MBLM Collaborates with the New York City Department of Education to Brand Community Schools Initiative

MBLM, the Brand Intimacy Agency focused on strategy, design, creative and technology, today announced its collaboration with The New York City Department of Education (NYCDOE) to promote its community school initiative. NYCDOE wanted to build a new brand that would help a broad range of stakeholders, including corporate partners, policymakers, parents and the media, understand the advantages of this innovative strategy. To do this successfully, it needed to show its constituents that this was an initiative worth being a part of and engaged MBLM to develop a brand strategy.

“We are thrilled to have been selected by the Department of Education on this important initiative,” stated Mario Natarelli, partner at MBLM. “These types of projects are so important to us, as we have the opportunity to positively impact our community through creating a compelling brand.”

“Community Schools is at the core of the City’s commitment to bringing equity and excellence to all public schools,” says Chris Caruso, Executive Director of the Office of Community Schools. “We are grateful to MBLM for their ongoing partnership and collaboration in creatively capturing the spirit of Community Schools and our dedication to providing academic and social services to students and their families.”

Working closely with the NYC DOE’s Community School’s team, MBLM began to develop a brand strategy, which would include a new promise, values, and mission, creating a single-minded focus for the brand. MBLM built the new brand around the idea of “Support From All Sides.” This concept highlighted the holistic approach that community schools take to empower students’ success, nurturing them academically as well as psychologically, physically, and socially.

MBLM then created messaging and a new identity to reflect the brand promise. The logo shows four different-colored rectangular blocks lined up in a row to depict both the idea of buildings and books. It also suggests an upward-trending bar chart to represent community, education and strategic growth in one symbol. It designed to work in tandem with specific school logos, to communicate both solidarity across the community schools initiative and pride within each individual school.