The International Culinary School at the Art Institutes

The past few years have seen a tremendous increase in public interest regarding creative food preparation. Dining out is more popular than ever, and the restaurant industry is growing strongly to satisfy the demand. Chefs have become bona fide celebrities thanks to exposure through media outlets like the Food Network. As one of the nation’s leading culinary training organizations, The Art Institutes saw an opportunity to capitalize on this trend and turned to BrandLogic to help create a compelling, unique value proposition and image.

The first task facing the BrandLogic team was to craft a brand value proposition that would resonate both with prospective students and with the industry professionals who hire new graduates. Research showed that the Art Institutes was in competition with both industry leaders such as the Culinary Institute of America and local community college programs. Finding a unique niche that would differentiate the Art Institutes from both, and position it as a peer in the top tier of culinary schools was bound to be a challenge.

BrandLogic did extensive research and conducted in-depth interviews with Art Institutes stakeholders from the top to the bottom of the organization as well as with partners in the food and hospitality industry. This led to the development of eight distinct positioning statements, which were tested through focus groups attended by students and industry professionals. The results indicated a clear trend: The key element was a desire for awareness of and exposure to cuisines from all over the world. Not a specialized approach – Italian versus French versus Chinese, for example – but an ability to produce graduates who are able to draw on a broad base of culinary knowledge.

The new mission would require considerable investment on the part of the Art Institutes, so BrandLogic conducted Web-based follow-up research to validate the final positioning statement. The results were conclusive: The team had identified a clearly defined, unique niche with a real demand in the marketplace. The new position was concisely laid out in a leadership platform, a key document that will help guide the Art Institutes’ development and a benchmark against which to measure its success.

The next phase of the project was a naming exercise, to elevate the culinary program’s profile and reflect the new strategy. It was necessary to give the culinary school a distinctive name, yet, because of accreditation rules, at the same time clearly show its relationship to Art Institutes. The new name, validated through additional testing, positions the International Culinary Schools as its own distinct brand, without losing the critical link to the Art Institutes.

The final stage of the process was the development of a logo and identity that would place the school among the nation’s leading culinary training institutions. BrandLogic's team of designers went to work and created a wide range of identifier candidates, each one visually reiterating the new brand attributes. The logo had to accomplish a great deal. It had to convey an upmarket image, show both internationalism and cuisine, and include a visual connection to the Art Institutes. The final result accomplishes all of these goals admirably. The Schools' new mark conveys the right balance of classic tradition and contemporary culinary exploration, perfectly aligned with the Schools' value proposition.

Now, The  International Culinary Schools of the Art Institutes is staking a bigger slice of the public’s mindset through a partnership with Food Networks and participation in a TV series aired on the Public Broadcasting System.