The document discusses the challenges and strategies in higher education branding amidst declining enrollments, especially for for-profit and community colleges. It emphasizes the importance of a well-articulated brand in differentiating institutions and outlines key elements of a brand strategy, including brand vision, positioning, and promise. Additionally, it highlights the necessity of understanding the target audience to effectively communicate a university's unique value propositions.

1. BRANDING FOR HIGHER
EDUCATION

2. THE HIGHER ED
MARKETING LANDSCAPE

3. Enrollment is Down
The hardest hit:
• For-profit colleges
• Community colleges
The Good News?
Enrollment will slowly increase; it will be up
by 2.3 million overall by 2026.
But that’s still a long ways off.

4. College Enrollment
-
5,000,000
10,000,000
15,000,000
20,000,000
25,000,000
Post-secondary enrollment through 2026
Total
Full-time
Part-time
Source: National Center for Education Statistics

5. Colleges share striking similarities in the way they
market themselves.
• How can schools help students make a choice?
• How can schools help students make the right
choice?
Higher Ed Marketing

7. WHAT IS A BRAND?

8. A brand is a “name, term, design,
symbol, or any other feature that
identifies one seller's good or
service as distinct from those of
other sellers.” The American Marketing Association

9. A brand is also:
• The customer experience
• The company’s reputation
• The face of the organization
• A guidepost and set of standards
• The look and feel of your departments,
campuses, website and more.

10. When it comes to branding, a
university is no different than a
company. In fact, the truth is there
may be no sector where a well-
articulated brand matters more than
in the higher education sector.

11. THE BRAND STRATEGY
PROCESS

12. Discovery: The First Step
Goals &
Expectations
Resources &
Constraints
Previous Campaigns
& Interviews
DISCOVERY

13. Our job as an agency is to dig deep down
via the discovery process to find what
differentiates you from the competition.
What Makes You Special?

14. If that’s not immediately apparent, we will find
“nuggets of awesomeness” – spectacular
reasons why some prospective students would
see you as their top choice for a very
unexpected reason.

15. Your brand is what others see,
think and feel about your school.

16. WHY BRAND MATTERS

17. It’s Noisy Out There
Students are beset on all side by
messaging.
Without a unique brand and a great value
proposition, you will get lost in the noise
and your ideal prospects may never hear
your message.

18. The quality of education, the faculty,
the culture, the alumni, the activities –
these are the tangibles that create an
intangible: your why, and that is what
brings students to your school.

19. THE BRAND PLAN

20. Six short, simple ideas:
1. Brand Architecture
The relationship between your main
brand and any sub-brands, supporting
brands and programs that you have.
a. Your university
b. Schools within the university
c. Programs within the schools
d. Classes within the programs
e. Support programs and activities.

21. 2. Brand Vision: A tangible statement about
where you are and where you want to be
based on the university’s objectives.
3. Brand Positioning: There are dozens of
definitions floating around, but to put it
simply, it’s what makes you better and
different.

22. 4. Brand Pillars: Definitive, factual pieces
of proof that support why your brand
positioning is true.
5. Brand Personality: A snapshot of how
your brand behaves, its tone, its voice,
and who it would be if it were a person.

23. 6. Brand Promise: The promise is a
distilled statement of what your brand will
always deliver - what it will be famous for.

24. A reflection of your strategy
• Corporate Identity: Corporate ID refers
to your name, logo, and slogan, and how
they work together.
• Tone: The type of language you use, and
how you want to make people feel when
they visit you, and read or experience
your promotional materials.

25. • Visual Elements: Color palette, fonts,
photographic style, etc. - the signature of
how you communicate.
• Concept: The big creative idea that you
become associated with, that engages
your audiences, and is remembered.

26. THE BRAND POSITION

27. A Litmus Test
• Available
• Deliverable
• Salient
• Interesting
A Solid Brand Position is:

28. “You cannot bore people into
liking you.”
David Ogilvy

29. m5 Marketing US is a full service marketing agency that bases
everything we do on understanding – of who you are, of what you
need, and of the best approach to get you there.
707 Chestnut St., Manchester, NH 03104 s (603) 627-9600
Group m5 Moncton, NB; Halifax, NS; St, John’s NL; Charlottetown, PE