative methods (in this case, focus groups) first, in order to identify the relevant issues and attitudes. Then, based on those responses, we constructed questionnaires for quantitative surveys of all four audience groups.
This work, our first re-branding study for a law school, was unique in its breadth. “Most branding research looks pretty narrowly at communications issues, things like websites and marketing messages,” notes Slover Linett’s senior associate for higher ed, Bill Hayward. “At Hofstra Law, the leadership team wanted a bigger-picture discussion about audiences, and a wider impact. It’s a major undertaking for an institution to rethink its brand at that level, and the folks at Hofstra Law were wonderfully open, creative, and strategic.”
Hayward also notes that the partnership with mStoner was a success. “We always enjoy working with Michael [Stoner] and his team, and this was a chance for us to learn more about the relationship between research findings and brand development.” We look forward to many more such collaborations on behalf of colleges, universities, and professional schools.
For more information about the Hofstra Law branding research, please contact Hayward by email or at (773) 348-9215.
Category: Higher education
