Challenge

Mastering a language, even one as widely spoken as English, can be a challenge. Many Eastern-Europeans have difficulties speaking fluently, even though they study for many years during their education. Lots have language exams, as they were required for a degree or a job application in the past, but do not actively use the language. This leads to erosion of knowledge, which in turn causes people to develop mental blocks for even trying to speak – they lose confidence, become shy and just give up.

Most language schools offer the classic, “teach up front, students in rows” kind of archaic teaching method, which doesn’t help with the aforementioned issue – the formal environment and the pressure of many pairs of eyes and ears is often counterproductive.

The founder envisioned a place where all negative influence is removed. He wanted to create a friendly environment without desks, textbooks, exams and most of all, negative pressure. He developed his own unique method and put it into practice – he began teaching English for private students in his own home.

People loved it – he had more students than he could possibly tutor himself, so he began hiring teachers and renting office space.

But after a while, he hit a brick wall. He was unable to grow further. The hired teachers were never able to give back the same atmosphere which he could create, and he was unable to communicate the essence of his school to potential students. He needed to clarify what his brand stood for, both within the company and to communicate with the world.

Solution

To be able to redesign the brand, we needed to understand what makes the school unique. We knew there was something special going on, because the students showed such an admiration for the Café English method.

A great brand begins with the people it serves.

Luckily, we had plenty of True Fans to begin with. So, we interviewed the students. We spoke with approx. 50 people and distilled the essence of these conversations.

Based on what we found, we could identify a pattern. We began to understand what Café English was all about.

Together with the founder, we clarified the purpose, mission & vision. We identified the core values of the brand, aligning those with the needs of the students. We defined the culture & perfected the positioning.

Next, we designed a new identity that would be worthy of communicating the new values both inside and out.

Finally, we developed brand collateral, designed a website and marketing materials in close collaboration with the digital marketing team, and designed the interior of a new location.

Result

Now that all was in sync, everything was in place for the company to grow.

We created the foundations to define internal processes, which enabled the founder to easily hire new teachers and be confident that they will deliver his vision to the students, following his method and creating a friendly atmosphere, where learning was second nature to all.  

Having a solid strategy gave the founder a clear understanding of who most appreciates what Café English has to offer. The new identity was now in line with the core values and supported the message communicated to potential students and existing ones.

This enabled the school to concentrate their marketing efforts, thus doubling the efficiency of their campaigns.

Moreover, understanding what the True Fans found most important, enabled us to remove the courses from physical space and transfer them to the digital world, while providing a similar experience that’s more affordable, scalable, yet still true to the Café English method.

Vision

We are currently working closely with Café English on the next step: making the method more widely accessible. To achieve this, we are supporting the development a digital learning platform where pre-built courses will enable anyone to experience Café English at any time, at a very affordable price point.

Even though we are at the beginning of our journey together, we feel that by laying down the foundations for digital growth, we have already accomplished a great deal. We are most satisfied with our work when we feel we can serve the customers of our clients – which, in this case, we believe we have done.

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