Creating a brand foundation for IK Helsinki

The objective of this bachelor’s thesis was forming an outline for creating a brand for the new off-campus of IK College. This thesis was commissioned by IK College. The purpose of this thesis was to give IK College a foundation from which to begin branding their new off-campus in Helsinki. This is a great opportunity for the College. With the new off-campus, the College is in many ways starting from a blank page and with it a possibility to transform some of the issues that have been associated with their brand in the past. The source of theoretical background for this thesis consisted of books, online and other publications. Information about the College was gathered during an internship. Interviews and questionnaires were used to further understanding of the current situation at the College in regards to marketing habits and procedures. Branding and marketing have become essential components of any modern company or institution. According to the research, IK Helsinki will need to build a brand based on core values, the environment, the customer, and their unique capability. Using these four bases for building a brand, IK Helsinki will gain a strong foundation from which to build for the future. It will also apply added clarity to their marketing and marketing strategies for the future, as well as increasingly distinguish them from competition. Currently IK College lacks long term strategy. Although the world is fast paced, and consistently changing. It is important for customers to know what the College stand for and what their values are. Creating a clear image of values and communicating that image to customers in the most clear and effective way will make all the difference in creating long lasting customer relationships