Lancaster County Career & Technology Center
How research-driven copywriting reshaped Lancaster County Career & Technology Center to highlight ambition and hands-on learning.
Written By 
Trevor Stauffer
Published on 
Jan 21, 2025
6
 min. read

Like most good client stories, this one begins with years of frustration and false assumptions. 

A local tech school had a problem on their brand’s hands. 

It was a misperception they’d struggled with for decades. The Career & Technology Center was well known as a place for high school seniors to learn a trade. But few realized the school also offered a range of programs for adults.

The administration came to us with a plan. They believed the best way to raise awareness of their adult education offerings would be to create a separate “adult ed” brand. They wanted Infantree’s help deciding just how distinct this new brand should be. 

We came back with an answer they weren’t expecting.

Our advice was to scrap the two-brand idea altogether. Our research showed the deeper issue was public perception of the school as a whole. It was seen as a place for students who weren’t “college material.” A plan C for kids who lacked the ambition to aim higher. 

False.

These stereotypes weren’t just gross and elitist, they were flat-out wrong. We did surveys, interviewed instructors, and chatted with students. Surprise surprise, the personal stories we heard flew in the face of the stereotypes. 

Getting confrontational.

Rather than trying to sweep these misperceptions under the rug with a secondary brand, we helped the Lancaster County Career & Technology Center challenge them head-on with a bold, unified brand strategy: Celebrate the hunger, hustle, and heart of our students.

This direction led us to a total brand overhaul. The visual ID shifted to reflect this determined, unapologetic spirit. Ditto on the verbal side.  

A tagline to rally around. 

The school's new tagline, Education for the Doers, hits back against the stereotype that students at the Career & Technology Center are less driven than those who take the college route. It encourages students to take pride in the fact that they’re not just sitting passively in a lecture hall: They’re getting their hands dirty, learning by doing.

Which brings us back to the initial problem.

Challenging the narrative with a refreshed brand was just the first step.

The second was to shift how the school frames their core offering. The Lancaster County Career & Technology Center now positions itself, first and foremost, as an institute of higher learning. Sure, some high schoolers are lucky to attend. But the brand prioritizes adult learners across its marketing efforts. 

Also, “adult ed” doesn’t sound very adult. It’s now called higher education. 

Trevor Stauffer is the Content Strategist at Infantree.

CREDITS:

Writing: Caroline Long, Trevor Stauffer

Design: Jordan High, Ashley Eberly

Web: Ashley Eberly, Ryan Lebo

Account Management: Dan Smith

Strategy: Trevor Stauffer

Photography: Gabe McMullen

Like most good client stories, this one begins with years of frustration and false assumptions. 

A local tech school had a problem on their brand’s hands. 

It was a misperception they’d struggled with for decades. The Career & Technology Center was well known as a place for high school seniors to learn a trade. But few realized the school also offered a range of programs for adults.

The administration came to us with a plan. They believed the best way to raise awareness of their adult education offerings would be to create a separate “adult ed” brand. They wanted Infantree’s help deciding just how distinct this new brand should be. 

We came back with an answer they weren’t expecting.

Our advice was to scrap the two-brand idea altogether. Our research showed the deeper issue was public perception of the school as a whole. It was seen as a place for students who weren’t “college material.” A plan C for kids who lacked the ambition to aim higher. 

False.

These stereotypes weren’t just gross and elitist, they were flat-out wrong. We did surveys, interviewed instructors, and chatted with students. Surprise surprise, the personal stories we heard flew in the face of the stereotypes. 

Getting confrontational.

Rather than trying to sweep these misperceptions under the rug with a secondary brand, we helped the Lancaster County Career & Technology Center challenge them head-on with a bold, unified brand strategy: Celebrate the hunger, hustle, and heart of our students.

This direction led us to a total brand overhaul. The visual ID shifted to reflect this determined, unapologetic spirit. Ditto on the verbal side.  

A tagline to rally around. 

The school's new tagline, Education for the Doers, hits back against the stereotype that students at the Career & Technology Center are less driven than those who take the college route. It encourages students to take pride in the fact that they’re not just sitting passively in a lecture hall: They’re getting their hands dirty, learning by doing.

Which brings us back to the initial problem.

Challenging the narrative with a refreshed brand was just the first step.

The second was to shift how the school frames their core offering. The Lancaster County Career & Technology Center now positions itself, first and foremost, as an institute of higher learning. Sure, some high schoolers are lucky to attend. But the brand prioritizes adult learners across its marketing efforts. 

Also, “adult ed” doesn’t sound very adult. It’s now called higher education. 

Trevor Stauffer is the Content Strategist at Infantree.

CREDITS:

Writing: Caroline Long, Trevor Stauffer

Design: Jordan High, Ashley Eberly

Web: Ashley Eberly, Ryan Lebo

Account Management: Dan Smith

Strategy: Trevor Stauffer

Photography: Gabe McMullen

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