Branding with Empathy: J O H N
S H AW
‘It’s a school that encourages you to be yourself
and to pursue your passions without worrying
too much about conforming.’
18 The Wykeham Journal 2018
John points out that in the modern age of
social media, it’s not advisable to bluff it out with
some attractive buzzwords that don’t resemble
reality. ‘You can’t have an external appearance that
isn’t an authentic reflection, because you get found
out. I always try to avoid the usual buzzwords.’
Instead, he tried to capture the essence of the place,
in a way that appeals to people but isn’t simply
designed to sell: ‘it needs to work for the pupils,
the dons and everyone connected with the school,
so they can say, “yes, this feels like us and something
we want to be part of ”’.
John’s input has been used as pointers by
Marmalade on Toast when considering how the
school’s website, prospectus, social media feeds,
and other material will look and read. A lot of
thought has clearly gone into the exercise, and the
results ring true while at the same time feeling
unpredictable. ‘One of the revelations to me was
how modern Winchester had been at its institution.
I hadn’t fully realised how progressive William
of Wykeham was, and though the motto sounds
old-fashioned to us, the fact that it was written
in English and not Latin was incredibly radical
at the time, almost as crazy as if it had been written
upside-down. So many qualities that the school
is known for now are there in its foundation.’
The experience was revitalising for John as
well as the school. ‘It was wonderful to work on this.
Normally, I’m working on brands which, if they’ve
been around since the 1930s, that’s seen as a long
time, but of course Winchester has been around since
1382.’ Of the values he identified, he says curiosity
has probably been the one that has been most useful
in his own highly successful career. ‘It’s a school
that encourages you to be yourself and to pursue
your passions without worrying too much about
conforming. Going the extra mile to finds the things
that are interesting to you – that’s a very valuable
lesson to have learned for the creative world.’
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