How do you create a brand that appeals to both investors and educators? For this startup edTech company, this was the challenge – here’s how we bridged the gap.
Squirrel Education approached me with a clear need: to refine their brand, visual identity, and develop their website. As a company developing financial literacy software for school children, they needed a compelling brand presence to secure funding and gain adoption in schools.
However, as we worked together, it became clear that their ambitions extended beyond branding – they needed a strong strategic foundation to guide their growth. Our role evolved into helping them articulate their business objectives and develop a roadmap for success.
Aligning brand strategy with business goals
Squirrel Education had two main goals:
- Secure funding following their participation in an Abu Dhabi incubator.
- Get their platform adopted by schools to validate its effectiveness for investors.
A key challenge was ensuring that their brand spoke directly to their core audience – schools – while also appealing to investors. Initially, much of their focus was on attracting investors, but it was essential to ensure that their messaging and identity resonated with school leadership, the primary decision-makers for adoption.
A strategic approach to branding
Rather than simply refining their visual identity, we worked with Squirrel Education to develop a clear and compelling brand strategy that would support both their business and funding goals. This process began with a Brand Communications Workshop, where we guided the leadership team through key strategic exercises. We explored the company’s core purpose, identified their ambitious long-term goals (BHAG), and mapped out stakeholder journeys to ensure messaging resonated with both investors and schools.
Following the workshop, we compiled our insights into a Brand Communications Findings Report, providing a refined positioning statement, core beliefs, and structured messaging tailored to their key audiences. This informed all subsequent branding decisions, ensuring consistency across their communications.
With the strategy in place, we conducted a Brand Identity Audit to assess their existing brand elements. While the brand name carried meaning, it faced SEO and distinctiveness challenges, leading us to recommend complementary naming conventions. We refined their visual identity, making subtle yet impactful changes to the logo, typography, and colour palette to maintain credibility with schools while remaining engaging for students.
To support their funding efforts, we developed investor pitch decks that clearly articulated Squirrel Education’s value proposition, business model, and growth potential. These materials helped the founders present a more structured and compelling case to potential backers.
A strong digital presence was essential for both credibility and audience engagement. We designed and launched their website, ensuring clear messaging, intuitive navigation, and SEO best practices. Alongside this, we set up and optimised their social media channels, providing templates and guidelines to maintain brand consistency.
Each of these elements was carefully aligned with Squirrel Education’s business goals, ensuring that their brand was not just visually cohesive but strategically positioned for long-term growth.
In just 12 months, Squirrel Education’s financial literacy platform saw growth to over 35,000+ users across more than 80 schools in the United Arab Emirates and beyond.
Supporting Squirrel Education’s growth
Following the implementation of the brand strategy, website development and identity refinements, Squirrel Education experienced notable developments:
- Increased website traffic: The squirreledu.co website attracts an average of 35,000 annual visitors, two-thirds of whom find the website through organic search.
- Industry recognition: Squirrel Education has been nominated for multiple awards from EdTech organisations, winning prizes at the Sharjah Entrepreneurship Festival and GESS Dubai.
- Media coverage: The platform has been featured in national newspapers, industry journals, and the founders have been invited to speak on radio shows and podcasts.
- Expanded user base: In just 12 months, their platform saw exponential growth to over 35,000+ users across more than 80 schools.
- Secured funding: With a clearer brand and refined messaging, they were well-positioned to attract investment.
A partnership built on trust
Squirrel Education’s founders were pleased with the work and collaboration. They valued the responsiveness and strategic guidance provided by Magnia, acknowledging how the rebrand and strategic approach helped them better communicate their vision.
“We are impressed with Magnia’s commitment to its values as a business. They are passionate about working with socially minded companies and that passion floods through in their work. They really get to know what you are trying to achieve and how you operate as a business so that they can clearly communicate that to all external stakeholders.”
Ben Bolger, Co-founder, Squirrel Education
Final thought
This project underscored an essential branding lesson: a strong visual identity is only effective when backed by a solid strategy. By aligning brand positioning with business objectives, we supported Squirrel Education in creating a brand that was both visually compelling and strategically positioned for their next stage of growth.