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After serving 100 colleges over 25 years, we have learned that the college and university brands that have become schools of consequence embody these best practices: 1. Set a far horizon. It’s about a quiet, steady and ongoing care and feeding of the brand. It’s about cultivating new and better habits. It’s about embodying the mindset of a marathon runner, not a sprinter. 2. Infuse brand essence into every aspect of the institution. Enhancing enrollment operations, student services, career placement, advancement, alumni relations, and community outreach. 3. Bring the campus community along, ensuring a buy-in at every step. Not taking any short cuts. 4. Invest in first impressions. Paying attention to detail at every touch point – tours, website, viewbooks, social media, classrooms, housing, help desk and more. 5. Tell a better story. Telling smart, authentic, real, honest, surprising, and delightful stories — with students, faculty and alumni as heroes. 6. Go long on proofs, short on claims. Putting your … Continue reading
Posted in: college branding, Higher Education Branding, university branding
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While all .edu websites send important signals and establish vital threads of connection to stakeholders — corporate recruiters, research partners and regional funders/allies — a business school website does so with greater urgency and a far more explicit mandate. We held that truth close as we set about redesigning a new website for the Boler School of Business at John Carroll University, a longstanding pillar of a Cleveland and Northeast Ohio economy that has seen more than its share of challenge and has responded with its distinct brand of resiliency. Through economic cycles of growth and decline, and a steady re-mixing of Cleveland’s regional economy from traditional manufacturing to financial services and, increasingly, medical technology, Boler graduates have provided a steady and reliable source of corporate leadership and entrepreneurial grit. But as is the case with many small and mid-sized colleges, the Boler School of Business struggled to articulate a strategy for strengthening the ties that bind a region’s economy … Continue reading
To find one’s voice and to have the courage to speak it is sacred. But to be heard is divine. This wisdom applies to both people and brands alike. The art of listening is a great gift of life. Cultivating it has been incredibly hard for a person like me who has been struggling and striving most of my life. Crossing cultures made it even more challenging. Landing at fiercely competitive Cornell and Carnegie Mellon was no respite. Becoming the CEO of an entrepreneurial company made it harder. As a Muslim, being under relentless attack has made it very difficult to stay silent and simply listen. True listening begins when you are in equilibrium, when you have arrived, and when you are neither fighting, nor in flight. I have been conscientiously working on getting better at this divine art. All my life, I have searched for quiet spaces where I could be who I truly am. Nature, mountains, parks and … Continue reading
Posted in: Inspirations
There isn’t an algorithm for defining brand architecture for higher education. However, some heuristics or common patterns exist that will help colleges and universities frame their specific situation. Here is a start: I. Branded House: This model applies to most private colleges. Harvard is a great example of this. Note how Harvard’s parent brand has great equity and visually plays a dominant role for all its graduate schools. Most private schools are quite protective of their parent brand name, which is wise, but certain situations demand exceptions. II. Branded House with some exceptions: Though Harvard, the oldest university in the US, isn’t willing to give up its primacy for anyone, University of Pennsylvania is willing to let wealthy donors get primacy in naming rights. For most of us, Wharton comes to mind. Interestingly, Wharton at UPenn was named in 1881. Kellogg at Northwestern was named in 1908. In an expanding world of university choices, Universities ought to turn their business, … Continue reading
Politics aside… what do design, branding and political experts really think of President Trump’s “Make America Great Again!” red trucker hat? Some call it the worst design of 2016, while others say it was the most hated and most loved symbol of the 2016 election. But most industry designers and branding experts agree that the hat was horrifically designed but terrifically effective. Here is a sampling of thoughts and comments from industry experts and political players on the topic of President Trump’s red trucker hat: Lindsay Ballant, Adjunct Professor – Maryland College of Art “In a way, the fluke success of that hat was a rejection of ‘design thinking’ and ‘design strategy’ as a whole.” She added, “Designers should really think about that, because we’ve built a whole economy around that as a practice. We’ve sold ourselves on the premise that this is how things should be done.” Ballant concluded, “It should be something that designers think about. Good design … Continue reading
