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.