The Five Elements of Perception

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The Five Elements of Perception
Susan Kirtland President Propeller Communications
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The Five Elementsof Perception

• Branding for Community Colleges
• The impression that is created in the mind
• of the viewer or visitor establishes a
• perception that should positively
• differentiate and set your college apart
• from other academic institutions in your
• service area.

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The Five Elementsof Perception

• Your External Stakeholders
• Current Students/Prospective Students/Alumni
• (Segments Traditional, Non-traditional,
  Transfer, Career, Hispanic, Etc.)
• Feeder High School Guidance Counselors
• Parents
• Community Leaders
• Business Leaders/Employers
• Voters/Tax Payers/Community At Large

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The Five Elementsof Perception

• Your Internal Stakeholders
• Faculty
• Staff
• Administration
• Trustees

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The Five Elementsof Perception

• Heritage
• Heritage provides the confidence or positive
• feelings based on the reputation and actions
• of the brand or the organization behind
• the brand.

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The Five Elementsof Perception

• Personality
• Every organization, like a person, has its
• own unique personality. A successful
• personality must be distinct, definable,
• memorable and consistent.

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The Five Elementsof Perception

• Personality
• The personality will project human character
• traits for the brand that will be meaningful
• and help establish emotional links.

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The Five Elementsof Perception

• Personality
• Friendly Procrastinator Unfocused
• Supportive Frugal Challenging
• Welcoming Inspiring Exciting
• Proud Talented Helpful
• Quiet Trusting Dedicated
• Caring Trustworthy Frustrating
• Complicated Reactive Energetic

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The Five Elementsof Perception

• Visual Assets
• Visual cues trigger the brand name and
• key perceptions that resonate with various
• stakeholder groups.

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The Five Elementsof Perception

• Visual Assets Logos/Symbols

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The Five Elementsof Perception

• Visual Assets Architecture/Interior Design

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The Five Elementsof Perception

• Visual Assets Figureheads

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The Five Elementsof Perception

• Visual Assets Fonts/Typography

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The Five Elementsof Perception

• Emotional Benefits
• Emotional benefits allow current and
• potential students to perceive positive
• feelings and personal rewards created
• through experiences with your brand.

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The Five Elementsof Perception

• Emotional Benefits
• Secure Proud Informed
• Confident Respected Enriched
• Happy Successful Optimistic
• Important Valued Satisfied
• Connected Comfortable Grateful
• Appreciated Supported Needed

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The Five Elementsof Perception

• Functional Benefits
• Functional benefits are tangible benefits
• relating to experience and/or relationship
• with your brand.

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The Five Elementsof Perception

• Functional Benefits
• Degree Diploma Mentors
• Certificate Network Recognition
• Promotion Resume Resource
• Job Benefits Opportunities
• Career Community Events
• Education Qualified Workforce

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The Five Elements of Perception
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The Five Elementsof Perception

• To be truly effective, the messages or
• desired perceptions to be communicated
• and the visual expressions of those
• messages must include the following

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The Five Elementsof Perception

• Meaningful
• The messages and desired perceptions of your
• college must be relevant to each target audience
• or stakeholder group. Your college must provide
• true benefitsemotional and functionalfor each
• stakeholder group and speak directly to each
• in a language they understand.

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The Five Elementsof Perception

• Different
• Your college must stand apart from its
  competitors
• and occupy a specific niche in the mind of your
• audiences or stakeholder groups. As the
• audiences become more inundated with messages
• and claims, differentiation is critical for
  success.

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The Five Elementsof Perception

• Credible
• The visual expression of your colleges messages
• and desired perceptions is an outward reflection
• of its true internal qualities.

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The Five Elementsof Perception

• The visual image presented at all points of
  contact
• must emphasize the greatest strengths of your
• college, and reinforce what the stakeholders
• may already know or perceive without
• exaggerating or over-promising.