More Than a Pathway

The Challenge

Dublin International Foundation College was founded in 1999 and had grown to become Ireland’s largest independent foundation college for international students. With a campus at Griffith College, Dublin, there were plans to expand to Cork and Galway. Tessa O’Connell of Brand Edge began working with DIFC on their growth strategy and approached Bossanova to take a fresh look at their brand and marketing communications. 

Our Response

Retaining the full original name could potentially be a barrier to growth so our solution was to lead with the initials DIFC supported by a clear descriptor ‘University Foundation Programme’.

Getting closer to the brand, what really stood out was the feedback from students – past and present. It was clear that the benefits of attending DIFC went far beyond academic achievement. Students got to experience a new culture, independence, travel, a vibrant city and life-long friends. This was the inspiration for our differentiating creative strategy; ‘More than a pathway’.

The concept of ‘More than a pathway’ was brought to life – from the identity and print to photography and content. Working with Finn Richards and a great bunch of enthusiastic students, we captured campus life and built a bank of photography assets for print, web and social.

In tandem to the branding project, we worked with the team on their marketing strategy. Following a workshop, we created a clear content plan and assets to engage and connect with potential students via web and social channels. This 360 service is a key differentiator for Bossanova and added considerable value with tangible results for DIFC.

Since re-branding, DIFC have opened a college campus in Cork, based on Griffith College campus, and also have plans to open a third centre in Galway. DIFC continues to build on its well-earned reputation and has been awarded a Digital Marketing Award and Best Centre for Student Satisfaction at the NCUK Partner Awards.

Testimonial

“From pitch right through to the brand launch, Bossanova were a dream to work with. Joan and her team took the time to deeply understand our brand and core values, and delivered an identity that captured the essence of what DIFC stands for. Working in the international education sector, there are a myriad of factors that need to be considered in our branding and marketing strategy – particularly in terms of cultural factors. Bossanova worked with us to create buyer personas for each of our key target audiences and from there developed a content strategy that truly reflected the needs and desires of those personas.

Joan is an expert at project managing the whole process and there was not one project milestone that wasn’t achieved on time. This is true reflection of Bossanova’s commitment to achieving the best possible outcomes for their clients.

Since completing this project, DIFC has achieved increased brand awareness across our key markets and saw a 10% increase in student recruitment in the first year. We are now building on the foundations of Bossanova’s work and working towards significant growth over the next 3 years with a strong brand identity to support this.”