Spirit Studios

A big noise in music education

Manchester-based Spirit Studios has developed some of the world’s best sound and audio talent. But not enough people knew about them. Our challenge was to build their brand from scratch.

Brief

Despite an impressive heritage (with The Stone Roses and 808 State recording or studying there) not enough people knew who they were, what degrees they offered or that they were based in the heart of Manchester. With a fast-growing and increasingly competitive market, we needed to create immediate impact, improve their low brand awareness and boost student numbers.

Solution

We wanted to make it clear what Spirit Studios stood for and what their offer was. Together we aimed to create a brand that positioned itself as a leading provider in music and sound degrees to school and college leavers. We wanted to appeal to this audience in a vibrant, exciting and expert way. To recruit the next generation of music and audio professionals, we needed to build the brand up from guidelines and tone of voice to exterior building design and social templates.

Results

We ran a series of workshops with their senior leaders to shape a proposition that would champion their unique history, achievements and students, as well as understand their current challenges and future goals.

We then created a new proposition, brand pillars, style and tone voice to position Spirit Studios as a provider of industry-leading qualifications. We revitalised their logo and iconography to better reflect the diversity of music styles and specialist equipment at the School. We created an inspiring and memorable strapline – A big noise in music education. And we produced a diverse range of launch assets including social content, posters, a website redesign, building signage, event stands and a toolkit so the internal design team could grow the momentum.

The impact and engagement with the rebrand was amazing. We achieved a 59% growth in student applications. Over 25% of new starters applied through Clearing. Activity increased significantly on the website and across all social channels. Thanks to the vibrant signage people now know where the home of Spirit Studios is. And they now have a greater sense of pride and more of a community spirit.

“It’s taken Spirit Studios 35 years, but finally we’ve a brand that’s perfect for us. It’s exciting, practical and easy for the team to use, so it ensures longevity and consistency for our audience.”

– Ian Hu, Spirit Studios Director