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Hearts & Minds Narrative January 2016

How to Use This Document Informed by June 2015 quantitative research in the UK, US, Brazil, and India, and September/October 2015

brand tracker research in UK, US, Brazil, India, South Africa, China, Canada, and Italy this document provides guidance on the brand narrative we all need to be using. It speaks to love of learning and employability. We have the opportunity to capture hearts by putting curiosity and excitement back into learning when education is increasingly seen as an ordeal. Employability is also a relevant societal theme, and we have the opportunity to capture minds by helping equip people for jobs and careers.

Our research shows that this two-pronged approach will have a positive impact on our brand and will position Pearson as a voice of authority in learning—and that it is more effective than either approach in isolation. The study gives us confidence that these messages will resonate broadly, as they have been specifically tested with educators, administrators, learners, parents, the engaged public, and education elites.

Included in this document are three versions of the narrative in varying lengths and areas of focus, along with umbrella and supporting messages for both pillars: love of learning and employability. The language choice in these core messages has been grounded in research, and the document also includes examples of how to employ the narrative, along with guidance on context and regional differences, including words and phrases that work best and those that work less well.

We will continue to refine this guidance based on in-market response and continued quantitative and qualitative insights.

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Brand Narrative 100-Word Hearts and Minds Narrative

“Learning isn’t a destination, starting and stopping at the classroom door. It is a never-ending road of discovery, challenge, inspiration, and wonder. For many people, learning is the route to a job to support their family or the skills to help them progress in their career. For others, it’s simply a passion for discovery. Learning opens up opportunity and enriches every stage of life. Helping people along this path of discovery and inspiration, Pearson cultivates a love of learning that enables a lifetime of progress. Because wherever learning flourishes, so do people.”

75-Word Narrative (Employability Slant) “Learning is a never-ending road of discovery, challenge, inspiration, and wonder. For many people, it is the route to a job to support their family or the skills to help them progress in their career. That’s why Pearson is focused on helping learners at every stage of the journey discover a love of learning that helps provide opportunities throughout their lives. Because wherever learning flourishes, so do people.”

75-Word Narrative (Love of Learning Slant) “Learning is a never-ending road of discovery, challenge, inspiration, and wonder. For some, learning is a means to an end – a job to support their family or the chance to progress in their career. For others, it’s simply a passion for discovery. As the world’s learning company, Pearson helps learners of all ages and stages find their path to a robust and fulfilling life. Because wherever learning flourishes, so do people.”

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Messaging Pillars

Love of Learning Umbrella Message “Learning isn’t a destination. It doesn’t start and stop at the classroom door. At Pearson, we believe everyone learns, every day, throughout life. Put simply, learning is the doorway to opportunity and fulfilment. Parents show this in their unwavering commitment to support their children’s development. Students experience this as they seek the skills, knowledge, and habits to help prepare them for what’s next in life. Teachers inspire this through content, context, and enthusiasm. Employers and workers recognize that learning enables up-to-date skills that lead to jobs, prosperity, and economic growth. Because wherever learning flourishes, so do people.”

Love of Learning Messages Flourish: “Learning is far more than a formal education. It is a never-ending road of discovery, challenge, inspiration, curiosity, mastery, serendipity, mistakes, and wonder. Learning is the key to unlocking potential. As the world’s learning company, Pearson is focused on helping learners of all ages and stages find their path to a robust and fulfilling life. Because wherever learning flourishes, so do people.”

Envisioning: ”At Pearson, we believe in a future where learning is more effective, affordable, personal, and accessible for the people who most need it. That’s why we are designing innovative digital technologies and driving business model innovations that help to reduce the barriers to learning and that contribute to solving the world’s most pressing education challenges. By doing so, we can help more people discover a love of learning and make progress in their lives.”

Enabling: “Pearson is enabling students to flourish; teachers to inspire; and parents, schools, and organizations to have confidence that students are making meaningful progress toward their learning objectives. We are working with the world’s leading experts, teachers, and researchers to create the best tools for learning, and we are equipping schools, universities, and other organizations with systems, content, and resources to help their students learn. As the world’s learning company, we aim to be the standard bearer for learning— fuelling a love and enthusiasm for it at every step along the way.”

