University Business - April 2006 - (Page 50)

The Art of Reputation Building For the MIT Sloan School of Management, the goal was slightly flat or declining, competition for students was increasing, and there was a greater willingness for South Dakota students to travel beyond different. Rather than simply increase awareness of its own brand, the school sought to more deliberately link to MIT's super brand. their home state. The mechanics of trying to organize messages at a complex in- Margaret Andrews, executive director of Marketing, Admissions stitution was another factor, Lavallee adds. Our image was murky. and Alumni Relations, says, Among our peer business schools, We had no graphic standards, no consistency in our communica- MIT Sloan holds a unique position at the intersection of technol- ogy/innovation/research and management. While the world is well tions. At one point we had 162 different logos and names. Dennis Trotter, vice president for Enrollment and Marketing and aware of the institute's pre-eminent position in the worlds of sci- ence and engineering, that same level of dean of Admission at Franklin & Mar- I t does little good to awareness did not seem to exist for our shall College Pa. , had a similar need. business school. Alumni consistently complained that launch a campaign Another issue is the widely held mis- none of their friends or associates knew that you are not conception that MIT Sloan is only a about the college, and prospective stu- school for those with backgrounds and dents were concerned when their friends willing to sustain for a interest in science and technology, which at high school didn't seem to know any- long period of time. is not the case, Andrews points out. In thing about the college. While Franklin an effort to celebrate our position and & Marshall is a prestigious academic in- stitution, ranked among the top 40 national liberal colleges in the communicate our mission to the outside world, we wanted to cre- U.S. News & World Report college guide, it lacked vitality and energy ate this comprehensive branding plan that would help change those perceptions. in the marketplace. We needed to deal with these issues. Branding more closely with MIT is the main objective. It's MIT Boise State University Idaho , on the other hand, needed a brand strategy because it is an institution on the move. Frank Zang, Sloan, not just Sloan, after all. Consistency in the school's mes- director of Communications and Marketing, explains, The Boise saging and look and feel yet allowing for important differences State that is approaching its 75th anniversary in 2007-08 is a far cry among programs and units in communicating with their constitu- from the Boise Junior College that was founded in 1932. The current encies is another objective. Biola University Calif. also felt the need to build a more ef- image of Boise State was being driven by memories of Boise Junior College, the limited advertising that was being done by the College fective brand. Irene Neller, senior director of Integrated Market- of Applied Technology, and the success of the football team. A va- ing Communications, says that along with the university's incred- riety of events and programs were being individually promoted, yet ible growth 49 percent increase in enrollment since 1996 came a proactive brand campaign for the university didn't exist. Surveys greater confusion as more and more people began defining what indicated that people thought positively of Boise State but didn't re- Biola stood for and questioned where it was headed. Unfortunately, many of these definitions conflicted, competed with each other, and ally know why, Zang says. We needed to fill in that blank. Primary catalysts for creating a brand strategy were the desire to lacked continuity. We needed to respond institutionally. Biola addressed these issues through a strategic planning process raise the profile of the university as well as re-identify and reposition Boise State. Zang recalls BSU President Bob Kustra saying to him that included a brand-marketing component. One goal was to during a university convocation: With your talent and my impa- increase the alignment among key departments and people behind tience, we shall distinguish this great university in every way and the university's goals, Neller says. As a result, more people began add inestimable value to the Boise State degree and the quality of speaking with `one voice.' Everyone began hearing the same brand message and began taking notice of what was taking place at Biola. education it symbolizes. On with the job! 50 | April 2006 universitybusiness.com Branding.indd 50 3/23/06 12:17:04 PM http://www.universitybusiness.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of University Business - April 2006

Table of Contents
College Index
Company Index
Advisory Board
Editor's Note
Stats Watch
People Watch
Sense of Place
On the Hill
Viewpoint
Future Shock
Financial Aid
Admissions
COVER STORY: Averting Housing Havoc
The Art of Reputation Building
Web Conferencing: Rich Media on the Desktop
All Rights Preserved
Admissions Messages vs. Admissions Realities
Internet Technology
What's New
Calendar of Events
Direct Connect
End Note

University Business - April 2006