Today’s higher education space is hugely competitive. The digital revolution has meant that, for perhaps the very first time, universities are competing with each other on a global basis. And although worldwide demand continues to grow, regional demand in many western countries is oversaturated.

It’s more important than ever for universities to build a recognisable brand image that captures global attention. Yet, though we have the tools to do it, the brand-building process remains as elusive as ever for many institutions.

We bring in experts from all across the communications industry to help solve the sector’s key challenges. Today, we’re speaking to Nima Falatoori – our Creative Director – about how universities can build effective identities in 2021’s rapidly evolving market.

Nima takes us through the key elements of the creative process you’ll need to follow to create your brand.

“The higher education market,” says Nima, “has become like any other commercial market. Universities have to behave as such.”

Just like consumer products, your institution can’t survive if it can’t find a unique place in the market. That means the brand-building process is all about finding the special truth that makes you unique, different or compelling. We call that your reason for being – a justification that goes beyond your mission statement to get to the core of your institutional values.

“As someone looking to join a university, I look for relevance. What is it about this institution that means something to me? What shared beliefs do we have?”

The research suggests that these core beliefs – otherwise known as psychological value – are one of the core drivers of recruitment outcomes.

The big question is, how do you dig up your reason for being and put it into practice? Nima believes that the secret to finding your reason for being lies in diversity.

“The first step is always in speaking to stakeholders.” But sometimes they can be so mired in their own viewpoint that it can be difficult for them to understand how other people see them. Just like any brand in any other commercial market, you have to speak to the people that are using the product.”

Students, applicants, alumni, staff and stakeholders all have their own understanding of your university’s brand. The truth, Nima believes, lies in unifying divergent information from as many people as possible.

“Sometimes, that truth can be distilled down into a simple script. Other times, it becomes part of a bigger idea that can help you navigate what the brand does.”

Working with outside partners, too, is an essential part of the process: “You definitely need a different viewpoint – either from afar or from a different angle – than the people who have walked for months and years through this territory.”

Strategic data can offer another crucial perspective to fuel the creative process.

“Any branding process,” says Nima, “is a combination of IQ and EQ – what the brain has to process and what the heart has to process. The data is definitely capturing what the brain has to process.”

“But data on its own doesn’t make any sense. You have to make it tangible. And the only way to do that is to give it an emotional weight.”

The ability to turn masses of data into key insight requires a special type of talent. It’s essential to find a data strategist that can very quickly decide what data is important and put it into context.

Nima believes that the correct context for your data is derived from the key problem your brand is trying to solve.

Once you’ve defined the problem, data is the next step in helping you find the solution.

The beginning of the 2020s seems to be something of a watershed moment in the higher education sector. Attitudes towards marketing, in general, have changed, with huge consequences for the way brands are interpreted. Crucially, academia holds a new place in the national and international consciousness as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“People can smell lies or exaggerations better than ever before. Audiences are so much savvier than they were 20 years ago. They want more of the truth and they want more reality than ever. The age of the influencer, with their opulent lifestyles, is over.”

Nima believes that authenticity is the future of branding and that universities will need to tap into the real power they have in society to make themselves relevant on a global scale.

“What the pandemic has shown us is that the good and the honest will out.”

At The Brand Education, we’ve mastered the art of helping universities create authentic brand conversations. Simply click here if you’d like to find out how we do it.