Ideas That Work

Rebranding, Continued...

Last week's posting about rebranding the Learning Centers was our second most read posting ever. It is a strong endorsement of your commitment to the Learning Centers and your desire to do all you can to help improve your Center's success.

We received a lot of responses last week, about the "Cornerstone" brand. The feedback is appreciated. It was skewed to only 8 Learning Center Boards, however. The points brought up however deserve the full participation of our body of boards, so today the post will cover a few related topics.

First, based on the quality of responses last week, it is obvious that a full poll of the Learning Centers is important before making recommendations to the Learning Center parent board of directors. As a result, I sent an email yesterday to each board of governor's chair asking the following 3 questions:

1. Regarding naming:

• a. I/we like the name “32nd Degree Masonic Learning Center for Children” best.
• b. I/we like the name “Cornerstone Tutoring for Children with Dyslexia” or “Cornerstone Centers for Children with Dyslexia” best.
• c. I/we want to see a name change, but do not like the “Cornerstone” brand. (If you wish to propose another idea, please do so.)

Follow-up question: By what name do most people call your 32nd degree Masonic Learning Center for Children?

2. Where do you foresee most of your future donations coming from?

• a. Scottish Rite Masons and Bodies
• b. Masons and Masonic Bodies
• c. Non-Masons

3. What is the biggest challenge your Learning Center currently faces? What are you doing differently to address this challenge?

We are only taking one reply per Learning Center, so if you want to weigh in, please contact your chair.

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As for the replies from last week, a couple expressed concern that we are turning our backs from the Masons with the new branding ideas.

Let me say categorically it is not our intention to take the Masons out of the Learning Centers. When we sought new brands for the program, first and foremost, the brand had to bear Masonic symbolism. Further, the full brand ends with ..."a Scottish Rite Masonic Charity."

The objective in this exercise is assuring that there is clarity regarding the purpose of the charity (helping children with dyslexia) and that it is not confusing to non-Masonic constituencies.

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Finally, regarding the logo. We Scottish Rite Masons have a lot wrapped up in "the Bear." Much of the recognition in this program Masonic-wise is tied to the Teddy Bear. However, the image is not typically associated with young people 8-17 years old. The recommendation to change the logo reflects this finding. Perhaps after all we'll find that loyalty to the logo trumps the research. Your voice is important to this decision.

Throughout this process, we encourage and will be strengthened by the intelligent discussion we are seeing related to the rebranding effort. We appreciate your input. It clearly is aiding our thinking.