At an intimate London event for partners and industry friends, Samuel Vetrak, CEO, revealed the new identity of the firm formerly known as StudentMarketing. From today it is known as Bonard.
In 10 years he said the company had outgrown its original moniker, with its research activities far outstripping simply marketing intelligence (though he stressed this is still a part of the company’s activities), and although focused on the global education sector, it is not student-facing.
“We’re not part of a merger or acquisition. This name will allow us to grow”
The new name, Bonard, reflects a fresh start for Vetrak, CEO and founder, and his colleagues, but he was clear there was “no revolution here”.
“We are not selling our shares, nor part of a merger or acquisition. This name will allow us to grow,” Vetrak told the selected guests.
He added the name and surrounding branding was produced in consultation with an outside design firm, and Vetrak explained that “it means nothing”, in and of itself, but this was the idea.
Instead of choosing another name that may also need to be reassessed in another decade, he said Bonard gives the company the opportunity “to fill the name with our brand”.
In the last decade, the firm has produced over 250 research assignments, over a growing number of nations and sectors, and has grown its payroll from a skeleton staff in a single room, to more than 50 staff in four global offices – including the landmark Asian office in Tianjin.
Gonzalo Peralta, executive director at Languages Canada, was Bonard’s special guest at The Gherkin, and spoke of the part the firm played in the “transformation” of the international sector over the past two decades.
“They’re where the rubber hits the road,” Peralta said, “they make a difference”.
He explained that the company’s accurate and reliable data helped transform the industry from the party of 1999, “to the very tight margin market we have now”.
“Now, that expertise is also available as packages with significant benefits – faster access to regularly updated data on the student sector, at an affordable cost,” BONARD’s COO and former China head Igor Skibickij said.
