Abstract
Branding is a phenomenon that has become increasingly common in higher education over the last few years. It entails defining the essence of what a university “is”, what it “stands for”, and what it is going to be known for, requiring precision and consistency in the formulations as well as internal commitment to the brand. This article details what happened in the process of defining the essence of a regional university in Northern Norway. Addressing the challenges, the article reveals that the notions of consistency, precision, and commitment generated resistance from faculty members and made the process very difficult to fulfill. An important finding is that a university may be too complex to be encapsulated by one brand or identity definition. The article describes this process, explains the reasons for the difficulties, and discusses some implications for higher education branding.
Similar content being viewed by others
Notes
All quotes are translated from Norwegian by the authors.
References
Aaker, D. A. (1991). Managing brand equity: Capitalizing on the value of a brand name. New York: Free Press.
Aaker, J. (1997). Dimensions of brand personality. Journal of Marketing Research, 34, 347–356.
Aaker, J. (1999). The malleable self: The role of self-expression in persuasion. Journal of Marketing Research, 36, 45–57.
Albert, S., & Whetten, D. (1985). Organizational identity. In L. L. Cummings & B. Staw (Eds.), Research in organizational behavior (pp. 263–295). Greenwich, CT: JAI.
Amaral, A., Meek, V. L., & Larsen, I. M. (2003). The higher education managerial revolution? Dordrecth: Kluwer Academic Publishers.
Anderson, G. (2008). Mapping academic resistance in the managerial university. Organization, 15(2), 251–270.
Antorini, Y. M., & Schultz, M. (2005). Corporate branding and the conformity trap. In M. Schultz, Y. M. Antorini, & F. F. Csaba (Eds.), Corporate branding. Purpose/people/processes (pp. 57–78). København: Copenhagen Business School Press.
Argenti, P. A., & Forman, J. (2002). The power of corporate communication. New York: McGraw-Hill.
Baker, M. J., & Balmer, J. M. T. (1997). Visual identity: Trappings or substance? European Journal of Marketing, 31(5), 366.
Balmer, J. M. T. (2001). Corporate identity, corporate branding and corporate marketing. Seeing through the fog. European Journal of Marketing, 35(3/4), 248–291.
Balwin, G., & James, R. (2000). The market in Australian hiher education and the concept of student as informed consumer. Journal of Higher Education Policy and Management, 22(2), 139–148.
Belanger, C., Mount, J., & Wilson, M. (2002). Institutional image and retantion. Tertiary Education and Management, 8(3), 217–230.
Bleiklie, I., & Kogan, M. (2007). Organization and governance of universities. Higher Education Policy, 20(4), 477–493.
Bulotaite, N. (2003). University heritage—an institutional tool for branding and marketing. Higher Education in Europe, 28(4), 6.
Chapleo, C. (2004). Interpretation and implementation of reputation/brand management by UK university leaders. International Journal of Educational Advancement, 5(1), 7–23.
Chapleo, C. (2005). Do universities have ‘successful’ brands? International Journal of Educational Advancement, 6(1), 54–64.
Christensen, L. T., Torp, S., & Firat, A. F. (2005). Integrated marketing communication and postmodernity: An odd couple? Corporate Communications: An International Journal, 10(2), 156–167.
Clark, B. R. (1998). Creating entrepreneurial university organizations: Pathways of transfomation. Oxford: Pergamon.
Corley, K. G., Gioia, D. A., & Fabbri, T. (2000). Organizational identity in transition over time. In D. Rousseau (Ed.), Advances in organizational behavior. Wiley & Sons.
Fournier, S. (1998). Consumers and their brands: Developing relationship theory in consumer research. The Journal of Consumer Research, 24(4), 343–373.
Gioia, D. A., Schultz, M., & Corley, K. (2000). Organizational identity, image, and adaptive instability. Academy of Management Review, 25(1), 63–81.
Gornitzka, Å., Kogan, M., & Amaral, A. (2005). Reform and change in higher education: Analysing policy implementation. Dordrecht: Springer.
Gray, B. J., Fam, K. S., & Llanes, V. A. (2003). Branding universities in Asian markets. Journal of Product and Brand Management, 12(2), 108–120.
Gumport, P. J. (2000). Academic restructuring: Organizational change and institutional imperatives. Higher Education, 39(1), 67–91.
