Publication date
Building an early years brand – built not just for today’s world but tomorrow’s too
Why having an early years brand matters
In 2025, your brand is your story, your trust signal and your growth engine. Without it, you’re just another name in the feed or on the street. It’s no longer enough to have a successful early years business, you need to have an equally as successful brand too.
The difference between a brand and a business
Some readers might be thinking, aren’t they the same thing? Let’s break the difference down before we go any further. A “business” (according to the Oxford Dictionary) is a “commercial activity” whereas a “brand” is defined as “a name, term, design, symbol or any other feature that identifies one seller’s goods or services from those of other sellers. It’s a distinctive element used to differentiate a company’s offerings.” In other words, business is what you do – a brand is why you do it and what makes you different.
When establishing an early years business, owners and operators often focus on what and how – what business they’re going to do, and how they’re going to do business. What sessions they’re going to offer, what recruitment needs to be done, what resources need to be purchased, how they are going to structure the team, the environment etc. However, one other important consideration is “why”. Why are you wanting to set up this business? What do you hope to achieve by being in this business? And what sort of people do you want to attract to your business? Thinking about both the parents (and their children) and the people you will need to employ to make your “what” and “how” happen.
Over the past few years, the EYFS has seen much change, and across different settings in England we are starting to see some more alignment with our “why” through the introduction of a nursery approach (pedagogy) and the curriculum offered within each different setting. However, it doesn’t (and shouldn’t) stop there. Building a strong brand takes time, thought and hard work. Great brands that stand the test of time aren’t built overnight – they are constantly evolving to remain relevant.
Case Study: Marks and Spencer (M&S)
Take Marks and Spencer for example, in the mid-2010’s M&S was struggling. They had an aging customer base, dated fashion perception, flat food innovation and had lost their brand identity. This left them vulnerable to both premium competitors and fast-fashion retailers.
Reviving the brand
M&S shifted from being a reliable heritage brand to being a modern British lifestyle brand with quality at its core. It established a new brand tone along with purpose-led messaging. Alongside this, it had a fashion revamp, modernised its food offering and transformed itself digitally. To top this off, it had a visual and verbal identity refresh with logo refinement, tone of voice and store refreshes.
Why did this work?
- M&S didn’t abandon its roots – it reinterpreted them for a new era.
- It had clear brand pillars – quality, innovation and value. This messaging was consistent across all areas and spoke to a new audience.
- Consistency across touchpoints – from advertising to digital and store environments. The rebrand was cohesive and felt new, modern and exciting.
The result?
- Significant growth in online sales and customer acquisition.
- Fashion delivering year on year growth for the first time in over a decade.
- Food division outpacing many competitors.
- Resurgence in public perception as a stylish, trusted and accessible brand – not just a legacy retailer.
- According to YouGov, M&S is now the top brand in the United Kingdom (YouGov, 2025).
Where should you start with early years branding?
My advice would be to start small, don’t make any big or brash changes. Rome wasn’t built in a day, and a strong early years brand won’t be either. Whatever you do, start with creating a brand strategy. This is your long-term plan that defines how your brand connects with people, stands out from the competition and drives loyalty.
Why does having a strategy matter?
- Keeps your brand consistent
- Builds emotional connection
- Attracts the right audience
- Makes marketing and content creation 100x easier – this is especially important if you intend to outsource your marketing and advertising.
A brand strategy is crucial if you are on a growth trajectory, as you will need to ensure your brand remains consistent over new-openings and acquisitions. In this case it would be important to outline how your nurseries should look and feel, and if you are an owner looking to bring in a team to manage the business for you then a brand strategy is incredibly useful. You need to know those original threads you built the business with are still being woven into the new fabric of the business.
What does a strong brand look like in early years?
In the early years sector, trust is at an all-time low, with various external factors affecting our sector from Government and press. By building a strong and trusted brand, you build emotional trust and familiarity.
- Lead with trust and safety – highlight credentials, be transparent and use soft, friendly and understandable language.
- Align what you look like on the outside with what you do day to day – warm and nurturing brand tone, real-life story telling, imagery that feels gentle and is real (spend money on a photo and video shoot – it’s so worth it and will avoid the use of stock images).
- Your brand goes beyond the sign out at the front of your nursery – consider your website, paperwork, internal signage etc. Also think about how your nursery food and the opportunities on offer for the children reflect your brand – ultimately your vision, ethos and values.
- Focus on the parents, not just the child – make life easier for your parents and get “buy in” early. For example, ensuring drop off and pick up is a smooth experience. At Cherubs Nurseries, we have plenty of parent partnership events but curate “buy in” early through sending a surprise and delight gift as part of our enrolment process, and by offering free teas and coffees every day for our families.
- Build a community early and prioritise word of mouth – offer helpful content through regular blog posts on your website (always make connections back to your brand and business throughout blogs), encourage user-generated content and employee-generated content online. This is your families and your employees posting about your brand at various touch points and moments in time (we discuss this more in the podcast episode). Make sure you also ask for reviews and testimonials on platforms like DayNurseries.co.uk, Facebook and Google, and share these as testimonials far and wide in your marketing. These are incredibly important as reviews on DayNurseries.co.uk can win you awards, Facebook reviews boost your trustworthiness and those on Google assist in your SEO rankings (Search Engine Optimisation – see explainer).
What is there to be gained from having a strong early years brand?
Building or refreshing a brand takes time, money and expertise (and won’t come cheap). Owners and operators will no doubt ask about the gains from an investment point of view. Depending on your “why” these could include:
- Premium pricing power – trusted brands can charge higher fees due to their reputation for quality, safety and care. Depending on facilities and standard of nursery (which could also be one of your USPs – Unique Selling Points) you can charge more for this.
