Off-brand as a Brand Strategy

Off-brand as a Brand Strategy

Covenant College MAT Posters

Widgets & Stone worked with the Covenant College Graduate School of Education in 2014 and 2015 to craft a new look and feel for its marketing materials and web site. The style was based on the design of Covenant’s new tartan, created in 2004 as part of its brand identity (by Hickman Lemmon). The bulk of Widgets & Stone’s work was targeted at professional teachers and administrators — most often those who didn’t attend the school.

Then the GSE asked for help in marketing to current undergrads enrolled at Covenant, to help build awareness and enrollment in its Master of Arts in Teaching program (MAT). The design team took an approach very similar to the work created for the Master Education program – strong elements of the tartan, its traditional colors and photos of the professors and campus.

But after more consideration of the target audience – current Covenant students, very familiar with the campus, the professors and the school tartan – designers Travis Hitchcock and Amy Trumbull decided to take the designs “off-brand” by making the tartan very graphic and in atypical colors.

26 Tools then added very clever headlines, targeted specifically for each over the almost 30 departments. 

The poster campaign goes into effect this semester and next, along with an integrated campaign to help raise interest and increase enrollment.

Creative Direction: Paul Rustand; Design: Travis Hitchcock and Amy Trumbull; Writing: 26 Tools.