LIM College can be a tough place to describe. They’re a fashion school, but they don’t teach design. They’re a business school, but you’re not likely to catch any of their grads wearing an off-the-rack pin stripe suit. What they do is special.
Since 1939, LIM has produced the buyers, merchandizers, managers, and marketers who are the real power behind the $2.5 trillion global fashion industry. Our primary challenge was this: How can we tell the story of an institution that is frequently misunderstood and inherently complex? LIM grads earn high-paying jobs in positions of influence. The college is a doorway to an industry ripe with opportunity for the right student. First, we needed to educate our audience and give them the tools they need to make an informed decision. Then we had to establish LIM as their college of preference.
We began by redesigning the LIM logo and helping them define their brand. The somewhat arcane “Laboratory Institute of Merchandising” became the plain-spoken “LIM College—Where Business Meets Fashion.” Next we shared their story through print collateral, outdoor display, digital marketing, direct mail, photography, and video. And over the course of a decade-long partnership, we constantly updated, innovated, and evolved our messaging and delivery tactics to more efficiently target their highly-specific audience.
LIM College has never compromised its identity or its mission for the sake of simplicity. They are still committed to being the driving force behind perhaps the world’s most glamorous industry. LIM College remains hard to describe, but together, we made them easier to know.
“LIM is a brand, and a brand that lasts must be authentic and it must have a heritage. Now with 75 years under its belt, LIM clearly has a heritage and the success of its graduates is clearly a reflection of the authenticity of the brand.”
Jeffry Aronsson
Founder and CEO, Aronsson Group, LLC
“The history of LIM College is one of constant evolution and innovation. What my grandfather founded as a one-year certificate program exclusively for women is now a Master’s degree institution with multiple graduate degree programs and a growing global footprint. Thousands of LIM College alumni are out there working on the frontlines of the fashion business. We measure our success by our students’ success.”
Elizabeth Marcuse
President, LIM College