The first-choice business school for purpose-led organisations
Context
Loughborough Business School, already a top-ranked UK institution with numerous accolades, aimed to extend its global reach, attracting a wider pool of postgraduate students and industry partners. While its unique culture and teaching ethos were appreciated by those familiar with it, the school had struggled to clearly communicate its value to outsiders.
Objectives
The goal was to help Loughborough articulate its purpose without relying on typical business school jargon, aligning its external promise with its internal culture. Success required transforming both how the school presented itself and how it operated, ensuring clarity, focus, and confidence in its identity.
Approach
A core project team, "the Navigators," was formed to ensure alignment and rapid progress through iterative feedback. We began with a comprehensive review, including insights from major business school reports, competitor analysis, and interviews with faculty, students, leadership, and alumni.
Key strengths were identified:
A belief that global challenges demanded a new approach to business.
A proven ability to drive impact and accelerate careers.
A dedicated, caring staff committed to improving business practice for greater global impact.
This led to a clear vision: to be "the first-choice business school for purpose-led organisations." To differentiate Loughborough globally, we created the Brand Idea Progress With Purpose—a unifying message for communications and behaviour.
Progress With Purpose:
Built awareness and united like-minded students, staff, and organisations.
Transformed course design, staff evaluations, and events.
Aligned external messaging with internal culture.
Collaborating closely with Loughborough’s creatives, we developed:
A signature visual style and graphic identity.
A Brand Narrative and manifesto film (below)
A content framework featuring academics and students.
Onboarding workshops for over 120 academics.
Results
Progress with Purpose redefined Loughborough Business School, driving new partnerships, research, and recruitment. The project earned international recognition, being shortlisted for the QS Reimagine Awards and winning the Vice Chancellor’s 'Together' Award for its transformative impact.
“Firehaus has been a joy to work with. Their insight, clarity of thought and creativity have lit a spark beneath how we think about ourselves and express that to the world. It’s played a vital part in how we go about delivering on our organisational aims.”
Professor Jan Godsell, Dean of Loughborough Business School
Read more about the creative collaboration on this project.