Change is both inevitable and constant. Whilst higher education has evolved in recent years to counteract the market saturation and overcrowded marketplace born of globalisation, for many institutions it remains difficult to identify their signature personality and pinpoint what sets them apart.

We spoke to Martin Betts, who works strategically with university executives to shape business models, steer transformation and improve stakeholder experiences, to gain his insight on how universities can act more commercially to meet modern day concerns. Together, we explore the opportunities that lie across culture, reputation, brand positioning and experience and how these can be achieved through recruitment, connection, influence and persuasion.

When we consider the world’s most powerful brands, common themes become apparent, they invest in their reputation, carefully manage perception and align their culture to their audience. Martin believes the importance of these themes is no different for higher education.

“When an individual is making a choice about university there are many other stakeholders involved including future employers, parents and peer groups. The strength of their reactions often guide an individual to make the choice most acceptable to others. The reputation of an institution is incredibly powerful in influencing peer response and implementing a strategy driven by culture is key in driving reputation.”

Despite the opportunities and benefits of investing in reputation, as we are all too aware, it can often become a secondary priority (or worse) within higher education. Martin shares his thoughts on the catalysts for change in how the sector values brand and an example of brand-led behaviour in higher education.

“There will be an inevitable tendency for the value of brand to change over time, as students become even more perceptive and independent of parents, employers or peer groups in making their choices. Change will also come from having sector examples of where successful brands have made a difference. An Australian example that springs to mind is the Queensland University of Technology, who were the second university in Brisbane to the University of Queensland. When they won the prestigious title of ‘Australian University of the Year’ they put an advert in the local newspaper to proclaim their success, but their older competitor retaliated with an advert the next day to state they were ‘the real university in Brisbane’. It became a gift for QUT, who responded that they might not be the real university but instead ‘a university for the real world’. This brand positioning was extremely successful and completely changed the position of QUT in the international marketplace. We should talk about successful brand examples like this.”

This distinctive and bold campaign challenged perceptions and led to a shift in reputation on a local and global scale, but as Martin underlines there are important pitfalls that must be avoided when repositioning your brand in this way.

“The most successful brands ensure customer experience matches brand expectations in an authentic way. In the case of QUT, the VC took soundings from his leaders, staff and students who wholeheartedly agreed that this response aligned with the university’s culture, purpose and mission. Leaders must steer their institution to live by the values of their brand, commit to delivering on the experiences, and align experiences with reputation. If successfully implemented, brand position can transform reputation and that couldn’t be more important in an unstable and changing environment.”

Driving change can require a steep learning curve for leaders in higher education. Martin shares one approach being taken in Australia, where an institution has looked outside of the typical gene pool and harnessed talent from an unexpected place.

“There is an atmosphere and culture that arises from the way that institutions are governed. As the role becomes more challenging we’re going to see greater diversity in where leaders are appointed from. History tells us that most VCs are fished from a pool of senior academics with illustrious research records from high ranking institutions, however change is underway. In recent years, the University of Sydney appointed Mark Scott, who was previously the Managing Director of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, as their new VC. Mark had led digital transformation within an organisation at a time of massive disruption but he had never taught in a university, written an academic paper, or conducted a grant. This appointment within Australia’s oldest university, really opened eyes to the fact that we won’t always appoint VCs from a pool of academics.”

Whilst new talent can breathe new life into a historic organisation, such extreme action is not the only solution. Martin outlines that there is much to be gained from working closely with leaders from outside of the sector and learning through osmosis rather than substitution.

“Learning for the role of VCs is becoming increasingly complex, so much of a VC’s time is spent on ceremonial duties and networking in the sector. When universities thrived as traditional institutions, VCs coming together to discuss common topics was all the training or learning needed. However, as the marketplace pushes leaders to become more disruptive, group thinking from like minded individuals can be a barrier rather than an advantage. They need to step aside from convention and inherited time commitments to find ways of seeking new inspiration. They need to delegate internal commitments, and give themselves the freedom to explore ideas from new sectors that are relevant to the transformation our sector is facing. Getting out there and rubbing shoulders with CEOs from other sectors is a much better way of gaining wisdom on culture, innovation, brand and beyond.”

A further alignment higher education can learn from leading commercial brands is to acknowledge the importance of language. Martin shares how broadening language to match other sectors can enable opportunities and examples of successful practises to be more easily identified.

“There are a number of words that are relevant to our times that don’t get used within higher education. We talk about students, but we baulk at talking about customers. We talk about staff engagement, but we baulk at talking about culture. We are happy talking about a university’s reputation, but brand cannot be trusted. It’s an outdated view. If we’re not treating our students like customers, then we are missing opportunities. Historical barriers to building a contemporary culture and brand are a major barrier to progress.”

CMOs have an important role in breaking down these barriers. Whilst change is not always easy to achieve, Martin outlines small steps that can be taken to empower innovation and progress within their institution.

“Higher education presents one of the most difficult leadership environments of all. The high propensity of academic independence means the instruments of leadership are increasingly about influence and persuasion rather than direction. If we compare this to another sector like tech, the CMO will likely have a CEO who understands brand, culture and business ideas. The nuances of higher education mean that approaches of engagement, influence, persuasion and alignment are of increased importance for CMOs. VCs might not like calling it brand, so call it what they like calling it. If it means calling it reputation, then call it reputation and mean brand. When seeking to persuade on the importance of reputation building, outlining how its execution might enable the success measures universities more typically celebrate can be powerful.”

As the higher education sector continues on its inexorable journey of change, we hope that this insight helps you form potential pillars for progress. If you’re interested in discussing how you can build your brand and reputation in the sector, get in touch with us here at The Brand Education. We’ve recently helped Durham University measure brand equity, and the University of Wollongong with elevating their research reputation.