The Make Up of Institutional Branding: Who,What, How?

Tertiary Education and Management - The purpose of this paper is to report on who creates branding within institutions of higher learning, and what impact branding has on core institutional...     

Branding a state university: doing it right

Shrinking financial support from governments and forecast declines in the college-going population have combined to exert tremendous pressure on institutions of higher learning. Branding as a strategy has become more popular as a way of differentiating an institution from its competition, but the complexity of higher education makes branding an even more difficult task than in traditional, commercial contexts. This paper describes the process adopted by a particular state university in the USA to navigate the branding terrain. Armed with research evidence, the university defined a brand position and implemented it through creative executions that resonated with diverse stakeholders. The paper suggests that the branding process, by taking several factors into account, generated a successful branding campaign measured in terms of receptivity to communication messages, but still does not answer the difficult questions about the role of branding in higher education.     

‘Hottest brand,coolest pedagogy’: approaches to corporate branding in Singapore's higher education sector

This article examines the corporate branding efforts of Singapore's publicly funded higher education institutions within a context of neoliberal marketization. Adopting a discourse-analytic perspective, it examines the kind of branding approaches employed by Singapore's universities and polytechnics, and how these approaches are realized discursively in their brand artefacts. Three main approaches are identified and discussed. Referred to as (i) characterizing the brand; (ii) positioning the brand and (iii) personalizing the brand, they are constituted by a variety of language devices and discursive strategies such as positive evaluation, colloquial language and the use of particular metaphors, and represent a spread of approaches ranging from the more fact/reason-based to the experience/emotion-oriented. While the institutions employ a range of approaches, the findings of the analysis suggest that experience/emotion-oriented approaches are better elaborated in the artefacts, and gaining traction in the sector as a whole.     

Positioning university as a brand: distinctions between the brand promise of Russell Group, 1994 Group,University Alliance,and Million+ universities

Branding is now widely used by higher education (HE) institutions, yet questions still surround the transference of private sector concepts to a university context. This article reports on findings from studies that investigated the brand promises of four UK universities – one from each of the HE ‘mission groups’. The evidence indicated that, contrary to existing published presumptions, there is considerable potential for the application of branding in HE, but in differing and nuanced ways. Clear branding themes emerged across the cases such as environment, experiences, aspiration, and global positioning. While these enabled the universities to position their brands with distinction, the overriding method used across the cases – and the key point of differentiation – proved to be the presence of a core brand promise.     

International University Education: An Australian Perspective

This paper attempts to explore the effectiveness of UK universities' websites. The area of branding in higher education has received increasing academic investigation, but little work has researched how universities demonstrate their brand promises through their websites. The quest to differentiate through branding can be challenging in the university context, however. It is argued that those institutions that have a strong distinctive image will be in a better position to face a changing future. Employing a multistage methodology, the web pages of 20 UK universities were investigated by using a combination of content and multivariable analysis. Results indicated ‘traditional values’ such as teaching and research were often well communicated in terms of online brand but ‘emotional values’ like social responsibility and the universities' environments were less consistently communicated, despite their increased topicality. It is therefore suggested that emotional values may offer a basis for possible future online differentiation.     

Internal branding in higher education: dialectical tensions underlying the discursive legitimation of a new brand of student diversity

ABSTRACT

Most studies on branding in higher education focus on external branding or image-building towards external stakeholders such as students. Internal branding is an underexplored topic, even though it should be considered as important as external branding. Internal branding is about achieving the necessary internal support for the external brand. Drawing on the theoretical concept of discursive legitimation, we explore the strategies that contribute to an internally supported new brand with student diversity as brand value. We conducted a case study of a Flemish university college that has (largely) succeeded in achieving internal support for its new external brand of student diversity. Analyzing the case from the perspective of Critical Discourse Analysis, we specifically zoomed in on the dialectical tensions underlying the discursive legitimation of this new brand. We identified three specific tensions, which illustrate the inherent complexity of the internal branding process: authorization as (dis)empowerment, normalization as (dis)empowerment and moralization as (dis)empowerment.     

INTEGRATING RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT AND INSTITUTIONAL PLANNING

Fundraising has long been a central activity in four‐year institutions, whereas community colleges have only recently begun to see the necessity for such efforts. Resource development and private fundraising as a community college function have only been marginally understood and often are only instigated in times of financial crises. In today's educational arena, development needs to become a long‐term core function in order to maximize the funding base of community colleges. This article gives a brief look at the historical background of fundraising in community colleges, contrasts such efforts with the four‐year institutions, and discusses the matter of integrating resource development with institutional planning processes. Several examples of successful community college development efforts are given, along with a discussion of several planning models that might be used as guides for integrating resource development efforts with institutional planning.     

