Strategic Brand Initiative: The 'I'm In!' Frame

Establishing a Unique Brand Signature and Building a Sustainable Client Engagement Initiative

Company

CRIMSON EDUCATION

Role

Head of Marketing - Concept Originator & Strategic Lead (Brazil)

The Story:

The challenge was multifaceted: how could Crimson Education deeply connect with students at their peak moment of success (college acceptance), create a powerful and unique visual brand identifier, and simultaneously generate authentic social proof to attract future clients? The solution needed to be more than just a congratulatory gesture; it had to be a strategic, self-reinforcing marketing initiative.

Â

Originating this concept in the Brazil office, I developed the“I’m In!” frame initiative. The core idea was a visually striking, physical frame customized with the accepting university’s colors and the celebratory “I’m In!” message. This was designed not just as a photo prop, but as akey strategic brand asset integrated directly into the student journey’s climax.

Â

The initiative was built around acycle of interconnected goals:

Â

  1. Celebrate & Cement Relationships: By gifting the personalized frame at the moment of college decision, wecelebrated the student’s achievement in a tangible way, ensuring Crimson was associated with their ultimate success and fostering goodwill for futurereferrals.
  2. Establish a Unique Brand Element: The distinct, colorful frames served as apowerful visual identifier, easily recognizable across social media, helping tosolidify the Crimson brand in a crowded market – much like iconic symbols for established global brands.
  3. Generate Aspirational Social Proof: We activelypromoted photos of students with their frames on our social media channels. This public celebration put the spotlight on their success, simultaneously creatingstrong desire among prospective students who envisioned themselves holding that same frame in the future.
  4. Drive Organic User-Generated Content (UGC): This created desire directly addressed the challenge of sourcing authentic visuals. Prospective students saw the frames as a badge of honor. Consequently, admitted studentsactively requested their frames andvoluntarily provided photos, wanting the recognition and association, thus generating a steady, low-cost stream of powerfulsocial proof.

Outcome & Learning:

The “I’m In!” initiative became ahighly effective, cyclical marketing engine in Brazil: celebration led to a strong brand element, promotion fueled aspiration, aspiration motivated UGC, and UGC provided social proof reinforcing the brand’s value – repeating with each new cohort.

Â

  • Key Brand Identifier: The frames became unequivocally associated with Crimson’s success in the region and beyond.
  • Sustainable UGC Pipeline: Solved the challenge of obtaining authentic student photos by creating genuine student desire to participate.
  • Enhanced Brand Perception: Positioned Crimson as a partner in celebrating success, boosting positive sentiment and referral potential.
  • Proven Global Scalability: Its demonstrable success in creating this self-reinforcing loop led to the“I’m In!” frame being adopted as a global standard across all Crimson offices, becoming a core brand element worldwide for years.

Â

This project highlights the power of strategically linking brand building, customer celebration, and social media dynamics. By creating a unique, desirable brand asset tied to a key emotional milestone, we built a self-perpetuating cycle that significantly boosted brand recognition, generated authentic social proof, and fostered a strong sense of community aspiration.

Next Project

Global Marketing Analytics & Reporting System Implementation

Back to top