Durham College: Brand Positioning and Awareness Strategy

Durham College Continuing Education hired Cubicle Fugitive to help investigate, articulate and promote a brand position that was meaningful to current and potential students and employees of the school. In determining what makes Durham College Continuing Education unique, Cubicle Fugitive has performed research on the school and its competitors to identify a significant, relevant, distinctive and sustainable competitive advantage to guide positioning and messaging.

As part of our engagement, we provided the institution with a clear competitive advantage, direction on how to build and maintain it, and key messaging and brand communications for each of their core target markets including current students and alumni, future students, and executive management training and human resource professionals.

As a sub-brand of Durham College, it was essential that Continuing Education’s brand values and vision were aligned with the messaging, strategy and positioning of the overall college master brand. Durham College has built a reputation over the years for being a school that delivers high-quality education that leads to rewarding employment. As part of the project, we performed extensive market research through stakeholder interviews, a deep-dive into all college and continuing education marketing, advertising, research, and strategic planning, reviewed secondary industry studies and education research, and performed an extensive competitive audit.

Through our extensive research, we identified that Continuing Education, like the main college, is adapting to a changing world and adjusting to keep up with the ever-evolving business landscape. They have their finger on the pulse of the market when it comes to determining what content and programming is going to be the greatest benefit to their students. They provide course content that is practical, useful, and immediately applicable to real-world situations. Although useful programming by itself is simply an expectation of continuing education in Ontario, the point of difference is that Durham College Continuing Education’s programming is truly intentional and ready to be put to work for the careers of tomorrow.

 As part of the project, we performed extensive market research through stakeholder interviews, a deep-dive into all college and continuing education marketing, advertising, research, and strategic planning, reviewed secondary industry studies and education research, and performed an extensive competitive audit.

They anticipate student needs by remaining connected via surveys and feedback and by engaging consultants who help to determine the careers of tomorrow. The school is invested in their students and their careers and they push for learners to be invested in themselves. This level of commitment can be seen in the quality of customer service put forward by the staff at Durham College Continuing Education. They are not only responsive, but they also care about their students’ success.

Durham College Continuing Education is a progressive adult learning institute that delivers students with purposeful learning and a proactive, forward-thinking approach to continuing education that prepares them for careers of tomorrow. The school’s dedication to student care, innovative program content, and nimble approach to its offerings allows them to be leaders in learning excellence.

Desiring, inspirational, and targeted messaging for the learners of today, we developed the “Be” campaign that included headlines and messaging such as “Be your own hero”, “Be your best self”, and “Be the lead” which encouraged learners of all ages to take charge and nurture their minds, support their ambitions, and take the first step towards fulfilling their true purpose.

After our competitive audits, we also identified that the terminology “Continuing Education” was no longer relevant, nor indicative, of the fulsome offerings of the school. They have since gone on to rebrand as Centre for Professional and Part-time Learning.

The new brand campaign and school name were launched with a big event, social media campaign, and new website.