ASSESSING THE FINANCIAL AND INSTITUTIONAL CONCERNS OF ARKANSAS COMMUNITY AND TECHNICAL COLLEGES: A MODEL APPROACH

We surveyed Arkansas community and technical colleges to determine the extent to which these institutions had been affected, during the past 3 years, by tight budgets, volatile enrollments, unstable state support, and other unfavorable forces. In addition, we requested information concerning methods used by these institutions to address such problems. The survey instrument collected data pertaining to institutional demographics, budgetary trends, tuition trends, faculty issues, expenditure control methods used, institutional advancement activities, projections as to future financial directions, and staff development needs. The findings indicate that enrollments at most Arkansas community and technical colleges are increasing and budgets are growing, but often in amounts inadequate to compensate for rising costs. Arkansas 2‐year institutions are responding to this challenge by raising tuition, increasing the use of part‐time faculty, and seeking new sources of revenue. Staff development needs were identified for those functional areas in which additional training and development will enhance staff members’ ability to respond to changing economic conditions. This survey can be replicated in other community college systems, thus serving as a model for assessing the financial and institutional concerns of community and technical colleges nationwide.     

山东青海两省旅游目的地品牌化实践模式比较及其启示

以“好客山东”和“大美青海”这两个省级旅游目的地品牌为例,概括了山东、青海两省旅游目的地品牌化实践模式的特征,并从品牌化方式、品牌化阶段两个方面对二者进行了比较分析。研究表明,省级旅游目的地品牌化实践受区域所处发展阶段的影响,其成功得益于以下要素：政府主导,建立品牌化合作关系;独特、精准的品牌本体开发与物化展示;长期统一而连贯的品牌沟通;实施品牌全策略,建立系统的品牌层次结构     

Brand personality in higher education: anthropomorphized university marketing communications

While the university prospectus is recognized as an important marketing communication tool for higher education recruitment strategies, it has become overlooked as many researchers have focused on other communication channels, such as social media and websites. Although focus has been placed upon Higher Education Institution (HEI) brand differentiation, little is known about the similarities and differences between institutional marketing communications utilized to build their brands. This research seeks to explore and analyze the prospectuses of the top 10 HEIs in the UK and to draw comparison between their relative positions using a brand personality lens. While the brand personality trait of sincerity was common for all of the HEIs, there was clear differentiation on the basis of other traits, demonstrating that brand personality deepens our understanding of HEI positioning. Two main brand personality groupings were evident among the top 10 institutions: excitement and competence.     

Contextual influences: building brand community in large and small colleges

This research extends recent efforts that have introduced and empirically tested a conceptual model of brand community in the context of higher education. This emerging literature has indicated that brand community provides a framework that can inform and guide marketing investments in ways that lead to affinity and stronger loyalty to the brand and institution. This paper presents the results of a national survey that examines the potential impact that institutional size may have on the relationships of an alumni brand community. This paper also explores the implications of the size of the educational institution on relevant and desired marketing outcomes that include the willingness to recommend the university to friends and family and a desire to purchase licensed apparel.     

B2B企业要素品牌战略的基本要求与实施条件分析

在经济全球化的背景下,企业越来越重视差异化竞争优势的开发,以稳固其市场地位。这种差异化竞争优势的建立逐渐从有形资产向无形资产转化,即品牌化。由于面临的最终顾客的差异,在转化过程中B2B企业面临的困难远大于B2C企业。文章通过对要素品牌战略的研究,为B2B企业提供了品牌化的有效途径。在阐述了要素品牌战略的形成背景和概念后,确定了要素品牌的动机,即以要素品牌或成分品牌为中心,它与最终产品生产商结成联盟以便为要素品牌建立品牌知名度,从而通过价值链产生拉动效率。从而进一步分析出该战略的实施要求与基本条件。     

From PISA to national branding: exploring Finnish education®

Since the recent global paradigm shift in the governance of higher education toward business and marketing, internationally competitive education is increasingly considered as an asset for governments. Consequently, governments started to invest in education branding and marketing their educational systems. In Finland, national interest in education branding rose especially since the country's success in the programme for international student assessment studies created a positive reputation of its basic education. In this article, the authors investigate how this reputation is transformed into a general Finnish education brand, based upon Finland's official Country Brand Report (2010). The governmental discourse on Finnish education reveals a fusion of education and national branding, which is why the authors suggest to discuss the Finnish education brand as Finnish education®. The article provides an analysis of the elements constituting the brand and opens up a critical discussion on the ethics of branding education through cultural and national characteristics.     

Branding of Flemish higher education institutions: a strategic balance perspective

Branding of higher education institutions (HEIs) is an expanding area of research. The existing literature mainly draws on the strategic management perspective that argues that HEIs are pressured to develop brands which differentiate them from their competitors. Past studies, however, do insufficiently take into account that most HEIs are positioned in systems that contain both competitive pressures (to differentiate) and institutional pressures (to meet taken-for-granted expectations), where neither of the pressures is clearly dominant. Our multiple case study of the five Flemish universities finds that branding can simultaneously address competitive and institutional pressures and that the universities studied combine aspects of distinctiveness with elements of similarity.     

