Brand Messaging
The Cate Brand
Cate School has a multitude of different audiences: students, parents, alumni, prospective families, donors, and casual observers in the community. As the leading boarding school in the state of California and regarded as one of the best schools in the country, Cate also represents excellence within the greater residential education community.
Mission & Key Messages
The foundation of Cate’s brand identity is the School’s mission. Stated formally: “Through commitment, scholarship, companionship, and service, each member of the Cate community contributes to what our founder called ‘…the spirit of this place… all compounded of beauty and virtue, quiet study, vigorous play, and hard work.’”
The foundational pillars of Cate are commitment, scholarship, companionship, and service. Further, residents of Cate School experience a unique, intangible culture, often referenced as “the spirit of this place“.
Cate’s foundational language crafts a residential environment that empowers students to naturally develop their own voice, preparing them for life, not just college.
Commitment
Commitment
Cate is much more than a four-year boarding school education. It provides highly motivated, independent-minded young people with an invaluable life experience that propels them well beyond college. Expert faculty help students carve their own paths and teach grit, determination, and resilience.
Scholarship
Scholarship
Cate is a big sky under which young minds develop a sense of self in the company of others while discovering strengths they can build upon across disciplines. The curriculum promotes the greatest possible growth for each student and meets the demands of even the most advanced learners.
Companionship
Companionship
Relationships are at the core of the Cate community experience. Faculty and staff serve as guides and mentors and students enjoy close-knit bonds among peers that are unique to residential life. Collaboration and cooperation are integral and allow for a diversity of views to be welcomed and valued.
Service
Service
Service propels the Cate experience. Compassion, empathy, and resilience are the backbone of the School and instill the importance of service in each student. The School’s one-word motto, servons, means “let us serve” and guides how the community interacts among itself and in the world at large.
Personality Traits
Brands, like people, have personalities. The following brand personality traits should resonate through our communications efforts.
Perseverant: We are steadfast when pursuing our goals, despite difficulty or obstacles.
Sincere: We are honest and humble, owning our flaws and strengths alike.
Intelligent: We are smart and are grounded in our strong, inquiry-based curriculum.
Joyful: The Cate campus is a bright and happy place, where smiles abound and laughter is commonplace.
Adventurous: Our unique location invites us to explore the great outdoors, take risks, and learn by doing.
Supportive: We are a space for everyone, and we meet each person where they are, providing adequate guidance, resources, and love.
Our messages may emphasize different traits depending on audience and content. A recruiting piece aimed at prospective parents will have a different tone than an annual report to a donor group. Think in terms of an audio equalizer and adjust the mix as appropriate to the project and the audience.
