College built for real life
The challenge
What’s Good partnered with Rivet School to tackle a bold challenge: reimagining higher education by offering a practical, affordable college experience built for working adults, parents, and people historically excluded from college. Equipped with a talented founding team and a proven model, Rivet School was ready to grow. However, they needed a brand that resonated with a hard to reach audience, those disillusioned by traditional college. The challenge was to convey Rivet School’s innovation and differentiation, while also communicating it as a reliable and trustworthy college option. As Rivet School looked to scale, they needed to build brand awareness, increase student enrollment, and communicate their vision to partners and supporters.
Our solution
To support Rivet School, we developed a timeless brand and enhanced their marketing efforts, establishing a solid foundation for growth. We crafted compelling messaging and visual identity, including the tagline “college built for real life,” defining their four core value propositions, and a creative blend of illustration and imagery.
We also developed a comprehensive suite of rich media and web infrastructure. This supported Rivet School’s marketing strategy, rooted in growing enrollment via strategic partnerships and paid media channels, by designing effective funnels and optimizing recruitment efforts.
Strategy
We engaged closely with Rivet School’s team to tackle their key challenge. They needed to scale while not compromising on their key product offering: providing a college experience that truly benefits students. Our process began with a thorough brand discovery, including audience research, landscape analysis, and team workshops to hone Rivet School’s vision and mission.
Our breakthrough came when we drew inspiration from Richmond, CA, where Rivet School was founded. We immersed ourselves in the city’s art, murals, and conversations with local community members, educators, students, and stakeholders. Reflecting on the historical significance of Richmond’s shipyards—where African-American women contributed to WWII efforts—we aimed to capture a legacy of strength, resilience, and determination. By honoring this history, we sought to pave the way for the next generation of dreamers and do-ers, whom we call Riveters. This insight led us to craft a brand with deep local roots and broad national appeal. We developed a clear visual direction and compelling brand messaging, coupled with ongoing growth marketing support, to ensure Rivet School’s brand is not only unique but remains consistently aligned with its mission.
We collaborated with Rivet School to produce a video that clearly conveys their impact to funders and supporters. Featuring personal student stories, the video highlights how Rivet School transforms lives by helping students achieve their college degrees.
This video explains Rivet School’s model and goals for both prospective students and funders. It demonstrates how students can earn their bachelor’s degree online, in as little as 2-3 years, and for an average of $3,500 out of pocket per year. All without leaving their job.
Follow Myiah Watson’s journey to graduation and see how Rivet School helps students pursue their dreams by earning their degrees.
The brand went from a compelling vision to a strong proof point for the future of higher education. Through our work together, Rivet School is equipped to scale their impact with a robust website, a strategic digital marketing funnel, and ever increasing lead-generation partnerships.
Our partnership has helped establish Rivet School as a leader in their field for harnessing digital marketing as a proven channel for growing enrollment for those traditionally underserved by higher education.
Rivet School raised X amount after their first year with their new brand.
Grew from a localized Bay Area organization to a national organization with five different physical locations.
Scaled from a team 5 to over 30 employees while working with What's Good.
Expanded from a pilot program of 85 students across 8 California counties in late 2018 to a thriving student body, with enrollment on track to reach 800.
We achieved an average Cost Per Lead (CPL) of $52, which is well below the industry benchmark for the Bay Area.
Jeff Manassero
CEO & Co-founder, Rivet School
