Carpenters Training Institute is a union-supported, 4-year training institution for skilled trade careers in carpentry, millwright, pile driving, floor covering, and cabinet making. What’s highly unique about Carpenters Training Institute is the tuition. Unlike other post-high school degree programs that put students into debt, at Carpenters Training Institute, students actually earn as they learn. In fact, students earn in excess of $30,000 during their first year of learning.
How can digital foreigners connect with digital natives? That was the first of many challenges confronting Carpenters Training Institute. They had no digital presence yet needed to connect with Millennials and Generation Z. They also lacked measurable brand awareness, had to appease contrasting stakeholder opinions, and faced decreasing interest in choosing the trades as a career path. Additionally, there was a growing need to foster a more inclusive workforce. To address these challenges, Olive & Company would have to build consensus around a new approach. Then move forward with efforts that would boost brand awareness and improve perceptions of the trades as a career option and joining a union.
Olive & Company balanced the various viewpoints, interests, and needs of internal stakeholders while also accounting for the opinions, wants, and concerns of potential apprentices. We accomplished this using a multi-pronged approach of focus groups, stakeholder interviews, brand discovery, and workshops that shaped messages, identity, and voice. We then created a website experience that solidified these various inputs into a poignant, balanced, and persuasive presentation. Finally, we provided an accompanying brand guide that ensured the Carpenters Training Institute could maintain its voice, persona, and visual standards moving forward.
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