Compulsory Higher Education Teacher Training in Sweden: Development of a national standards framework based on the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning

Today visible proofs of excellence in teaching and learning are increasingly important aspects of institutional branding in higher education (HE). Teaching competence is brought forward as a central aspect of the quality of programmes. Still, the induction of new university teachers is managed in many different ways. Approaches may vary according to how teaching competence is perceived; as growing from practice only, requiring formal courses or, for instance, outlined in the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL) movement. In Sweden, the HE Ordinance from 2002 states that to get permanent positions, lecturers should have completed Compulsory HE Teacher Training (CHETT). The size and organisation of the courses were not regulated in the Ordinance and institutional practices varied. In a three‐year project intended learning outcomes for CHETT was suggested. These outcomes are based on SoTL and linked to an estimated work‐load of 10 weeks. Based on a national survey in 2006, institutional responses to the proposals are analysed.     

From Oxbridge to the Market‐place ‐‐ Management and Leadership in Higher Education

Institutions of higher education world‐wide are in a state of flux; whether in developed countries where there is unease on the part of the community and politicians as to the value of such education for the resources expended, or in newly emergent nations where the institutions are often valued for the contribution they can make to nation‐building, but where the elitism they foster can lead to the imposition of a new social stratum on formerly agrarian societies.

Against this background this paper calls for an alert, active response to the task of leadership and management in our institutions. It is postulated that to meet the situation most institutions of higher education (IHEs) may have to move from the traditional “Oxbridge” community of scholars stance, to a more market‐oriented approach in patterns of governance and in their relationship with the societies they serve.     

论农产品区域品牌伞策略背书效果的影响因素

农产品区域品牌伞策略强调的是农产品区域品牌作为伞品牌对伞下农产品及其品牌产生庇护和提携作用。本文试图探讨影响农产品区域品牌伞策略背书效果的因素,在参考相关文献的基础上,归纳出可能的三大类影响因素:农产品区域品牌伞背书策略(包括有无背书和背书程度)、农产品区域品牌特征(包括品牌强度和品牌形象)和农产品区域品牌与农产品契合度,并提出六个假说,籍此构建出一个影响农产品区域品牌伞策略背书效果的概念模型。     

Mutuality,Metaphor and Micropolitics in Collaborative Governance: a Joint Venture in UK Higher Education

As market‐led higher education systems become the ‘new normal’, a wider variety of organisational forms is likely to emerge. This paper reports on the findings of a qualitative and historical study that aimed to explore the meaning of collaborative governance in a unique and long‐standing higher education joint venture in England. Semi‐structured interviews were conducted with senior‐level stakeholders from both participating institutions: architects of the joint venture, institutional leaders and faculty managers. Interviewees frequently referred to the metaphor of marriage and described the institutions as partners who don't live together but have responsibility for the children! The paper offers reflective insights on governance, leadership and management and highlights the tensions of balancing mutual interests, the use of metaphor to make sense of critical incidents and the role of micropolitics of enacting leadership at multiple levels. The paper contributes to conceptual understanding and knowledge of collaborative governance in higher education.     

Higher Learning,Greater Good: The Private and Social Benefits of Higher Education

Abstract

Everyone has a personal brand. To ensure success at work you need to manage your personal brand which is made up of your tangible and intangible attributes. This paper reviews the literature around personal branding, looks at some of the attributes and discusses ways you can reflect and begin to build your personal brand in a higher education context. The paper finishes with some five ways to make sure your personal brand fails!     

Applying brand management to higher education through the use of the Brand Flux Model™ – the case of Arcadia University

Within an increasingly more competitive landscape, Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) are becoming more marketized and promotionalized. Brand building is becoming a strategic administrative goal, yet clear brand management models are lacking. This paper utilizes the Brand Flux Model^? to assist in tracking the fluxing nature or historical patterns of branding practices, and provides a graphic representation for following changes in branding or changes in position that result in either Reinforcing an existing brand, or Revitalizing, Refocusing, Renaming, or Retiring a brand. Through a case analysis of an HEI that eventually underwent a radical renaming, the various phases of the Brand Flux Model^? are explored and the critical aspect of ongoing brand management efforts is reinforced. The paper also highlights why periodic brand audits are necessary to ascertain that what the institution believes it is promoting and projecting is consistent with the actual brand image held by stakeholders, and suggests that benchmarking brand management efforts and correlating them with the stage and actions of the Brand Flux Model^? can assist in understanding branding as a growth platform for service organizations. For practitioners, this study provides a model to assist in brand management and renaming scenarios, and offers insight into channels for optimal corporate strategy. It demonstrates that making changes in branding or changes in position in order to Revitalize, Refocus (rebrand and reposition) or even Rename a brand, and then Reinforce those decisions, is critical to maintaining brand health.