Institutional Positioning
In any marketplace, consumers develop their own understanding of brand positions, whether as a result of conscious strategic branding efforts, or just the accumulation of accidental messages, interactions, reputation and word of mouth.
Universities and colleges that take a strategic approach to institutional positioning identify and clarify the core of their mission and values, measure current perceptions of campus stakeholders and prospective students, and consider what differentiates them from comparator or competitor institutions.
The strongest institutional positions exemplify what we call the "3 C's": they are credible, compelling, and competitively distinctive. Weak institutional positions fall into three categories: those that are not credible ("fantasy" or "delusional" positions), those that are not compelling ("bland" positions), and those that are not competitively distinctive ("motherhood" positions). No successful brand can be built by attempting to be all things to all people. (See our white paper on effective branding.)
Our research has proven time and again that, if an institution fails to clarify and communicate what is truly unique about it, the marketplace will assign it a default position as an elite, nurturing, campus, outcome, or commodity school. (See our white paper, "Classifying Universities," for more detailed information.)
Academica Group offers the following services to assist you with institutional positioning:
- Brand perception research
- Campus presentations on institutional positioning theory and research
- Institutional positioning strategy and white papers
- Facilitation of institutional positioning summits
- Brand Strategy
- Visual Identity development
To discuss institutional positioning anytime, please contact Ken Steele.
