college branding

As long as banner ads have been on websites, the number of clicks they garner has been the most important performance metric for an ad. Ads that get fewer clicks are canned in favor of those that get more. I questioned this (with Seth…

It's that time of year when many U.S. high school seniors are making their final college decisions. They have their last acceptance letters, and now must choose which school they will attend in the fall. It's a good time to think about…

Colleges and universities face some unique marketing challenges in the U.S. With more than 3,000 competitors, attracting the right students takes effort and creativity. Even schools that have no trouble "filling the seats" have important…

Recently, Newsweek ran a big article titled The Case Against College Athletic Recruiting, with the sensational subtitle claiming that U.S. universities are "misappropriating resources" on sports. Accusing some of the nation's most…

Although the concept of personal branding was likely launched by Tom Peters' excellent 1997 article, The Brand Called You, the idea that others perceive you as an amalgam of personal characteristics, experience, and qualities no doubt…

At this year's South by Southwest Interactive, I had a chance to speak with Anya Kamenetz, author of DIY U: Edupunks, Edupreneurs, and the Coming Transformation of Higher Education. In her short but insightful book, Kamenetz outlines…

Why do most college branding efforts end up as meaningless pablum? I think it's because most colleges have been relatively insulated from the effects of devastating competition. In fact, historically there have been major barriers to…

I've been reading the recently released second edition of Differentiate or Die by Jack Trout, and there are some powerful (and timeless) messages there for all brands. Although the entire book is geared toward commercial brand…

I've written often lately about college branding, but have focused on developing the external brand of the institution. One thing that's clear is that as skeptical as academics may be about the idea of branding, a few profs are actively…

One of the great things about social media is that a conversation can be extended quickly between sites and even continents. Such was my experience with my College Branding post. The first extension of the conversation was by Lou…