the real u: building brands that resonate with students, faculty, staff, and donors
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The Real U:Building Brands That Resonate with Students, Faculty, Staff, and Donors
eduWeb ConferenceChicago, IllinoisJuly 28, 2010
Robert M. Moore, Ph.D.President and CEO
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Why Brand?
What is a Higher Education Brand?
The Brand Platform
Brand Activation
o Northern Arizona University
o University of Texas at Arlington
o University of Minnesota, Morris
Agenda
3
Published by CASE in March 2010
Why Brand?
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Pressure From All Sides
Prospects just want to have fun
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Pressure From All Sides
Prospects just want to have fun…and learn something useful.
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Pressure From All Sides
Prospects just want to have fun…and learn something useful.
Students want seminars with Nobel laureates and four-star cuisine.
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Pressure From All Sides
Prospects just want to have fun…and learn something useful.
Students want seminars with Nobel laureates and four-star cuisine.
Parents want to know it’s worth the money.
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Pressure From All Sides
Prospects just want to have fun…and learn something useful.
Students want seminars with Nobel laureates and four-star cuisine.
Parents want to know it’s worth the money.
Alumni want bragging rights.
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Pressure From All Sides
Prospects just want to have fun…and learn something useful.
Students want seminars with Nobel laureates and four-star cuisine.
Parents want to know it’s worth the money.
Alumni want bragging rights.
Trustees want higher rankings and winning teams.
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Pressure From All Sides
Prospects just want to have fun…and learn something useful.
Students want seminars with Nobel laureates and four-star cuisine.
Parents want to know it’s worth the money.
Alumni want bragging rights.
Trustees want higher rankings and winning teams.
Faculty want more respect
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Pressure From All Sides
Prospects just want to have fun…and learn something useful.
Students want seminars with Nobel laureates and four-star cuisine.
Parents want to know it’s worth the money.
Alumni want bragging rights.
Trustees want higher rankings and winning teams.
Faculty want more respect…and raises.
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Prospects just want to have fun…and learn something useful.
Students want seminars with Nobel laureates and four-star cuisine.
Parents want to know it’s worth the money.
Alumni want bragging rights.
Trustees want higher rankings and winning teams.
Faculty want more respect…and raises.
Marketing folks just want a budget that’s aligned with institutional goals.
Pressure From All Sides
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Demographic Issues
Squeeze in traditional student marketplace
o Decrease until 2014, followed by slow increase
o Fewer “ready to succeed, able to pay” students in play
o Greater emphasis on formerly underserved markets
Growth in nontraditional student pool
o Recession compounds need
o Ongoing shift from manufacturing to service/knowledge economy
Effects of slow recovery on middle class
Families looking to 6- or 8-year commitment
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Competition
University of Phoenix now largest in nation
o Photo-finish with SUNY system
Cost factors more prominent
Recession driving reconsideration of options
o Community colleges now an alternative to traditional four-year
o Public now more of an alternative to private
o Live-at-home a viable option
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Competition
“Storefront” schools springing up—attractive to nontraditional students
o Convenience
o Articulation agreements
o Plenty of free parking
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Brand Value of Degree
Brand matters because…
o …it gives the prospect a reason to choose you over the competition.
o …it gives alumni greater pride (which equals greater $$$).
o …it contributes to retention.
o …it builds advocates and ambassadors.
o …it helps with recruitment of faculty and staff (though money matters more).
o …it reinforces lifelong relationships.
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Brands Exist in the Mind
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Brand
But a brand is not…
o …a logo
o …a tagline
o …an ad
o …a viewbook
o …an uncontrollable Presidential impulse
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The Famous Swoosh.
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The Famous Swoosh…Personified.
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The Famous Swoosh…Amplified.
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The Famous Swoosh…Taken too Far.
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Simple Definition:
How your prospect differentiates yourservice/product from that of competitors.
Positioning
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Positioning
A more complex view:
o Everybody has aspirations.
o Everybody wants something.
How can you position your institution to be the answer to their needs—even if not fully voiced?
How can your institution be the hero in their personal narrative?
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Beyond the Basics
Every strong brand is a hero in someone’s narrative.
o Volvo protects my family.
o Red Cross helps me in a disaster.
o Disneyland is fun for all.
o Obama will save us from ruin.
How is your brand a hero? In whose narrative?
o What impact do you have on the lives of students? Faculty? Staff? Alumni? Donors?
o What is different about your offer?
o How does your brand become a valued “badge” of affiliation?
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Positioning
Successful brand positioning…
o Differentiates in terms that matter
o Speaks to diverse constituents
o Clarifies value proposition
o Casts institution in heroic role
o Creates brand ambassadors
o Provides stakeholders a reason to strengthen affiliation
Most important: It makes a promise that you can keep.
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Bo Knows
“Don’t let your mouth write no checks your a** can’t cash.”
- - Bo Diddley
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What is a Strong Academic Brand?
Authentic
Focused
Energetic
Valued
Distinct
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Differentiation
What unique value does your organization provide?
o What do you do better?
o What do you do differently?
o For whom do you do it?
