Kids 1st

Kids 1st

With purpose-built nurseries, fully trained staff, secure door entry systems and fresh, homemade food, Kids 1st provides a childcare environment that is safe, exciting and nurturing, to ensure that the children they look after receive the best possible start in life.

In 2011, Kids 1st was named as the Highest Quality Nursery Provider by Nursery World.

The objective

When we started working with Kids 1st in January 2010 they already had their logo but needed help to develop brand recognition.

We set about planning a brand direction that parents, staff and children could identify with.

We believed that a number of steps needed to be taken in order for this to happen:

• The style of the marketing materials needed to be adjusted so that they form a more coherent style
• The brand personality to be made stronger and the company values were adopted by everyone from the company owners through to the individual staff at the nurseries.

Our suggestions:

Using the logo to help identify areas of the business, we used colour to allocate areas of the business within a colour palette:

• The business – Red is used as the main colour when talking about the business. This may be as simple as stationery or a news story regarding a new build etc.
• Fun & Activity – Orange & yellow is used when the focus is on ‘fun & activity’. This is rolled across advertising, events, fitness or this year’s pantomime.
• Nutrition & Environment – Green & Blue is used to reflect the interest Kids 1st has in the Lifestyle Policy and the child’s environment. This could be an advert for a new nursery / improvements etc. as well.
• Security & Staff – Purple & Pink is used as the lead colours when the focus is one either Security or Staff, this may be a recruitment advert or information relating to the security that Kids 1st offers.

The deliverables

• Brochure and envelopes
• Nursery fee, location and booking form inserts
• Seasonal newsletter
• Comment Cards
• Recipe book

Continuing the professional-yet-enthusiastic image of the Kids 1st brand, we’ve updated their current literature to include a seasonal newsletter for parents and supporters of the local nurseries.

Rounded fonts, lots of pictures, fun backgrounds and simple illustrations make this newsletter appeal to the kids as well. Features included staff updates, Ofsted inspection reports, nursery activities and forthcoming events; all combined to make a readable, engaging newsletter.

The combination of real life images and fun graphics is also featured in the Kids 1st In The Kitchen recipe book in which we’ve toned down the colour to make the book easier to read and instructions easier to follow.

The results

Over the last 2 years we’ve helped Kids 1st to:

• Generate brand awareness
• Fill nursery spaces
• Manage their website
• Use social media
• Build a brand
• Improve their interaction with parents
• Increase brand recognition and loyalty

What Kids 1st Nurseries said:

Rachel Todd, Marketing Manager of Kids 1st Nurseries said “Urban River has really helped us showcase the qualities of Kids 1st Nurseries.
We’ve had a good working relationship with the team for many years now and the thing we most value is their ability to put our thoughts and ideas into creative concepts.

Kids 1st continually strives to develop and continue to provide the highest quality childcare for our families. We look forward to working closely with Urban River in the future to ensure our brand develops with this.”