FUTURELEARN CASE STUDY 2012
Role: Lead Strategist, Wolff Olins, London
How can you create an education brand that stands out?
Creating an education brand that inspires the world
Ambition
Our challenge was to transform a FutureLearn, a startup set up by the Open University, into a distinct brand in less than six weeks.
Action
I worked closely with the CEO, COO and product team to co-create a vision that would focus the product, recruit talent and attract learners.
• Brand Strategy + Product & Culture Principles
• Naming Strategy
Impact
To date, over 2 million learners have signed up to take courses on FutureLearn. They have 69 partners worldwide, from the top universities and cultural institutions, including the British Council, British Library and British Museum.
“The brand story is on the wall where the product team works, to remind them everyday where the product has to be and lenses to look at it through.”
— Claire Davenport, Commercial Director
Key Learnings
Look at the world and yourself
Understand the intersection between what the world needs and what makes your organisation special to make a brand that stands out throughout time.
Follow a north star
Make sure product, marketing and culture are all connected to the same vision.
Translate your vision in everyday action
Create one-pagers, cheat sheets and toolkits that people can easily reference on the job.