Future Doc Rebrand:
Making it to medical school.
Sectors: Education, Medicine, Technology
Services:
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Competitor analysis, brand narrative & character traits.
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Visual identity; logo, typeface, graphic style, motion & more.
Verbal identity; tone of voice & hero messaging.
Understanding the Brief
Becoming a doctor hinges on getting into medical school. Whatever their background or reason for studying, students face a common challenge: successfully securing a competitive place.
Through first-hand experience of overcoming the challenges of getting into med school (twice), Ash, Future Doc’s founder, has built a platform that enables students to develop their own place-winning applications, for the university of their choice.
Future Doc brings together more than 120 tutors with a 93% success rate for students who use the service. But bold ambitions called for a rebrand that was capable of getting to its vision as the go-to University personal mentoring service within five years.
The high performing Doctor at Future Doc's helm knew the brand should work much harder. In order to scale, it had to move beyond reliance on one person's character, and become a confident brand that provides the tools for success for committed students.
Finding the Unfound
Only 16% of undergraduate applicants and 2% of graduate applicants get accepted to med school. Despite this stifling competition, Future Doc must confidently deliver its relevance as an application aid to everyone that interacts with it.
The rise in EdTech organisations delivering brand communications with a corporate feel, and online tutoring platforms hiding behind childish illustrations, led to Unfound finding a sweet spot of approachable confidence.
From easing the pressures of study, to fulfilling the potential of gifted minds, its new brand not only had to appeal to students but also the people supporting them with learning costs — usually parents or relatives.
If it's a game to get in, Future Doc's role had to be that of an expert guide, coaching people to learn the rules and get the upper hand. Providing a multi-channel toolkit, we enabled the brand to support promising students to become too good to ignore.
Under the Surface
When it feels like destiny to become a doctor, but the competition is rife, Future Doc is the guide that gets people where they want to be. But building a prominent brand for prominent candidates meant being visibly better in all the right places. As Future Doc supports individuals through a process that isn't one-size-fits-all, it’s brand needed to flex across marketing channels with distinct characteristics.
From intuitive website design, attention-grabbing YouTube thumbnails, and LinkedIn assets, through to printed materials for those embarking on a Future Doc programme, we provided the toolkit for a consistent brand — blending the experience of a professional and legitimate education platform with the personality of friendly guide.
To develop brand awareness in a critical channel, we honed in on UX and video media best practice to create tools for Future Doc, to show up and build momentum where the brand gains most traction. With YouTube and Instagram being crucial avenues for Future Doc in terms of tutor talent attraction and applicant discovery, we focused our attention on making the brand stand out for all the right reasons — just like it helps students to do.
Unearthing Value
Reflecting the founder's ambitions for a bold growth trajectory, we future-proofed the business model with a brand toolkit that was not only capable of flexing across the medical courses, but also into other sectors and subjects e.g. Future Lawyer or Future Architect.
We're proud to support young people on the pathway to distinguished medical careers, through a brand that instils the confidence needed to go on and succeed. Whether it's would-be students or the people that pay for their application fees, people can now better understand that through Future Doc, their hard work and doctor destinies can be realised. Here's to getting in 🙌
“Before coming across the Unfound guys, our branding wasn’t communicating the vibe that we wanted it to, but we didn’t really know how to fix it. We have quite ambitious plans to expand and wanted a look to represent that. Both Jay & Tebo really got it. They really understood the philosophy first. At the concept phase, they were really understanding and shared our passion to get the direction nailed. Showing us how we look compared to everyone else in the industry opened our eyes. We thought we were different, but—until they showed us—hadn’t realised that we actually just blended in with everyone else.
The further we got down the process, the more we realised that a rebrand wasn’t just ‘nice to have’ but essential to grow. Now we have a real identity that matches what we’re about. It’s also given us the playbook for the future to expand into other subjects. One of the most valuable things was their willingness to explain the thought behind the ideas. Branding is all about how you make people feel. Often we were guessing. They really got into the weeds as to what emotion a certain colour or font would evoke. Really grateful for Unfound’s care and generosity of spirit in how they delivered the project.”
- Dr. Ashley Hilton MBBS (MD), BDS
Unfound Studio Samples
"This project hits close to home for us. It embodies our studio's passion for empowering potential and nurturing dreams. It symbolises our dedication to bringing ambitious visions to life and guiding future leaders on their path success. Together with the FD team, we've created a brand that doesn't just navigate the journey to becoming a doctor but champions it, empowering students to turn their aspirations into achievements. We live for this work: meaningful, impactful, deeply rewarding, and different."
- Tebo Mpanza, Client Director at Unfound Studio