Week 3 Part B: Developing a Brand

This week, I wasn't just thinking about developing a brand, I was discovering my brand. I began with thinking about the type of business I would want in the future. My focus has always been centered around education, specifically math education. In my fictitious business (at least fictitious for now), I would like to market my services as an "online educator and creator of learning guides." I could imagine beginning my business as an online tutoring company, and then branching out into other roles for myself. I would love to make a collection of math tutorials, in the style of Khan Academy or Professor Leonard depending on the size of the operation. Professor Leonard is a one-person operation, while Khan Academy is a large non-profit organization. In addition to creating math tutorials, the company could branch out into creating review texts for students or subject-based short stories and fiction.

With an idea of what I want to create, I now have to decide on a point of view for the company. I would like the business to help people enjoy math again, or for some people, help them enjoy math for the very first time. A possible motto could be that "through a positive mindset and hard work, all goals are within reach." The customer comes in with the goals they want to achieve, and my company would help them with the educational materials and motivation to try to meet those goals. 


The brand is called Rad Math. The name is a play on the radical sign in algebra, the radian abbreviation for geometrical angles, and the positive 80s slang. I'm not set on the logo, so I included some sketches below. I like the idea of a simple smiling profile or silhouette in the upper image, to give off happy thoughts to the customers. I specifically want math symbols that are familiar to most people, and symbols that are associated with positive words, such as "rad" and "plus."  The colors of the smiling-face logo are gold and blue, which are popular San Diego colors in local sports and schools. I would also like the face in the logo to have gender neutral and ambiguous features, so that all customers experience subtle feelings of inclusion when they see it. 


The lower image is an alternate logo that had crossed my mind. The second logo is more colorful and eye-catching. Also, the name of the brand "Rad MATH" is clearly represented. However, even though the second logo looks more lively, I do not get the same positive feelings as with the smiling-face logo. Cultivating an open, positive mindset across students is a big piece of the Rad Math brand. I would like to try a dual logo, but I think it could confuse customers. For that reason, I would lean toward the simple, smiling-face logo.  


In order to brand and get the word out for Rad Math, I would like to advertise at colleges across San Diego County to start. This could mean anything from buying ad space in school newspapers to buying ad space on big educational websites. I dislike spamming school email addresses and feel like that sets the wrong tone for the business, so I would rather contact math departments directly to see if they could advertise Rad Math tutoring services to students. I would also develop a Rad Math YouTube channel for the instructional math videos. In trying to connect to teenage-to-college students and their parents, I plan to use Instagram and Facebook to have students share testimonials about the tutoring services and how their educational experiences improved after using Rad Math.

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