Reputation, resilience, and revenue: The Brand Strategy for every university.
How brand can help to secure your institution’s future.
University vice-chancellors across the UK are grappling with a range of critical challenges: financial constraints, declining course offerings, industrial action, leadership turnover, and intense scrutiny over executive pay.
These issues threaten institutional stability and long-term viability. But could a strong university brand be part of the solution? Evidence from successful global organisations and our experience suggests it can.
This article explores how brand, combined with effective stakeholder engagement, can support universities in navigating these turbulent times.
Challenges facing UK universities
You are only too well aware of these so we won't dwell on them, but for context:
Building a strong Brand to address challenges
A robust university brand offers a solution to these challenges by attracting students, funding, partnerships, and talent. Here's how branding can address key issues, supported by examples from global brands:
Financial stability
Brand is a long-term investment. But the earlier that begins the earlier the benefits will be felt.
A strong brand attracts more domestic and international students, increasing tuition revenue. It also opens doors to corporate sponsorships, alumni donations, and commercial opportunities, helping to offset budget shortfalls. For instance, Apple's brand equity allows it to charge premium prices, generating consistent revenue streams that sustain innovation and growth. And Spotify has leveraged its premium tier to maintain financial health while offering free, ad-supported access to a broader audience. Universities could consider similar tiered models for short courses or certifications to attract a wider audience.
Restoring academic focus
Brand can provide focus to your offering and support reorganisation around those priorities.
A well-defined brand reinforces academic excellence and can drive enrollment in under-supported disciplines like science and technology, ensuring long-term economic contributions. Google, for example, has aligned its brand with innovation and technological advancement, attracting top talent and partnerships.
Improving staff morale
Brand activates vision and translates that into internal and external communications and behaviour.
A strong institutional identity fosters pride and purpose among staff, improving morale and retention. Positive messaging about achievements and future plans can help rebuild trust and stability after industrial disputes. Starbucks, known for its employee-focused culture, has used branding to attract and retain talent through initiatives like free college education and mental health benefits.
Leadership continuity
Brand, in institutions like universities, has to transcend even the most inspiring leader.
Brand consistency provides stability during leadership transitions, maintaining institutional momentum and stakeholder confidence. Microsoft's seamless leadership transitions, such as Satya Nadella's rise, demonstrated how strong brands can support organisational stability and long-term growth. And LEGO weathered leadership changes by ensuring its brand values of creativity and quality were non-negotiable. Universities could similarly codify their values and bake them into brand behaviour to ensure stability during leadership transitions.
Enhancing public trust
Brand is an expression of and a guardrail of your values.
Transparency and accountability within branding strategies demonstrate ethical governance, addressing scrutiny over executive pay and reinforcing public trust. Patagonia's commitment to sustainability and transparent practices have built strong customer loyalty and trust, even during times of scrutiny. Meanwhile Fairtrade has built global trust by adhering to ethical practices and transparency in supply chains. Universities could adopt rigorous public reporting of social impact to build similar credibility.
Brand Positioning: Salience in the minds of your audiences
A university’s brand is not only about visual identity or promotional messaging; it is about how the institution is positioned in the hearts and minds of its audiences. This positioning determines how prospective students, alumni, employers, and partners perceive the institution and what problems or opportunities they believe the university can help unlock.
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Salience in decision-making
Strong brand positioning ensures the university is top-of-mind when audiences consider education, research, or innovation solutions. For example, Harvard University is synonymous with leadership and academic excellence, making it a natural choice for ambitious students and global leaders alike.
Articulating a distinct positioning
While universities often host diverse schools and faculties, a clear, overarching positioning leverages this diversity to drive greater engagement and results. Nike, for instance, positions itself as a brand for athletes of all levels, unifying its various product lines under a shared vision of inspiration and performance. Similarly, a university can position itself as a hub for solving global challenges, and attracting stakeholders across disciplines. The key is doing this in a way that builds on authenticity to drive distinction in the market.
