February 7, 2007

Rebranding NEKIA:A New Direction for a New Era in Education

R&D

2 Lipman Hearne Team

Rodney FergusonManaging Director

& Principal

Patrick RiccardsVice President

Lipman Hearne Team

3 About Lipman Hearne

•Lipman Hearne

•Nation’s largest marketing and communications firm representing the education and nonprofit sectors

•75 professionals in Washington and Chicago

•Majority of clients from the education sector

•Extensive experience in developing and executing branding programs

•Full-service

4 The NEKIA Advantage

The NEKIA Advantage

•Ten-year history•Established reputation with industry thought leaders•Quantitative and qualitative focus•Positioned as relevant and cutting edge

5 The Education Landscape in 2007

The Education Landscape in 2007

•NCLB reauthorization•New Commission on Skills

and the American Workforce report

•NCLB Commission recommendations

•Increased authority of IES

6 Approaches to Rebranding

Philosophies for Organizational Rebranding

•Keep Your Name•Representational•Industry-centric - the “Ed-____”•Identify with a “aspirational” image•Invented word•The acronomic approach•Named for a person

7 NEKIA Rebranding Strategy

NEKIA Rebranding Strategy•Name/tagline development•Mission statement/guiding principles•Web site enhancement•Printed materials•Outreach/conferences•Financing/sponsorship

8 Name/Tagline Development

Name/Tagline Development• Identify the strongest messages and

verbiage that resonates with NEKIA’s core stakeholders

• Determine NEKIA’s core strengths to ensure that name and tagline crosswalk with audience understanding and appreciation

• Equip NEKIA with a series of recommended names for the organization

• Provide NEKIA with a series of recommended taglines for the organization

9 Mission Statement/Guiding Principles

Mission Statement/Guiding Principles

• Review existing mission statement, guiding principles, and related vision documents

• Provide recommendations to enhance current documents and messages to crosswalk with new tagline and organizational focus

• Develop recommendations for how to further cement NEKIA mission and guiding principles in future materials and outreach activities

10 Web Site Enhancement

Web Site Enhancement• Review current Web site and provide a

Strengths-Weaknesses-Opportunities-Threats (SWOT) analysis of the current site

• Review Web sites for like-minded organizations and government offices to measure for compatibility

• Provide specific recommendations for improving the visual look of the NEKIA site

• Provide specific recommendations for improving the navigation of the NEKIA site

• Provide specific recommendations for improving the editorial content of the NEKIA site

11 Printed Materials Enhancement

Printed Materials Enhancement• Review current printed materials and

provide a Strengths-Weaknesses-Opportunities-Threats (SWOT) analysis of current print products

• Review select print materials from like-minded organizations and government offices to measure for compatibility

• Provide specific recommendations for improving the visual look of NEKIA materials

• Provide specific recommendation for improving the editorial content of NEKIA materials

• Provide recommendations for additional print products that should be development by NEKIA to support campaign goals

12 Outreach/Conferences

Outreach/Conferences• Identify those audiences/constituencies where

future NEKIA members most likely identify• Develop specific recommendations for DC-

based conferences, roundtable discussions, forums, and related events designed to increase NEKIA’s reputation and broaden its reach to key audiences

• Develop specific recommendations for potential NEKIA partners (for events, information distribution, sponsorships, etc.)

• Create a 2007-08 conference/events calendar for NEKIA planning purposes

• Identify priority conferences for NEKIA exhibits, speaking opportunities, and sponsorships in 2008

13 Financing/Sponsorships

Financing/Sponsorships• Identify those private-sector corporations,

philanthropies, and non-profits that have made significant contributions to education R&D issues in the last five years

• Identify federal funding opportunities for NEKIA and NEKIA programs (both at U.S. Department of Education/IES and Congress)

• Identify state-level funding opportunities for NEKIA programs

• Identify potential organizational partner organizations to help “share” costs for NEKIA projects

• Examine current NEKIA membership for new membership substreams or opportunities to pursue specific funding projects

• Develop a prioritized list of private- and public-sector funding opportunities to pursue in 2007-08

14 Lipman Hearne Timeline

Rebranding Timeline• Official Project Kickoff with Board February 7• Interviews/Research Completed February 16• Draft Names/Taglines Completed February 23• Mission/Principles Recommendations Completed February 28• Names/Taglines Finalized March 2• Draft Web Site Strategy Completed March 23• Draft Printed Materials Strategy Completed March 23• Draft Outreach Strategy Completed March 30• Draft Financing Strategy Completed March 30• Strategies Finalized April 6• Strategies Presented to Board April 9

15 Moving Forward

Moving Forward: Building on Rebranding

Following the completion of the rebranding campaign, NEKIA will be in a position to develop:

•A strategic framework for achieving marketing and public affairs goals.

•A series of specific strategies that address each program goal.

•A prioritized set of tactics to achieve each goal, along with a timeline and budget for each tactic.

•A set of specific strategies that address public affairs activities impacting NEKIA fundraising and expansion.

•Detailed media relations strategies.

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Contact Information:

Rodney Fergusonrferguson@lipmanhearne.com

Patrick Riccardspriccards@lipmanhearne.com

Discussion