Value  =  experience ÷ cost

A college or university, then, has a choice between two routes to increase its perceived value:  it can increase understanding of the quality of the experience it offers, or it can lower its rates.  The latter path leads to smaller budgets, squeezed faculty, reduced opportunities, and a slow and painful death spiral. The former goes right to and through the brand.

Why is it that seven of the ten most selective universities in the country are Ivies?  Are they really that much better than Duke and Chicago and Vanderbilt and Emory and University of Virginia, whose selectivity rates are as much as four times that of Harvard? And how can that august leader-of-the-pack command $50,000 annually from the families of eighteen-year-olds itching to walk its hallowed halls?  The answer:  brand power—and in the case of the Ivies it extends to the whole family, with all eight member institutions being ranked in the top fifteen universities nationwide.  Harvard, quite simply, owns the idea of best-in-class in this country, to the extent that it makes headlines if the top slot in U.S. News isn’t colored crimson.

Reliable studies place the “added value” that consumers are willing to pay for a premium brand at 6%-20%, depending on the category—and higher education may well be at the top of that range.  If a consumer (parent, prospective student) believes that his or her future will be fundamentally better by attending a power-brand college or university, the relative cost difference is marginal compared to the longer-term gain.  So the assignment is theoretically simple:  improve perception of the brand so more people are willing to pay more to associate with it.  The execution, however, is more complex.

Understanding and activating your brand potential begins with a clear-eyed assessment of where your brand sits now—in the mind of the beholder! It’s not enough that you think you know what your brand is or stands for; if nobody shares your opinion, you’re living in a fool’s paradise and your branding initiative will splat like gefilte fish on granite.  You have to know where your prospect places you in the pantheon of organizations or institutions from which he or she could get a similar service.  If the prospect is not looking for a lifetime value brand, but wants a commodity—an individual course or simple certificate—then he or she will go elsewhere. And that’s fine.  We’re not trying to sell all services to all people.  But if your prospect is looking for a value brand, a badge that can be worn proudly as an entry on a c.v., a lapel pin, or a work-out hoodie, you have to deliver a clear, accurate, and compelling portrait of how your brand links to your prospects’ ambitions—and the prospects will pay the price.

So you start by doing brand-focused market research, determining how your prospects see you, how they differentiate you from your competitors, and—importantly—what they value.  With this knowledge you can begin to build your brand platform, develop a creative brief and effective brand expression, and lay out your brand marketing plan.  All easier said than done, I know, but do-able nonetheless.

And then, most importantly:  you execute the plan, keeping track of the effect of each of its myriad strategies and tactics by the results they generate and by an ongoing program of market research.

We have seen this create phenomenal results at the University of Cincinnati, Northern Arizona University, University of Texas at Arlington, University of Chicago Booth School of Business, and elsewhere.

At Cincinnati, a brand-based “Every Student Counts” campaign reversed a decade of faltering enrollments, brought them to an all-time high in FTE student body, reduced their discount rate, and triggered alumni enthusiasm that contributed to the success of an $800 million capital campaign.  Moreover, tracking research showed that public perception of the University shifted from “big” and “basketball” to “quality education” and “excellent faculty” over the course of the branding campaign.

At Northern Arizona University, not only did enrollments skyrocket even after tuition jumped up 40%, but the whole gamut of stakeholders—from prospects to students to faculty to staff—registered significantly greater agreement with fundamental brand messages such as “faculty as mentors” and “good fit” as a result of an aggressive branding campaign.  And the “Mountain Air Makes You Smarter” campaign also captured the attention of William Franke, a successful Phoenix businessman and philanthropist who made a commitment of $25 million to name the NAU College of  Business because of its undergraduate orientation and success at educating first-generation Hispanic and Native American students—attributes he first learned about through the branding campaign.

The University of Texas at Arlington has seen enrollment skyrocket more than 33% in the three years since the “Unbranded” brand campaign was launched. University of Chicago Booth School of Business has claimed and held the top slot in EMBA education according to Business Week rankings.  University of Minnesota Morris reclaimed its position as the top-quality liberal arts option in the UM system.  University of Miami has climbed into the top 50 national universities according to U.S. News—withstanding many a storm along the way—due in no small part to the gale force of President Donna Shalala who epitomizes the Hurricane brand.

Brand campaigns work. They’re not easy; they take diligence and investment; they have to be continually reviewed, assessed, measured, and freshened—but they work.  They deliver dollars to the bottom line because they align an institution’s “offer” with the values and interests of its constituents, and those constituents are therefore willing to pay more.

Bottom line:  a brand campaign is the best investment you can make to improve your bottom line. A tautology, but that doesn’t make it any less true.

— Rob Moore, CEO and President

For more insights on branding in the higher education space, read Rob’s book The Real U: Building Brands That Resonate with Students, Faculty, Staff, and Donors.

