A better way to drive brand trust from National Schools Partnership

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The power of inspirational learning

A better way to drive brand trust, engagement and purpose.Find out why more and more businesses are turning to the power of inspirational educational programmes to achieve their Brand ambitions and create a win for young people, teachers, and parents.


IntroductionI think we can all agree that the marketing and media landscape has changed profoundly in the past decade. We can all publish and share content, and the growth of mobile and social consumption has fundamentally changed the way brands target and reach their audiences.

Trust in traditional advertising continues to decline1, as shown in Nielsen’s latest biennial Global Survey of Trust in Advertising, which polled 30,000 online respondents in 60 countries.

And people now scrutinise the companies and services around them much more than before, looking at their actions, and not taking their words as gospel.

Richard Branson recently said “brands that will thrive in the coming years… are the ones that have a purpose beyond profit.”2 Purpose beyond profit helps brands to positively impact the world around them. And the success of brands like Dove and Always shows that good purpose also helps to engage consumers, build strong brand relationships and ultimately drive long-term sales.3

The survival (and, indeed, continued growth) of brands these days therefore depends on them achieving three key things in a complex and ever-crowded marketplace: trust, engagement and purpose.

For many brands, the family audience is crucial for their continued success. We know that in a busy marketplace, where purpose is a key driver in consumer engagement, to really compete as a family-facing brand you need to understand what matters to parents, and act accordingly.

After their children’s health and safety, what parents care about most is their children’s education. So potentially, supporting education in the right way gives brands the chance to make a real difference and impact.

In this expert report we’ll look at why more and more brands are going back to school to create and deliver brand trust, engagement and purpose, and subsequently, drive growth.

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1 Nielsen biennial Global Survey of Trust inAdvertising, Nielsen UK, Sep 2015

2 Would you care if brands didn’t exist, Richard Branson, Virgin.com, Feb 2014

3 Kantar Worldpanel Brand Footprint report,KantarWorldpanel, Jun 2015


Breakdown in trustFor the first time since the end of the Great Recession, trust in business faltered in 2015.4 It’s no surprise to say that trust in the media and political system is also low, and in this environment people are more skeptical of brands and companies.5

A new world of contentThe ways that people receive information, particularly through mobile and social media, have changed the way brands target and reach their audience. Of course, brands’ ability to segment and target appropriate content has improved. But they also face live review and reaction, as well as competition with thousands of other marketing messages.

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So how can you build genuine trust in your brand, driving stronger relationships?

So how can you achieve authentic, positive engagement with your target audience?


Achieving trust, engagement and purpose – overcoming three key challenges

It is increasingly difficult for brands to achieve meaningful connections with people, with three challenges proving particularly problematic for those trying to build advocacy and relationships.

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The quest for purposeResearch shows that consumers expect brands to behave differently now, placing an equal weight on a brand’s social investment as on its products6 and expecting ‘purpose beyond profit’7. Really making an impact with your target audience now relates to supporting what they care about, rather than simply producing and promoting the right product at the right price.

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So how can you demonstrate brand purpose, investing in what your audience cares about?

4 Edelman 2015 Trust Barometer, Edelman, Jan 2015

5 Ibid6 Edelman Good Purpose study,

Edelman, Apr 2012 7 Would you care if brands didn’t exist,

Richard Branson, Virgin.com, Feb 2014

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More and more brands are turning to education to overcome these challenges

8 Always #likeagirl proves ‘Purpose’ is not a buzzwordbut a sales driver, Marketing Magazine, Nov 2015

Brands that really know how to engage people now understand the need to support the priorities of their core audience, with those focused on a family audience seeing the need to support family priorities.

If the family audience is important to your brand then your ‘purpose’ needs to relate to what parents care about. Parents care very deeply about their children’s education; after their children’s health, their education is their biggest concern.

They look favourably on the people, institutions and organisations that support their children’s education. For a parent, a genuine investment in their child’s education shows real care and builds authentic and unique engagement.

An ever-increasing number of brands, from Sky, Always, Lloyds Banking Group, British Gas and Great Western Railway, are understanding the value of education programmes, building trust with families and reaping the rewards of their investment.

And time after time, with the help of National Schools Partnership, we see the impact these brands can have on education, giving teachers, young people and schools resources, experiences, expertise and enjoyment that they wouldn’t otherwise have.

And there’s much more to gain for business: brands with a social purpose (like those delivering education programmes), ‘not only make a difference to their global popularity, but to the world itself’8. In doing so they have the opportunity to achieve improved and authentic brand equity and trust, and better reach and engagement with a parental consumer audience.

Tanya Rabin, Partnership Lead at Lloyds Banking Group, and European Sponsorship Association Board Director, said:

‘Working with schools and in the education sector can be a really rewarding and beneficial experience for brands. Our National School Sport Week programme reached 5 million young people, building skills and inspiring participation in sports. From a brand point of view, people who were aware of our education programme had higher than average consideration and recommendation scores.’