Employability Umbrella Message “Equipping people with the skills they need for employment is a global challenge. It’s vital for economic success, and it transforms the lives of families. Across the world, 290 million young people are out of work. At the same time, almost 40% of employers tell us they can’t fill their vacancies. That’s why at Pearson, our mission is to help people make progress in their lives through learning. We serve learners, teachers, and employers worldwide; we work at every point of the learning journey, from preschool to the workplace. And because we know that for most of our learners, education and training are a means to an end—a job that supports them and their family—employability is the ultimate purpose of what we do.”

Employability Messages Soft Skills Framework: ”There is a growing body of knowledge about which soft skills are needed to open up work opportunities, but the skills themselves can be a challenge for jobseekers to build. Pearson is developing a skills framework to help learners understand, identify, and develop the soft skills—like communication, problem solving, conflict resolution, and critical observation—they need for specific jobs and professions. We know, from labor data and discussions with employers, that candidates need better soft skills and a stronger ability to launch and manage their own career, so we’re looking at what we can do to help with those things too.”

Vocational Routes: ”Young people deserve assurance that the studies and qualifications they take in school or college will give them the knowledge and skills they need to go on and meet their life ambitions. At Pearson, we want to be better at working with specific sectors to develop the skilled workers they need. Our commitment starts with building upon existing content, assessment, training, and technology for more than 30 vocations as part of our wider focus on excellence in vocational education.”

Putting Employers First: “At Pearson, we spend a lot of time working with teachers and trainers, but we are exploring what more we can do to serve the needs of employers. All of us in education need to listen to employers and deliver against their requirements. We know that work-based learning is precious; we know that employers are crying out for an enhancement in occupational skills and soft skills; and we know that employers, educators, and industry leaders can make a bigger impact by partnering. We just need to do it. Not just one of us, not just some of us—all of us, together.”

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Usage Examples

Before/Posts written prior to narrative rollout

After/Recommended tweaks if these posts were written today

John Fallon Blog Post: Half-Year Results Parents around the world say that the single most important goal for their children is to gain skills that will help them forge successful careers and lives. For so many of us, being able to help people make progress in their lives is a powerful and engaging prospect. It’s also the very best reason I can think of to come to work every day.

John Fallon Blog Post: Half-Year Results Parents around the world say that the single most important goal for their children is to gain skills that will help them forge successful careers and lives. For us at Pearson, it is a powerful and engaging prospect to help people cultivate a love of learning that enables a lifetime of progress. It’s also the very best reason I can think of to come to work every day.

Rod Bristow Blog Post: It’s time to get smarter about exams This is what parents want. In a recent Pearson report published with Family Lives, a charity that supports families to improve the outcomes for over 1 million children each year, parents told us clearly that exam results were some way down their list when choosing a school for their child. They were more interested in their personal and social development, including how they’d fare in work and life after school. Parents also showed a clear desire to be updated regularly on their child’s learning and development throughout the academic year, instead of having a single annual report summarizing their child’s progress.

Rod Bristow Blog Post: It’s time to get smarter about exams This is what parents want. In a recent Pearson report published with Family Lives, a charity that supports families to improve the outcomes for over 1 million children each year, parents told us clearly that exam results were some way down their list when choosing a school for their child. They were more interested in their personal and social development, including how they’d fare in work and life after school. Parents also showed a clear desire to be updated regularly on their child’s learning and development throughout the academic year, instead of having a single annual report summarizing their child’s progress.

This view is also reflected strongly in the views of British industry. The latest CBI/Pearson Education & Skills Survey² finds that employers are looking for education, above all else, to be a better preparation for the workplace. This shouldn’t come as much of a surprise, but employers believe that too often the emphasis is placed squarely on academic exam results as the only gauge of education achievement.

