Bentley Case Study

Bentley - Business in a Whole New Light THE CHALLENGE

We began our partnership with Bentley with the goal of clearly positioning the university to reflect its unique strengths and innovative academic structure, and to help the institution capitalize upon its unique curriculum and focus.

OUR APPROACH

Revitalizing the brand. We worked with Bentley to develop a new brand identity, built around Bentley’s strength in preparing leaders for the new world of business. The theme, Bentley. Business in a Whole New Light, serves both as a platform for a national advertising campaign as well as an internal rallying cry to energize the Bentley community.

Launching a new image. In fall 2004 we launched Bentley's new image campaign with a high-impact, two-page spread in TIME, exposing Bentley to a national audience that includes that all-important target – parents and other key influencers. The spread and subsequent full-page ads told the Bentley story and highlighted Bentley successes.

Year 2 of Bentley image campaign. The first ad in Bentley's 2005-06 national image campaign appeared in the September 26th issue of TIME, continuing the branding strategy that began in fall 2004. The new campaign focuses on Bentley graduates who exemplify Bentley's mission of preparing a "new kind of business leader" – well-rounded, engaged and ready to make a difference in dynamic organizations.

Bringing the brand to life. Our strategy for elevating the Bentley brand led to a strategic partnership with TIME, with whom we developed the Bentley Leadership Forum. The Forum drew all-stars from a range of industries to the Bentley campus to examine the relationship between social responsibility and profitability, and is expected to become an annual event at Bentley.

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We also initiated a second signature program for Bentley – Tomorrow25, a Bentley-sponsored international search for the "next generation of leaders." From more than 300 nominations, 25 high school juniors were selected and honored during the Bentley Leadership Forum.

We featured the Tomorrow25 honorees in an ad that ran in the May 30th issue of TIME. The partnership with this media heavyweight enabled Bentley to gain high visibility for this program and helped to capture the attention of prospective students and their parents.