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Building Brand TrustFor many National Schools Partnership clients, a key objective is building brand trust with important audiences ranging from families to consumers, their own stakeholders and employees.

Inspirational education programmes successfully build brand trust because they demonstrate a brand’s commitment to a cause which is crucial both for families, and the wider community. Brands associated with robust education programmes show they care about investment in young people, and the knowledge and development of future citizens. Through educating young people, brands also educate consumers on their personality, priorities, and commitment to the world around them.

At a time of low confidence in the energy sector, British Gas built trust with teachers, parents, schools and customers, through an innovative education programme designed to inspire children to think about energy innovation. Working with our nationwide teacher communities, we created a robust curriculum-linked education experience, encouraging curiosity among young people. Impact was amplified beyond schools through high profile competitions, which brought the Generation Green initiative to customers and the wider public. As a result, brand trust increased by 7 percentage points with British Gas customers.

In a crowded and competitive market we helped Innocent build brand relationships and trust with parents through a creative and interactive approach to teaching geography and healthy eating, both in school and at home. As a result of the programme, 79% of parents felt more positive towards Innocent, and more parents said they were buying Innocent products for their families.

of parents felt more positive towards Innocent79%

7 percentage point increase in brand trust

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Engaging, inspiring and differentSecondary School Teacher, Derby

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It is great to have what mum says at home endorsed by schoolsParent, 7-year-old girl, Exeter

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of parents describing Birds Eye as the pea experts

of parents were more likely to buy Garnier Ambre Solaire

89%

43%

Driving Brand EngagementBecause parents regard highly the things that add value to their children’s school and educational experience, education programmes give brands a unique channel to genuinely reach families. Brands can gain real cut-through and resonance with their target audience through investment in robust and valuable education programmes, speaking directly to the people that matter most to them.

Garnier Ambre Solaire’s mission was to help children understand the importance of sun protection, whilst increasing awareness of the brand among families. Through an inspirational education programme, we helped them to reach a massive audience across the UK including 2.3m children and their families through 8,000 schools. The Wrap, Splat, Hat programme was delivered through colourful, eye-catching education resources, educational TV advertising, design competitions and more, and as a result, 43% of parents said they were more likely to buy the Garnier Ambre Solaire product range.

Birds Eye reached and engaged families by supporting ‘The Great Food Journey’, teaching children aged 3-11 about the journey of peas from field to fork through a seed giveaway, digital and film resources, and special lesson activities linked to the science curriculum. The programme secured a huge amount of media coverage, with 89% of parents describing Birds Eye as the pea experts.


Delivering Brand purposeEducation enriches lives, develops society and provides new possibilities and aspirations. We regularly see how harnessing the power of education, and working with schools and families to support learning and skills development, gives brands a genuine purpose; allowing them to have a positive impact on the world around them as well as on their brand profile.

Sky wanted to help young people build practical skills, experience and confidence to unlock their potential, and worked with National Schools Partnership to create Sky Academy Skills Studios, giving young people the unique opportunity to visit the Sky Studios for inspirational, curriculum-linked ‘school trips’. Leveraging their brand heritage and specialisms, Sky opens young people’s eyes to new opportunities in skills development and aspirations for the future. As a result of the programme, 81% of young people felt their planning, communications, teamwork or creativity skills had improved.

of children spoke to their parents about marine topics

of young people felt their skills had improved

61%

81%

For M&S, a key Plan A commitment was educating the public about marine sustainability. A crucial element of this was engaging families, and changing their knowledge and attitudes on the subjects of sustainability and marine conservation. We created the immersive education programme ‘School of Fish’, featuring in-school, experiential and at-home digital learning platforms, and the programme was hugely successful in driving attitude and behaviour change. 61% of children said they had conversations with their parents about topics related to fish and marine ecology, and 95% of children were more enthusiastic about the protection of sea life as a result.

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Sky over the years has achieved many great things and most recently the amazing work being done with young people through the Sky AcademySky Academy Manager

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It’s clear that there is a great opportunity (and indeed a necessity) for brands to look at new and effective ways to tackle their key challenges and drive genuine trust, engagement and purpose.

Those brands that rely on engagement with families for their continued success need to really understand what matters to parents, and act accordingly.

At National Schools Partnership, we believe in ‘Building Brilliant Futures for our Children’, and for our clients and wider communities. We focus on ensuring that activity in this area delivers strong and positive impacts on our clients’ Brand, Corporate, People and Social ambitions.

Conclusion

To find out how we could help you achieve your Brand, Corporate, People and Social ambitions please get in touch by emailing [email protected] or calling 020 7198 8374.


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