- Stable occupancy and revenue – a strong brand leads to higher enrolment rates and longer waiting lists, ensuring consistent cash flow. These days, a nursery can often be seen as a “status symbol” between society and groups of people.
- Investor attraction – lenders and investors are more confident backing established providers due to proven demand and lower perceived risk.
- Reduced customer acquisition cost – strong brand awareness decreases the cost of marketing and converting leads. When combined with strong word-of-mouth and referrals, marketing can come in at next to zero.
- Smoother expansion – known brands expanding into new locations find it easier to attract parents and staff, as trust precedes them.
- Higher resilience to crisis – Trusted brands can better weather PR or operational setbacks due to built-up goodwill. Everyone makes mistakes – parents are more likely to forgive occasional errors if brand trust and “buy in” is high.
- Customer loyalty and retention – a trusted brand fosters repeat business and long-term relationships. Once you have “buy in” from an individual, they are more likely to return to you due to time already invested and recommend you to their friends and family.
- Attracting top talent – known brands are more appealing to early years professionals who seek stability, quality training and career progression. This is particularly important as we are currently experiencing a long-term recruitment shortage of Qualified Level 3 Early Years Educators and above.
- Improved morale and culture (and pride in the workplace) – employees often take pride in being associated with a respected name, enhancing morale and performance.
- Defensibility against competition – a powerful brand creates a moat that’s hard for competitors to breach. This is particularly important if there are already established operators in the area.
- Greater influence in industry and community – established brands can shape trends, set standards and even influence regulation.
- Regulatory confidence – Ofsted and Local Authorities could be more confident working with known providers, and those that have built up a good reputation, especially across multiple nurseries. This could potentially ease compliance interactions and make growth plans smoother.
- Exit strategy/plan – owners and operators looking to exit the sector can charge a premium for their business if it has built up a strong brand and reputation. It’s not just about the numbers you’re bringing in, but how your business is represented and the value this could bring to the future owner/operator and how they could capitalise on this.
Key takeaways
- The best brands in the early years sector feel like support systems, not just a business!
- When thinking about your brand online, remember that it only takes 5-seconds for people to form an opinion of your website.
- 71% of people say a brand’s purpose is important to them (Energy PR, 2025) – get that work done around the ‘Golden Circle’ (Sinek, 2025) before you do anything else.
- 75% of job seekers consider an employer’s brand before even applying (LinkedIn 2015) – make sure your brand is consistent across your website, Indeed and social media posts. Share your “why” and “purpose” in your job adverts and link your job description to the values of your business.
- Grow and evolve (listen to feedback, watch the market, research and stay true to your core).
- Early years is not a product, it’s a service. It’s emotional territory. Think about what you’re selling – moments, milestones and memories!
Critical considerations
Revisiting your ‘why’:
What is the deeper purpose that underpins your setting, beyond providing childcare?
How clearly does this purpose come through in the experience families, children and educators have every day?
Aligning brand and practice:
Does your setting’s visual identity (e.g. website, signage, marketing materials) genuinely reflect your ethos, pedagogy and day-to-day practices?
How do you ensure that the tone and language of your brand match the warmth, care and professionalism of your educators?
Embedding trust in every touchpoint:
In what ways do you actively build trust with families – from their first contact with your setting through to daily handovers and wider communications?
How do you use storytelling, real imagery and educator voice to build emotional connections with your community?
Considering the child and the family:
How does your brand speak not just to the needs of children, but also to the priorities, challenges and emotions of families?
What small changes could you make to strengthen your setting’s identity as a supportive, community-focused space?
Strengthening your internal brand:
How well do your team members understand and connect with the values and vision of your setting?
In what ways do you celebrate your educators as part of your brand story and ensure their voices are visible?
Managing consistency during growth or change:
If you were to expand or bring new team members into leadership roles, how confident are you that the culture, tone and ethos would be preserved?
Have you documented your ‘brand pillars’ in a way that guides decision-making at every level?
Measuring and evolving your brand:
What indicators do you currently use to understand how your brand is perceived by families, educators and the wider community?
How regularly do you reflect on feedback or changes in the sector to adapt your brand messaging or positioning?
Reflecting on influence and responsibility:
As your brand becomes more visible, what role might you play in shaping local narratives about early childhood education and care?
How can your branding choices reflect a commitment to inclusivity, equity and representation?
Planning with purpose:
If you had to distil your brand into three core values or messages, what would they be – and are they evident in both the tangible and intangible aspects of your setting?
How might your brand evolve over the next five years to remain relevant while staying rooted in your original vision?
Explainer
- EYFS – Early Years Foundation Stage (framework for early years providers in the United Kingdom
- SEO – Search Engine Optimisation (the process of improving a website’s ranking in search engine results)
- PPC – Pay Per Click (digital advertising model on search engines where advertisers pay a fee each time their “ad” is clicked)
References and further reading
Energy PR. (2025). 30+ Brand Statistics for 2025. Retrieved from https://www.energypr.co.uk/blog/30-brand-statistics/
LinkedIn. (2015). The Ultimate List of Employer Brand Statistics. Retrieved from https://business.linkedin.com/content/dam/business/talent-solutions/global/en_us/c/pdfs/ultimate-list-of-employer-brand-stats.pdf
Sinek, S. (2025). The Golden Circle. Simon Sinek’s Optimism Company. Retrieved from: https://simonsinek.com/golden-circle/
YouGov. (2025). Marks & Spencer popularity & fame. Retrieved from https://yougov.co.uk/topics/consumer/explore/brand/Marks_Spencer
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