Last week we had BrandView and at some point the discussions kinda lost their basic direction and entered the educational field. Thank God, we were still talking about branding somehow. Due to the variety of persons and their backgrounds inevitably we landed on a subject that I really hated at first, but it became quickly very arousing. In other words Cristi (from Advero) pointed out that there are just a few Universities in Iasi which try or have tried to create a brand. And I think everybody there agreed to his point.
I wasn’t quite happy because we lost ourselves in a never-ending conversation and we couldn’t get to a conclusion. Soooooo, I am bringing this subject into discussion here and now. Let’s hear what you guys and girls have to say about universities and their brands!
But first let me tell you what I see. I am coming from an institution that already has a brand, in fact I think it’s a pretty strong one. But that came in time. I remember back in 1999 when this institution changed its name into FEAA I was a student in the second year. My perception then was that it sounded longer and boring. FEAA (Facultatea de Economie si Administrarea Afacerilor)! I also remember that my colleagues used to say identify themselves better with ISE (Institutul de stiinte economice) not with the new brand. Even now if I were to ask them about what faculty they graduated from, they will answer ISE. Generations changed and now the students’ answer has changed. I graduated from FEAA! Sounds better doesn’t it? There is even a better part in all that. We used to whisper when we said we graduated from ISE, now students say it like it’s natural – FEAA! My first conclusion … yes we have a good, renowned brand but also we gained a lot of pride. And with that we score some major popularity points!
Years have passed and now I switched sides and became a teacher. The truth is that now I am identifying myself a lot better with FEAA. I even subscribe to its corporative culture. I have feelings for this school and it hurts seeing a student writing on a paper FEEA instead of FEAA. My second conclusion … the perception of good and powerful brand is also present at the professors’ level.
Why is it that other faculties don’t have brands? It is obvious that they need those brands. One of the major problems of any faculties is the absence of demand. High school graduates choose other options (like FEAA) and turn down offers like History, Math, Physics, Chemistry, Foreign Languages and Literature etc, etc. Try asking graduates from those faculties why is that and I think the easiest and quickest answers will be that at FEAA everybody graduates, that we promote mediocrity and we see education as a business. (But, in fact, education is a business. If look deeper you can see demand, offers, clients, products, finance, accounting, revenue, ROI and other business related things.) That absence of demand is the result of many factors, one of which I think is the absence of a brand. How many of those graduates ever felt the need to identify themselves with a corporate culture, with a brand or with a set of values like we have at FEAA. What if the corporate UAIC brand (Univeristatea Alexandru Ioan Cuza) is not enough? There is no argument, UAIC is a powerful brand renowned, both at the regional and at the national level. But what if that is not enough?
My point is how do you market a product that doesn’t have a good and powerful brand?
I am asking you:
How can you create a brand at this level?
What does it take to create brand equity for a university?
For brand equity at a university level I think you need two things:
A)One has to involve the students as they are the real ambassadors. I perceive FEAA as a far bigger brand then UAIC and I think this happens because there is no student involvement on this side. To me it seems that UAIC is something created for the management to identify with or something for the administrative side rather then for its class-room attendants.
B)One has to give it time… as such a big entity needs it in full for a brand to be formed, perceived and finally accepted.
nu cred ca universitatea cuza are inca un brand… cel mult o imagine mai puternica decit a altor universitati.
si da, este greu sa creezi un brand pentru ceva care cuprinde 15 identitati (facultati) diferite. fiecare facultate are valori diferite; oamenii au viziuni total diferite asupra a ceea ce ar trebui sa fie universitatea / educatia in general. si cred ca provocarea cea mai mare pentru universitate nu va fi sa isi impuna brandul in exterior (de exemplu, unversitatea are relatii mai bune cu presa decit cu proprii profesori), ci sa ii faca pe cei din interior sa isi asume valorile ei…
Mi s-a intamplat de nenumarate ori sa primesc raspunsuri de genul „ooo tot FEAA…dar e usoara facultatea si sunt sute de absolventi” cand spuneam unde invat. Iti spun sincer ca uneori imi venea sa ma iau foarte rau de ei. Eu, sincer, am in sange un pic de mandrie ca invat aici,la marketing (desi poate nu e cine stie ce) si uneori atinge o coarda sensibila. De ce s-a ajuns la perceptia aceasta „universal valabila”? Pentru ca suntem multi si in acesti „multi” marea majoritate nu isi dau interes in facultate. Iau note de trecere destul de usor si atunci trambiteaza ca FEAA este foarte usoara si ca nu inveti nimic de aici. Problema se pune altfel: Cat interes de participare a prezentat acea persoana? Cat de usor este sa ai rezultate mai bune? Poate mi-am spus prea mult supararea si am uitat de intrebarea ta. Consider ca tot noi studentii trebuie sa apreciam ceea ce invatam in cadrul FEAA si tot noi suntem cei care hotarm cat de mult ne implicam. Este o vorba in popor precum ca Dumnezeu iti da, dar nu iti pune in traista. Perceptia aceasta exista, in general, la nivelul tineretului si tot noi suntem responsabili in mare parte de ea.
Succes!