How does that difference meet your audiences’ interests?
Answering these questions provides you with a sustainable competitive advantage.
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Words from the Wise
“Differentiation is one of the most important strategic and tactical activities in which companies must constantly engage. It is not discretionary.”
Theodore Levitt, Thinking About Management
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Words from the Wise
“Differentiation is one of the most important strategic and tactical activities in which companies must constantly engage. It is not discretionary. There is no reason for any company to get stuck in the commodity trap, forever confined to competing on price alone. Historically, companies that have taken and stayed resolutely on the commodity path…have become extinct.”
Theodore Levitt, Thinking About Management
The Brand Platform
P A Y O F F
P L E D G E P E R S O N A L I T Y
B I G I D E A
P R O O F / V A L I D A T I O N
t
C O M P E T I T I V E P O S I T I O N I N G
M I S S I O N
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The Lipman Hearne Brand Platform
Brand Activation
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Brand Activation
Brand positioning works on a visceral level.
Brands are emotional…
o …telling stories.
o …generating response.
o …providing a “reason to believe.”
Great creative brings positioning to life.
Creative must excite, entice, engage. If they don’t care, they won’t act.
Northern Arizona University
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A Mess of Identities
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No Focused Message/Delivery
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Clarity of Purpose
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Marketing goals:
o Change perceptions
o Increase awareness
o Increase enrollment
o Engage influencers and donors
Framing Idea
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Research delivered a key insight…
o Good at talking about the “Where” but not so good at talking about the “What.”
. . .that led to positioning platform.
o Northern Arizona University offers “the difference that matters.”
Key Messages
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Message development
To support new positioning, tie back to President’s determination to focus on the undergraduate experience, and differentiate NAU from its other state university competitors
o Faculty as mentors
o Student-centered
o Personal attention
o Good fit
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P A Y O F F
P L E D G E We don’t look
past you but at you. Together, we can achieve great things.
P E R S O N A L I T Y
The independent, focused “do-er” – ready to take on
the world.
I am in charge of my destiny. I am confident in my skills and choices.
B I G I D E A
Geography is
character.
P R O O F / V A L I D A T I O N
• Location Undergraduate focus• Relative size Faculty teaching
rewards• Student/faculty ratio Outdoor opportunities
C O M P E T I T I V E P O S I T I O N I N G
For “alternate thinkers” who aren’t satisfied with the options available at a large public institution.
M I S S I O NProvide outstanding undergraduate residential education strengthened
by graduate/professional programs and distance delivery.
New Identity
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Identity launch
February 2005
President unveiled identity to campus and media during publicized event
Media coverage extensive
o Local coverage in and around Flagstaff
o Articles in The Arizona Republic in Phoenix
Reviews very positive
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Cheeky, irreverent
Eye-catching
Create an ethos—and the possibility of transformation
o Mountain air makes you smarter.
o Sea level is for wimps.
o Learn how to move mountains.
o Think of it as a 7,000 ft. head start on life.
Door-buster Advertising
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Second Stage Advertising
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Subsequent advertising
Strategic move to next stage: highlighting “What” elements to validate “The Difference That Matters”
o Small class sizes, faculty as mentors, etc.
Differentiates NAU from competitors
Campaign updated periodically with new photography and refined messaging
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Key Message Delivery
Faculty as mentors
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Measuring Success
Faculty as mentors
72
42
62
71
59
84
6674
8175
80
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
Faculty Staff Undergradstudents
Gradstudents
Prospects Recentalums
% Y
/N 2004
2007
Key Message Delivery
Student-centered
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Student-centered
67
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6459
66
86 83 8173
8491
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
Faculty Staff Undergradstudents
Gradstudents
Prospects Recentalums
% Y
/N 2004
2007
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Measuring Success by Marketing Message
Key Message Delivery
Good fit
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Good fit
7772
77 77
50
8488 89
85
68
96
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
Faculty Staff Undergradstudents
Gradstudents
Prospects Recentalums
% Y
/N 2004
2007
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Measuring Success by Marketing Message
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Measuring Success by Enrollment
Increasing enrollment
18,82419,147 19,069
20,562
21,352
22,507
18,000
18,500
19,000
19,500
20,000
20,500
21,000
21,500
22,000
22,500
23,000
2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008
Tot
al e
nrol
lmen
t
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Resource Commitment/Effect
$150,000
$650,000
$1,150,000
$1,650,000
$2,150,000
$2,650,000
$3,150,000
FY'04
FY'05
FY'06
FY'07
FY'08
Fiscal YearTota
l enro
llm
ent
17,000
18,000
19,000
20,000
21,000
22,000
23,000
Mar
keti
ng
spendin
g
Marketingspending
Enrollment
Increased marketing spending has a positive effect on enrollment
University of Texas at Arlington
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Message Set
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Looking for a lot of challenge? Look here.
Our perspective covers 360°.
Our campus is your test track.
Like our students, UTA is on the rise.
We know how to reach untapped potential.
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University of Minnesota, Morris
77
78
81
82
83
84
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Brand-driven marketing works.
The Takeaway?
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