“I don’t understand why we have new uniforms” said eighth grader Scott Pignataro. It’s something most Benjamin students may be wondering this year. After five years of The Benjamin School crest, which was introduced during the School’s 50th anniversary in 2010, why did the School change its logo and create the new palette of uniform colors?

The simple answer is that Benjamin went through a re-branding phase last year, updating its logo, refocusing its message, and even tweaking its traditional blue and orange color scheme. For students, the most visible evidence of this rebranding is via the uniforms. The old uniform polos, which featured white, orange, navy blue, royal blue, baby blue, pink, black, teal, red, and orange and navy shirts from which to choose, have been narrowed down considerably. The new uniforms have three two-toned options: white with a navy collar, navy with an orange collar, and orange with a navy collar, along with traditional solid pink, white, and royal blue – the only three colors from the older uniforms to remain. In addition, the older 50th anniversary logo – which features the crest flanked by laurel leaves and Benjamin’s Latin motto, “Nulli Secundus” (“Second to None”) on a banner below the crest – has been replaced. The new uniforms sport  the new logo, simply “The Benjamin School,” the three words stacked upon one another, embroidered in Trajan font on the breast. “Our brand pillar is two words: ‘Boundless horizons,’” said Mrs. Jessy Padon, Benjamin’s director of marketing, branding, and alumni relations. “[It means that] our students can go anywhere, do anything, be anyone, and we offer a breadth of opportunities for students to be exposed to new ideas.”

Benjamin developed its new brand identity with the help of Snavely Associates, a Pennsylvania-based marketing firm whose client list includes dozens of organizations, colleges, and universities, such as The Ohio State University, Lehigh University, and the Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Foundation. Benjamin also hired Prescience Associates, a consultancy group out of Ohio, that aids non-profit organizations in marketing and communications strategies, to  help lay the groundwork for the new brand initiative.

“Through various committee work, focus groups and surveys, we came to find an honest expression about who we are as a school,” explained Padon. “A brand is more than clever words or a new look. It’s not about telling people what they want to hear or presenting an image that you think will attract attention. A brand is the clear, consistent, honest expression of an institution. Essentially, the TBS brand is a promise we make to our students and families: Those who join our distinctive learning community will set, discover and encounter Boundless Horizons of learning, knowledge, experiences and relationships that contribute to lives of purpose and abundance. Students and families will experience our brand values and commitment in all we do on a daily basis,” stated Padon.

However, despite the enormity of the brand overhaul initiative, some students were unaware of the uniform changes even though Benjamin’s administration sent home a letter solely about the new uniforms on May 21, 2015.

“I’m not really sure why we have the new uniforms,” said sixth grader Olivia Beam,who has been attending Benjamin since third grade. And beyond not understanding why there are new uniforms, some students just do not care for the new options.

“I don’t really like the new uniforms,” said eighth grader Emma Johnson. “They just say ‘sweat in me.’” Elizabeth Mayberry, an eighth grader asked, “Why do we have pink uniforms? [Since] the school colors are only orange, navy, and white.”

According to Head of Middle School Mr. Charles Hagy, the new polos that come in pink and royal blue were concessions made to please students in the different divisions.

“[The Benjamin School] gave [the branding] a deeper focus on tradition,” he explained. “Originally, there was only going to be the school colors – navy, orange and white – but representatives from the Lower School said that they wanted the pink colors, and the Upper School wanted the different shade of blue.”

While the new uniforms are available for purchase now, Benjamin still allows the older uniforms to be worn by students. However, the older uniforms will be phased out by the 2017-18 school year, and the only available options beginning that year will be the new uniforms with the new logo.
Although the students may be resistant to change, it looks like the change is here to stay as Benjamin’s rebranding efforts, uniforms and all, are a means by which the School hopes to further separate itself from other schools, both independent and public, in Palm Beach County. And while Benjamin’s old 50th anniversary logo may be no more, the logo’s inscription (and the School’s motto), “Nulli Secundus,” may never be more true than it is right now. With more new students enrolling in TBS this year than any other year in the School’s 55-year history, a new state-of -the art facility in Benjamin Hall less than a year old, and ever-increasing academic and enrichment offerings across the divisions, Benjamin indeed seems to leave all others in second place.