A strategic rebrand for a growing school district
Olentangy Local School District is one of the largest and fastest-growing districts in the country, with more than 24,000 students across 27 buildings. During my time at Cult Marketing, I had the opportunity to help shape its new brand identity. Rapid growth created a new challenge: building a cohesive district identity while preserving the pride of each individual school.
ClientOlentangy Local School District
ServicesStakeholder Research & Insight Gathering
Strategic Brand Positioning
Logo & Visual Identity Design
Brand Implementation
Insights
To understand the heart of Olentangy, we conducted more than 45 insight sessions with board members, administrators, teachers, parents, and students. Through interviews and collaborative exercises, consistent themes emerged: opportunity, personal achievement, pride, community, and educational excellence.
I was directly involved in stakeholder interviews, helping translate qualitative insights into a clear strategic direction.
Strategy & Identity
The positioning became clear. Olentangy is a place where students are supported, challenged, and given the opportunity to grow.
The tagline, Flourish Here, reflects the concept of healthy and vigorous growth as a result of a favorable, nurturing and positive environment.
The new logo features abstract, upward-reaching figures to symbolize achievement and shared success. From there, we developed a flexible visual identity system designed to scale across every district touchpoint.
Results
The new brand was implemented across all 27 buildings, district vehicles, digital platforms, environmental graphics, and printed materials.
More than a refreshed look, the rebrand created alignment. It unified students, staff, and families under a shared identity and gave the district a brand that matched its reputation for excellence.
