A 2010 study involving Australian preschool children found that children could associate an alarming number of logos with brands, despite not yet being able to read.
Another study had similar results and also found that
- “the more sophisticated a child’s “executive function” (which covers growing abilities to sort and reason rather than actual knowledge), the more likely that child was to have begun using brands as in the same ways an adult might”
- “The savvier kids had gone even beyond the already sophisticated step of associating logos, objects and locations with a particular brand and were beginning to add values.” (McAlister and Cornwell, 2010)
The authors of the study argue that branding is a way of coping with the overload of choice and information in our lives. Being able to readily associate values with a brand means we can more quickly make choices about who will we trust to provide our goods and services.
Most businesses work hard at creating and maintaining their brand and its reputation.
So do schools.
Based on my experience I would say that the more exclusive a school is, the more it values its brand. This holds true for public schools as well as private, although of course private schools have a lot more riding on their ability to attract the right kind of clients for their business – the paying, compliant kind who also want to uphold the school’s brand.
Sometimes schools, businesses and individuals make a decision not to associate themselves with particular companies or individuals because they fear that the association will damage their brand.
Sometimes this leads to a blanket rule which also forbids association with individuals or businesses which could only enhance the school’s community and the students’ learning. Some would argue that only associating with recognised brands ensures a quality product.
The fear of possible negative experiences means that some positive experiences are also lost.
Only the glossy survive and school, like our increasingly globalised world, becomes a place for brands and flashy websites.
McAlister,A. and Cornwell, B., (2010) Children’s Understanding of Brand Symbolism
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