This view is also reflected strongly in the views of British industry. The latest CBI/Pearson Education & Skills Survey² finds that employers are looking for education, above all else, to be a better preparation for the workplace. This shouldn’t come as much of a surprise, but employers believe that too often the emphasis is placed squarely on academic exam results as the only gauge of education achievement.

>>additional suggested paragraph to close post

At Pearson, our mission is to help people make progress in their lives through learning. We work at every point of the learning journey, from preschool to the workplace, cultivating a love of learning and helping learners gain the skills they need. As the world’s learning company, we believe that wherever learning flourishes, so do people.

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Usage Examples

Before/Posts written prior to narrative rollout

After/Recommended tweaks if these posts were written today

Jennifer Rosenthal Blog Post: Growing together: Why our new parent community matters We believe that parents and caregivers are children’s first and most important teachers. As a learning company, it’s crucial that we empower parents as they navigate their children’s educational journey—this includes supporting the parents and caregivers who work at Pearson.

Jennifer Rosenthal Blog Post: Growing together: Why our new parent community matters We believe that parents and caregivers are children’s first and most important teachers, helping cultivate an early love of learning by nurturing natural curiosity and a desire for knowledge. As the world’s learning company, it’s crucial that we empower parents as they navigate their children’s educational journey—starting with the parents and caregivers who work at Pearson.

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Additional Approaches

Short Hearts and Minds Narratives Boilerplate Version I

Here we address the customer directly and personally. The various benefits and stages of the journey are isolated and dramatized in a way that could also be effectively brought to life alongside accompanying imagery.

“Learning is the journey that lasts a lifetime. Along the way, you’ll be transformed. You’ll discover inspiration that will change the way you see the world. You’ll overcome challenges and open up endless opportunities. You’ll develop the skills you need to build a richer, more fulfilling career. You’ll become part of the bigger story of human progress, but most of all, you’ll become yourself. At Pearson, it’s our privilege to help you explore your own personal journey of discovery and develop a love of learning that enriches every stage of your life”

Boilerplate Version II

Here we accentuate the “confident, insightful” aspect of our tone of voice. The brand is the narrator, the focus is on how we can “enable” and what we “envision”; we move quickly to the bigger picture.

“Learning is a journey filled with discoveries, challenges, inspiration, and wonder. At the world’s learning company, we know that a love of learning is a passion that lasts a lifetime and transforms people’s livelihoods in all kinds of ways. So we work closely with employers all over the world to deliver the skills they need. And by enabling people to enjoy richer, more fulfilling careers, we envision a future in which businesses grow, economies prosper, and, ultimately, the human race progresses. Because wherever learning flourishes, so do people.”

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Additional Approaches With less focus on being concise, the following two options use a slightly more imaginative approach and different ways of presenting the journey that’s at the heart of the brand.

Longer-Form Stories Version I: “The Question”

Asking a question of the reader is an instant way to engage their interest. Here we ask a question about their journey; by answering it, we’re able to describe the journey, explain the different types of learner, and reflect that we’re with them on their adventure, wherever it is that they’re going.

• “Where will yours take you?” • “Learning is an endless journey without a singular destination, and each person takes their own personal

route. For some, it’s an odyssey that’s shaped purely by their natural curiosity and desire for knowledge. For others, it’s the route to a better job, a more rewarding career, and the chance to support their family.”

• “For every one of us, a lifetime of learning is a fascinating adventure that promises a richer, more interesting life filled with exciting discoveries, new challenges, and endless opportunities.”

• “Whoever you are and wherever in the world you live, at Pearson we’re here to provide the tools and inspiration you need to make the progress you want, every step of the way.”

• “So where do you want to go? Wherever it is, we’re here beside you for the journey.”

Version II: “Everyone’s Journey”

Here the narration is first-person plural: “we”, helps remove the barriers between us and our customers and sounds less like the brand talking down to our audience. The story is highly visual and we use concrete imagery (the doors of opportunity, the journey of learning, the tools) and each of the stages of the journey is described in physical terms.

