So, Specsavers have successfully trademarked the word ‘should’ve’.
And ‘Probably’ is taken by Carlsberg.
Which kind-of makes me wish I’d trademarked ‘individual’ for a school I worked with 10+ years ago. After five years of being consistent with our brand positioning, we eventually had people quoting our mantra right back at us (one of my career highlights is when ‘does what it says on the tin, treats every girl like an individual’ came back on a parental survey).
Trademark words are great marketing. Not because you can sue others who use the word, and not just because it’s good PR. But intrinsically because it shows you’ve been consistent in your branding to such a degree that the word is synonymous with your product.
Have a guess at how long Specsavers have been using their ‘should’ve’ strapline?
13 years! I don’t know whether the marketing team has been the same throughout this time – but they’ve been consistent and built on it.
Consistency is key. Yes, you need to have a good, clear brand in the first place and a great way of representing this in an interesting and engaging way. But then being consistent and building on it is critical.
That’s where governors should play a key part – their role, as ‘critical friend’, is to keep an overview on the school’s development. So when the governors are recruiting a new Head or new Marketing Director, they need to ask themselves ‘what aspects of the school’s brand need to remain consistent?’ What are the trademark words that you want to build upon? Being clear from the outset reduces the temptation of ‘change for the sake of newness and first impressions’. Incoming Heads and Marketing people do like to put ‘their stamp’ on things. No problem, because developments and moving with the times are always good, but governors just need to make sure the stamp they are putting on the school is going to be consistent.