Driving engagement through relevance
Positioning a university as a solution to pressing societal needs—such as sustainability, technological advancement, or social equity—makes the institution more relevant to its audiences. MIT’s reputation for innovation aligns with global technology trends, ensuring its brand remains relevant and compelling. We often use the term cultural relevance in relation to how a university should be perceived.
Leveraging sub-brands
Large organisations like universities often house multiple faculties or schools, each serving different audiences. Positioning these sub-brands under a cohesive institutional identity strengthens the overall brand. Unilever, with its diverse product portfolio, aligns its sub-brands like Dove and Ben & Jerry’s under a shared commitment to sustainability and social responsibility.
Aligning brand and outcomes
The ultimate test of brand positioning is whether it delivers on its promise. Universities must demonstrate measurable outcomes—such as employability, impactful research, and societal contributions—to validate their positioning and maintain credibility.
The role of stakeholder engagement in building your brand
Stakeholder engagement plays a critical role in strengthening university brands and addressing institutional challenges. Effective engagement supports trust, collaboration, and long-term sustainability in the following ways:
Building Trust and Credibility
Transparent communication with stakeholders ensures accountability and reinforces confidence in leadership. Positive relationships protect reputations during crises. Similar to Nike's crisis recovery, where it engaged stakeholders and rebuilt trust after facing labour practice controversies.
Enhancing Student Satisfaction
Involving students in governance, curriculum development, and campus initiatives strengthens their connection to the institution and transforms them into vocal advocates. Disney's customer-first approach shows how focusing on the audience builds strong brand loyalty and advocacy.
Leveraging Alumni Networks
Engaged alumni provide financial support, mentorship opportunities, and success stories that enhance the university's image. Much like LinkedIn, which leverages its alumni network to drive networking opportunities, universities can build lifelong engagement.
Industry Partnerships and Innovation
Collaborating with businesses boosts funding, research opportunities, and graduate employability, reinforcing the university's role as an innovation hub. Among many others,?Siemens and IBM actively collaborate with academic institutions?highlighting how partnerships can foster research, innovation, and workforce development.
Community and Global Impact
Engaging local and international communities through cultural events, sustainability programs, and partnerships enhances visibility and positions the university as a global leader. Unilever's sustainable living initiatives provide an example of how social responsibility can drive global impact.
Staff Engagement and Retention
Empowered staff contribute to teaching quality and research output, fostering loyalty and reducing turnover. Google's focus on workplace culture highlights how engaged employees drive innovation and productivity.
Conclusion
The challenges faced by UK universities require bold solutions rooted in strategic brand and stakeholder engagement. Building a strong brand can address financial constraints, boost enrollment, stabilise governance, and improve morale. Stakeholder engagement amplifies these efforts by fostering trust, collaboration, and resilience.
Drawing inspiration from global brands, universities can adopt proven strategies to position themselves in the hearts and minds of their audiences, ensuring relevance and success in higher education for years to come.
Calling this a Survival Playbook sounds too trite in the circumstances. But brand-building is a tried and trusted methodology and like it or not universities are brands in the minds of your audiences.
And we think they should be the most exciting brands in the world.
"Empowering Creativity in Higher Education – Shaping Bright Minds for a Better Future" IEEE Senior Member Member of The Association of International Education Administrators (AIEA) Higher Education Consultant
4 周I can't agree more that University branding must be like a lighthouse shining on the pathway toward greatness for students, parents, faculty, and industry partners. Strong branding ingrained in the minds of stakeholders as a symbol of trust, innovation, and leadership in education. Reputation is to a prestigious university what foundation stones are to a building; it rests on the contributions of faculty members and alumni committed to making their mark on the world through the advancement of knowledge. Universities must think of themselves as the ultimate reservoir for knowledge and are expected to change with the requirements of society while upbringing the next generation of leaders capable of navigating future challenges of an ever-shifting world.