THE HARLEY SCHOOL

The Harley School—a K-12, independent private day school in Rochester—was being defined by its market. Among the many misperceptions about Harley was that there was no difference between Harley and another private school of similar size and cost. (This was especially problematic because the two schools have combined sports programs.) It was also incorrectly perceived as a "rich kid's" college preparatory school by many, and for students with academic problems by others. Clearly, in order for Harley to achieve its goal of having a waiting list in each grade level, it needed to clarify its promise, and distinguish its unique approach to education.

THE IMPLEMENTATION STRATEGY
Through Market Voicing interviews with teachers, staff, and students we dug into the essence of the Harley experience. What we discovered was that The Harley School has tremendous confidence in every one of its students, giving each the freedom to explore their dreams and ambitions. The relationship between the faculty and students was far less formal, and far more peer to peer than in the competing school. The insight that drove the solution was that Harley's focus on making each day of school an enriching and energizing experience was quite different from the competing school's focus on the outcome of the educational experience.

We discovered the following, which we formed into Harley's brand positioning statement:

The Harley School is the best choice for families who want for their children, above all else, the joy of a life fully awakened. A Harley education is rooted in trust and respect for every student, offering each a nurturing educational experience that allows talents to become abilities, interests to be come passions. Harley reaches the sprit of its students, engages their potential, and prepares them to lead unique and fulfilled lives.

In other words, while the competing preparatory school chose to make a relatively generic claim to excellence ("A lifetime of success begins here") Harley was positioned to stand for something very different: Joy in Learning. "Joy" on the faces of their children after a day at school was a singularly compelling value to some parents-Harley parents. For those parents, Harley was the only choice.

The new positioning for the school was incorporated into all aspects of their presentation to the market, including admissions materials, a new website, radio and print advertising, alumni magazine, and open house events.

EVIDENCE OF RESULTS
For the first time in its 83-year history, Harley opened the 2000-01 school year with over 500 students. Through continued marketing efforts their success has grown in recent years and they now enjoy waiting lists in 12 of 13 grade levels.

Beyond that, one of the great complements paid this branding work came from the new Head of School, who took the job after the positioning strategy had been identified. He said that "Joy in Learning" was exactly what he cared about, and exactly what he found at Harley when he looked beneath the surface. The brand promise compelled him to take the job.