Securing investment for branding initiatives is even trickier in higher education, as the prioritisation of brand investment is often lacking. Without designated brand ambassadors or specific budgets, institutions struggle to enhance their overall reputation. Here’s what you need to know to shift this common outcome and secure senior buy-in for brand building activities.

The Importance of Senior Buy-In to Secure Budget

There are lots of factors that contribute to a successful higher education brand, such as marketing communications, reputation, location, and public relations. This is why defining an allocated budget can sometimes be quite difficult, as well as the fact that tasks falling under the ‘brand’ umbrella are scattered across different professional services divisions. However, the common benefit of brand activities should be explored. Areas like design needs, advertising, digital assets, and training are just some ways senior leaders can utilise branding to implement institution-wide goals and promises.

Securing Investment

We’ve touched on potential areas a brand budget could include, but an overall strategy that can be adapted to different brand budget pitches is crucial.

1. Alignment of Goals

Firstly, executive teams need to align reputation-building efforts with the institution’s strategic objectives. Senior leaders are more likely to support initiatives that directly contribute to achieving organisational goals. These include increasing student quality, enhancing alumni engagement, and attracting better faculty. Similarly, by showcasing an enhancement in recruitment efforts, fundraising outcomes, and an institution’s ranking, universities can further highlight the tangible benefits of investing in reputation management.

2. The Power of Evidence

Marketing and communications professionals should leverage data and evidence to support their case for reputation-building initiatives. Senior leaders often respond well to quantitative data that demonstrates the correlation between reputation and key performance indicators. This includes research reputation, student enrolment, alumni engagement, and research funding.

It is necessary to clearly articulate how reputation-building strategies will directly benefit the areas that matter most to senior leaders. Therefore, conducting surveys, and analysing and benchmarking market trends, can provide valuable insights into areas where reputation improvement is needed and ultimately justify the allocation of resources.

3. Fostering Commitment

Individuals looking to secure brand buy-in should engage senior management in the planning and decision-making process. This will enhance collaborative ownership and a commitment from leaders to reputation-building efforts. By involving managers in strategic discussions, the establishment of clear objectives, and soliciting input and feedback, universities can ensure that reputation management becomes a shared priority across the institution.

4. Pave the Way

Whilst reasons for investment are important, the growth that will be generated from efforts to overcome existing strategic challenges should also be considered. Universities can adopt a proactive approach by presenting well-defined proposals that outline the scope, objectives, and expected outcomes of brand initiatives. This should align with the universities five-to-ten-year strategic plan, to help leaders looking ahead to visualise the return on investment (ROI). Providing a detailed analysis that breaks down the costs involved, and the projected benefits, will help senior leaders recognise the value of allocating resources to such endeavours.

5. Create a Compelling Presentation

Use a clear, concise, and compelling presentation style that resonates with senior leadership. Incorporate visuals, such as graphs and charts, to make the data more digestible.

Similarly, make sure that you customise the presentation for the specific audience. For example, if you are speaking to the financial committee, focus on the financial aspects. If you are pitching to the strategic planning team, tailor the pitch to include how your goals will align with strategy priorities. You might be addressing academic leaders and if so, highlight the academic prestige and the most relevant research stories that are driven by reputation-building activities.

6. Follow Up and Provide Support

Outline clear next steps and both short-term and long-term timelines for implementing the reputation-building strategies.

Offer ongoing support and assure seniors of your commitment to supporting them through the implementation process. This could include access to your brand and marketing expertise, as well as regular updates on progress and results.

Emphasise the benefits that the brand buy-in will have on the community. Such reputational efforts will not just impact the University, but also the people around it, enhancing the institution’s role as a leader in education and a fundamental pillar in the community.

Still Struggling to Get Buy-In? 

External perspective helps. By tailoring your approach, addressing concerns head-on, and showcasing the strategic benefits of investing in reputation-building, you can effectively sell the idea of securing senior support to your specific audience. This tailored approach ensures that your message is not only heard but that it also resonates deeply with senior leaders, motivating them to act.

If your institution needs assistance in securing a brand budget, contact The Brand Education to see how we can assist. We’re experts in showing higher-education institutions how to execute brand and reputation on a global stage.