Guthrie, J., & Neumann, R. (2007). Economic and non-financial performance indicators in universities—the establishment of a performance-driven system for Australian higher education. Public Management Review, 9(2), 231–252.
Hemsley-Brown, J., & Goonawardana, S. (2007). Brand harmonization on the international higher education market. Journal of Buusiness research, 60, 942–948.
Hemsley-Brown, J., & Oplatka, I. (2006). Universities in a competitive global marketplace: A systematic review of the literature on higher education marketing. International Journal of Public Sector Management, 19(4), 316–338.
Humphreys, M., & Brown, A. D. (2002). Narratives of organizational identity and identification: A case study of hegemony and resistance. Organization Studies, 23(3), 421–447.
Ind, N. (1997). The corporate brand. Houndmills: Macmillan.
Ind, N. (2004). Living the brand: How to transform every member of your organization into a brand champion. Sterling, VA: Kogan Page.
Jongbloed, B. (2003). Marketisation in higher educaion, Clarke’s triangle and the essential ingredients of markets. International Journal of Educational Management, 15(6), 110–135.
Judson, K., Aurand, T., & Gorchels, L. (2006). Building a university brand from within: A comparison of Coaches’ perspectives of internal branding. Journal of Marketing for Higher Education, 16(1), 97–114.
Klassen, M. (2002). Relationship marketing on the Internet: The case of top- and lower-ranked universities and colleges. Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, 9, 81–85.
Lowrie, A. (2007). Branding higher education: Equivalence and difference in developing identity. Journal of Business Research, 60(9), 990–999.
March, J. G., & Olsen, J. P. (1979). Ambiguity and choice in organizations. Oslo; Boston: Scandinavian University Press.
Maringe, F., & Foskett, N. (2002). Marketing university education: The South African experience. Higher Education Review, 34(3), 18.
Mazzarol, T. (1998). Critical success factors for international education marketing. International Journal of Educational Management, 12(4), 163.
Melewar, T. C., & Akel, S. (2006). The role of corporate identity in the higher education sector: A case study. Corporate Communications: An International Journal, 10(1), 41–57.
Meyer, J. W., & Rowan, B. (1977). Institutionalized organizations: Formal structure as myth and ceremony. American Journal of Sociology, 26(1), 340–363.
Mortimer, K. (1997). Recruiting overseas graduate students: Are their information requirements being satisfied? Higher Education Quarterly, 51(3), 225–238.
Park, C. W., Jaworski, B. J., & Macinnis, D. J. (1986). Strategic brand concept-image management. Journal of Marketing, 50(4), 135–145.
Pratt, M. G., & Foreman, P. O. (2000). Classifying managerial responses to multiple organizational identities. Academy of Management Review, 25(1), 18–42.
Reindfleisch, J. M. (2003). Segment profiling: Reducing risk in higher education management. Journal of Higher Education Policy and Management, 25(2), 147–159.
Selznick, P. (1949). TVA and the grass roots: A study in the sociology of formal organization. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press.
Selznick, P. (1957). Leadership in administration: A sociological interpretation. New York: Harper & Row.
Slaughter, S., & Leslie, L. (1997). Academic capitalism: Politics, policies, and the entrepreneurial university. Baltimore, MD: John Hopkins University.
Sörlin, S. (2007). Funding diversity: Performance-based funding regimes as drivers of differentiation in higher education systems. Higher Education Policy, 20, 413–440.
Stensaker, B. (2007). The relationship between branding and organisational change. Higher Education Management and Policy, 19(1), 1–18.
Temple, P. (2006). Branding higher education: Illusion or reality? Perspectives: Policy & Practice in Higher Education, 10(1), 15–19.
van Rekom, J., & van Riel, C. B. M. (2000). Operational measures of organizational identity: A review of existing methods. Corporate Reputation Review, 3(4), 334–350.
van Riel, C. B. M. (1995). Principles of corporate communication. London: Prentice Hall.
van Riel, C. B. M., & Balmer, J. M. T. (1997). Corporate identity: The concept, its measurement and management. European Journal of Marketing, 31(5), 340.
van Riel, C. B. M., & Fombrun, C. (2007). Essentials of corporate communication. London: Routledge.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Wæraas, A., Solbakk, M.N. Defining the essence of a university: lessons from higher education branding. High Educ 57, 449–462 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10734-008-9155-z
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10734-008-9155-z