• “For all of us, the path toward fulfillment and opportunity begins at the open door of learning. Filled with natural human curiosity, and fueled by the desire for an interesting life and a rewarding career, we step across the threshold and set out on our inspiring, never-ending journey.”

• “Discovery, challenge, mastery, serendipity, and wonder—we’ll encounter all of these along the way. But armed with the right tools and a deep love of learning, each of us is transformed by the journey. We discover the world, and, in doing so, we discover ourselves.

• “As the world’s learning company, we provide the tools and the inspiration to help learning flourish. We’re here to help people all over the world step through the door of learning and take advantage of the opportunities that lie beyond. Because wherever learning flourishes, so do people.”

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Messaging Guidance Language That Works Language in Context Regional Differences

Careers (for individuals) Jobs (for society) Skills Qualifications Work-based learning Ability Work Opportunity/opportunities Future potential Professional Career-ready Practical experience Unlocking potential Knowledge Global skills framework Interpersonal skills Ambition

Vocational education (especially in India) Global workforce (particularly in the US and IN) Progress Collaboration (but less so in the US) Problem solving Inspire Meaningful progress (particularly in the US) Effective Accessible Learning Discovery Flourish

Careers and jobs: “Careers” and “Jobs” can be used interchangeably without confusion. However, each works better in different contexts.

• “Careers” is a more positive, optimistic term that speaks to opportunities and life success and is more relevant to individuals.

• “Jobs” is much more functional and speaks to economic benefits more explicitly, so it is more effective when framed around wider society than around individuals. Also works better in South Africa.

Employability: People are more concerned about their children’s prospects, and about employability in the country as a whole, than about their own employability.

Learning real skills that lead to a career is the top priority for improving the quality of education.

Employer Connection: Across audiences, employability messages that focus on the connectivity between education and being in tune with employers perform best. In addition, Pearson needs to ensure that our language reflects that we’re at the start of this journey vs. overpromising or overstating our unique role vs. how we are partnering to address the opportunity.

In the UK, the US, and Italy hearts and minds win, while employability works best in Canada and Brazil. In South Africa, China, and India love of learning is top.

Within the Love of Learning pillar – flourish is the best performing message in the UK, the US, Canada, and Italy, while in growth markets envisioning, which focuses on affordability and innovation is more effective. In China both work well.

“Flourish” Message performs consistently well across markets: the view that learning is about more than formal education is compelling, along with unlocking potential.

“Envisioning” Message is the most effective hearts message in growth markets, where digital technology and innovation are most strongly associated with employability. Its focus on using innovative technology to improve access to learning resonates well in these markets.

Within the Employability pillar – vocational routes is top in the UK, US, South Africa, and Italy while soft skills framework is popular in China and also the US. Putting employers first works in Canada.

Employability: Pessimism about the state of employability in Brazil, and the US means people are more focused on “jobs”, while in India, where there is greater optimism, people are more likely to draw the link between employability, knowledge, and skills. Skills are key in the UK, and US.

Language that is Less Effective

Employability Grades Exams College-ready Apprenticeships (except in the UK) Industry Assessments (particularly in the US) Efficacy Profitability Business model innovations Demystify Stakeholders Needs of employers Outcome

Qualification, Certification, Credential, Badge: These words are sometimes used interchangeably, but in other cases have specific connotations. Some vary by industry or geography. In Pearson practice, we have begun to use “credential,” which is inclusive of qualification, certification, badge. Check your usage with a local expert. More guidance forthcoming in this area.

Careers and Jobs: “Careers” works across individuals, friends and family, society in the UK and US, and “Jobs” also works well for society in the UK and US. In India, “careers” is overwhelmingly the winner across all uses. Alternatively, “jobs” is the winner in Brazil for a societal reference, while “careers” works for individuals and friends and family.

Employable vs. Qualified: In the UK, there is a greater personal importance placed on being “employable” while in the US, Brazil, and India being “qualified” is seen as more important. A focus on qualifications is particularly pronounced in Brazil, where there are the highest levels of concern about employability

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