Much like an ill-fitting or dated suit, companies and institutions with out-dated or poorly executed identities need to be aware of the perception their identity has in the markets they serve. Does your identity still fit your organization and what it does? Does it represent who you are? Is it time for a change, and if so, how can you be sure? The best identities help to synthesize and crystallize a brand to their consumers. From cave paintings dated 40,000 years ago to digital marvels created today, it is clear that humanity has, throughout history, continued to visually create symbols to trigger an emotion, a memory, a response. The definition of identity is listed as a condition or character as to who a person or what a thing is; the qualities, beliefs, that distinguish or identify a person or thing. The importance and power of an identity cannot be understated. While brands speak to the minds and hearts of followers, an identity and its visual … Continue reading
Posted in: Brand Voice, Branding, Identity, Marketing Strategy
Neuroscientists would disagree with Juliet’s famous words from William Shakespeare’s Romeo & Juliet. What’s in a name? that which we call a rose By any other name would smell as sweet Smell as sweet? yes. Perceived the same as a rose? Probably not. Brain scientists can prove with imaging techniques that different words evoke vastly different responses in our brains, and possibly in our souls. Wall Street investors, the neuroscientists of business, certainly prove that the right words liberate corporate prosperity. But well-intentioned words alone don’t change corporate destiny. From the brand marketer’s perspective, a brand positioning line has a very specific job to do. Let’s take a look at four brand stories. What motivated Nike to create “Just Do It”? Once upon a time, Nike was a brand that only served pro-athletes. Then Phil Knight decided to change its brand aspiration to serve not only pro-athletes but also all athletic-minded people. “Just Do It” was created to appeal to … Continue reading
Posted in: brand position lines, Brand Voice
Come January 20th hate will have a new home. It’s called the White House. Not every person or even the majority of people who voted for Donald Trump is hateful, but haters do love him. They see a guy who is now leader of the free world, and they believe that deep down he’s just like them. They feel empowered. They’re emboldened. And they’re starting to act out. At a lunch counter a few days ago, I met a priest who told me that spray-painted swastikas are already springing up on churches near his home of Carlisle, PA. Just over a week ago, student demonstrators at a high school in York, PA could be seen and heard shouting “White power!” The moment was captured on You Tube and prompted our Governor to convene Pennsylvania’s public school’s leadership for a special strategy session. It’s not even Christmas yet, and haters are overjoyed. They’ve been busy on the brand front too. Last … Continue reading
Stop what you’re doing and take a look around. How many brands do you see? Chances are that your morning coffee, handbag, phone, car and computer all have clear logos and identifiable brands. Branding is so pervasive that the average three-year-old can identify literally hundreds of companies by their logos. Just drive past a McDonalds or Toys “ R” Us with your favorite toddler in tow as proof. As consumers, we may not understand the complex branding process in a forensic sense, but we sure understand the power of a great branding. Without much thought, we get the essence of Nike, Apple, Coca-Cola and Google because they tell their stories with religious consistency. The payoff? We engage. We connect. We buy. Like their corporate counterparts, colleges need to leverage strong branding in their higher education marketing initiatives. Homogenized brands that are interchangeable with hundreds of other colleges are no longer adequate. With over 4,000 schools across the country, the explosion … Continue reading
Posted in: Higher Education Branding
Too often, a college or university approaches a brand development exercise unprepared for the journey ahead, and unable to fully realize the rewards at journey’s end. We offer a 5 point checklist to ensure a better experience and outcome at every step. 1. Know Your Motivation A strong, clear and authentic articulation of your brand can accomplish great things. It helps if everyone agrees on the primary motivation before beginning the process. Resist sugar coating. Be as real and as specific as possible. If it’s about a president’s legacy, be candid. If the current enrollment mix and tuition discounting threaten the school’s bottom line, come clean with the data. If alumni have grown distant and disenchanted, invite your most vocal critics into the process. If you want to raise your research profile, know the key departments and labs. Yes, quantitative surveys might confirm and further inform what you know — but rarely do they surprise anyone or change the primary driver. 2. Appraise Content Assets and Talent Your brand will … Continue reading