As the quest for “world class” gradually becomes the norm, global ranking of universities have equally become very popular and controversial at the same time. Institutions that do not feature in these rankings often pick holes in them despite the criteria they set. These rankings include: Times Higher Education (THE) Ranking, Academic Ranking of World Universities, Webometrics Ranking, Professional Ranking of World Universities, Newsweek Ranking, and Others.
Universities’ punch holes in them because it places their graduates in disadvantaged positions in the labour market. Preoccupations about university rankings thus reflect the general recognition that economic growth and global competitiveness are increasingly driven by knowledge and that universities play a key role in that context.
It is against this backdrop that Mr. Bola Akingbade advised the management of Redeemer’s University to leverage their brand name for desired purposes. Facilitating this will include the following elements: Source of Authority – e.g. roots and origins, recorded achievements and reputation. Functional benefit delivery potential which translates to verifiable evidence of special features that can deliver special experiences is necessary. Also critical is the emotional benefit delivery potential which combines apt description of exactly how the offering will bring about appropriate feelings.
To make a time tested impact, the brand character and attitude must be clearly defined. This depicts the personality of the brand – particularly the aspect that speaks to the aspirations of the target “customer” (potential undergraduates). The brand values encompass the value associations and specific platform from which the brand can speak authoritatively and the brand essence – a “one-word” summation of what it stands for must be clearly defined.
He also emphasised that “the need for insightful knowledge of the ‘drivers of choice’ for target customers cannot be overemphasised. The success or otherwise of brand management strongly depends on deep customer knowledge and understanding. This is crucially necessary for the necessary establishment of the value proposition that should represent a perfect fit between the brand and the target customer.”
Toward this end, a “brand value proposition” is an undertaken by the brand to meet the needs of target customers under terms that are specific and unambiguous. In the case of a university with world class aspirations, the value proposition will spell out in short, concise but clear terms, what the target customers (e.g. students), are to expect if they choose to attend the university for their tertiary education. The value proposition should serve to reinforce target customer resolve to choose the university, over and above all else.
Mr. Rufai Ladipo, the chief executive officer, Agile Communication, Lagos – who also contributed to the lecture – also harped on some salient requirements that are fundamental in attaining world class status. Brand building – he noted – is the deliberate and skillful application of effort to create a desired perception in someone else’s mind. A potential university brand must therefore be able to attract the necessary quantity and quality of students while still operating the traditional university style. This means “branding the students or in-person experience and differentiating it from competing institutions.”
In order to achieve this, the branding of the university must transcend the physical campus. As more courses are delivered electronically some of the branding factors that set the school apart such a gorgeous campus, hip environment and others won’t matter anymore, especially to the student living miles away.
A potential world class varsity should therefore create one unified message based on what makes the institution different; who you are and what you do. What distinct benefit(s) does your school deliver? “Define what you want to stand for, and embrace and preserve both the tangible and intangible elements that make your brand unique. Also note that aside from your proposition is the use of logos, icons etc that also says a lot about your identity, and which can stand alone, even without reference to the name.”
The route to achieve this is to focus on Public Relations – not advertising – and manage perception that creates a sense of belonging through engagement. Staff, faculty, administrators and students all play a key role in delivering an institution’s brand promise. So, engagement through the institution’s website and social media platforms are necessary, but should be carefully managed by experts.
Another requirement, according to Ladipo is to “build a brand promise based on academic offerings, student experience, or an institution’s prestige. Develop brand strategies that reflect the emotional and psychological dynamics (alumni giving, staff culture, student experience, recruitment efforts, instructor reputation, ranking, faculty engagement, and community relations) of an education institution as a whole. These dynamics will influence and shape the perception of your brand in the market.”
Next is to create a brand experience through updated curriculum. Curricula must be relevant in today’s global marketplace through new academic subjects. Institutions must also be aware of the growing population of non-traditional students and aging student population so as to accommodate more online and distant learning as well as continue to offer broader spectrum of student needs. Doing so will strengthen the brand’s position in “the crowded market place.”
Successful brands know the importance of emotions in the art of connection. A potential world class varsity will therefore build an emotional brand experience that creates loyalty. “If you build it they will come. If the emotional connection between your brand and your prospect is strong, the brand experience will bring active/continued referrals as well as increased profitability to your school.
Loyalty means higher retention rates as well as reduced marketing costs. Create loyalty by understanding your market segments as well as offering convenient locations/hours, having an employer influence (corporate alliance), pricing, timing, or flexibility with schedules. For example, university of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School recently launched a new brand platform based on the idea that Wharton knowledge fuels action. What a great idea, this will definitely build brand loyalty.”
Powerful brands understand these matrixes because they know it increases market share and loyalty. The power of brand lies in the minds of students’ perception: what they have learned, heard, felt or seen as a result of their experience over time. Ultimately these students determine what the brand means. The varsity should carry the internal stake holders along: make sure they internalise the brand as well as the vision of the school via solid internal communication as well as providing customised physical collaterals such as T-shirts, note books, bags and other collaterals with the school’s identity.
As the global environment for tertiary education expands—encompassing not only the traditional student exchanges and scholarly sojourns but also such issues as cross-border investments and market-type competition among institutions—stakeholders must re-evaluate their priorities and expectations. Historically, tertiary education institutions were cultural landmarks for their home nations. They educated their own students, trained their own academic staffs, and stored the cultural and local histories of their regions.
Their graduates are ambassadors for the university. They are innovative leaders who help people and communities flourish. Some are known for being strong communicators, ethical thinkers and creative problem-solvers with a deep commitment to sustainability and social justice. They are knowledgeable in their disciplines and eager for collaboration and continuous learning. The creative ones among them integrate professional skills with global citizenship, entrepreneurial energy and intellectual curiosity.
But international pressures, largely the result of global flows of tertiary education resources -funding, ideas, students, and staff – have forced institutions to re-examine their missions. Moreover, these pressures have forced governments – by far the largest funding sources for tertiary education – to re-examine their commitments to and expectations from their tertiary education institutions. One prominent outcome of these has been the rise in league tables and rankings of various sorts and, subsequently, the growing desire to compete for a place at the top of a global hierarchy of tertiary education.
So the lecture organised by Redeemer’s University, and the highly qualified resource persons that delivered them, was quite apt; foreign varsities have known this “secret” for years. This is the major reason we have hundreds of thousands of Nigerian students studying in foreign varsities. They get what local varsities are not providing. Will our varsities rise to the occasion in an aggressive and competitive world? Time will tell.