The results are indisputable.  In the first quarter of 2011, the U.S. economy added 521,000 jobs for people who hold college degrees.  At the same time, the country’s economy lost 318,000 jobs for people without college degrees.  It couldn’t be more clear: Our economy is built for people with a college education, not for those with traditional blue-collar skills.

So it begs the question: Why is it that all the talk is about college cost, not college benefit?  And that benefit is accelerating: A recent economic study showed that women aged 25-39 are now out-earning men of the same age by about eight percent—the first time ever that a generation of women is earning more than their male counterparts.  (My feminist heart says, “You go, girls!”)  This is directly linked with the fact that women now earn 57 percent of the baccalaureate degrees granted and 60 percent of the master’s degrees.  And a master’s degree represents an average of $1.3 million in lifetime earnings above what an individual with only a high school diploma can expect.

So who among us wouldn’t invest $50,000 or $100,000 or $150,000 for a reasonable expectation of a return of $1.3 million?  And college degrees are still available at those price points—if not in the Ivies then at any number of fine institutions nationwide.  Access, retention, graduation, career planning: That ought to be where the debate takes place—not solely around the cost of entry.

-Rob Moore, CEO and President

On a westbound American Airlines flight this week, I was surprised to see Waiting for “Superman,” the tough-minded documentary about the failure of our public schools, on the drop-down screens.  For those of you who fly a lot, you’ll know that you are far more likely to be forced to sit through Grown Ups or The Other Guys or any other film stocked with recognizable stars and comfortably devoid of content than you are to be confronted with a movie that actually addresses a subject that could make people locked into a jumbo-sized cigar tube even a little bit nervous.

Waiting for “Superman” can and should make you nervous—if not angry.  By the director of An Inconvenient Truth, this documentary catalogues the manifold failings of public schools in districts across the nation, and avoids offering any simple or easily digestible answers.  We’re in crisis, it says, and we’re not serious about the solution.  Both American Airlines and Participant Media should be congratulated for the work they did to get the film on in-flight screens—and the latter, in particular, should receive extra kudos for what they are doing in terms of stimulating and organizing a response through their “take action” website.  Participant Media is also working with longtime Lipman Hearne ally Active Voice, who has pioneered techniques for using the power of documentary storytelling to nudge public opinion on issues from HIV/AIDS to immigration to food justice.  With Superman, Active Voice is developing community discussion guides that can be used to mobilize parents and grassroots organizations around the fact that “every neighborhood needs a great public school.”  Details about upcoming screenings are available from info@activevoice.net, and other avenues for engagement can be found at the Participant Media “Superman” link above.

Maybe I’m a bit more attuned to the importance of making this issue visible because of our work with the Gates Foundation, and other organizations that are addressing the problem, but the endemic problems in our schools can’t just be wished away.  So click in, get involved, and fly American—my return in-flight feature on United on the same West Coast loop was just more of the usual pabulum.

- Rob Moore, President and CEO

_______________________________________________
The Hispanic Scholarship Fund is a current public affairs client of Lipman Hearne, Inc.

About the article authors: Frank Alvarez is president/CEO of the Hispanic Scholarship Fund, which has awarded more than 100,000 scholarships over 35 years. James McNamara, former president/CEO of Telemundo now serves as chair of Panamax Films in Coral Gables.

Having a muddy, chaotic brand is like trying to simultaneously cram through the doorway of a party with five other guests. The host opens the door to a dismaying display of mass confusion—six people grunting, swearing, shoving, and throwing elbows. Meanwhile, the host stands there baffled, thinking, “What am I to make of this? What am I supposed to do?”

A clear, well-defined brand would enter the same party much differently. One person would take the lead: “Hi, John, thanks for inviting us! I’m Rob from Lipman Hearne, and I’d like you to meet Jeff, Sara, Libby … .” No one is left bruised and sulking on the stoop. No one has to compete for the host’s attention. The host knows who is who, how they’re connected, and how to make further introductions...

To read more, download Join the Party

CASE CURRENTS is an award-winning magazine for CASE Professional Members that explores contemporary issues, trends and best practices in advancement.

Over the past 35 years, HSF has been content to fly under the radar, quietly giving out $300 million in scholarship aid to students. With Generation 1st Degree, however, the Fund realized it needed to make more of a splash, and it’s been fascinating to work with them to help raise visibility for their organization and efforts like these.

President Obama is also a fan of HSF’s work, and donated part of his Nobel Peace Prize winnings to the Fund. His support was honored today as well with the announcement of HSF’s first “Obama Scholars.” Check out the coverage some of these scholars received today in this article in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

The media, however, is interested in more than HSF’s generosity as a scholarship fund. In meetings here in D.C. last week, we found education reporters were particularly interested in HSF’s willingness to tackle cultural barriers.

Though study after study shows that Hispanic students often fail to attend (or graduate) from college because of either familial expectations or obligations, few propose a solution to overcoming these hurdles. The Fund, however, addresses this challenge front and center, most prominently with this current Ad Council campaign:

English:

Spanish:

In the coming months, be sure to check back here as we feature more video clips showing the creative ways HSF is hoping to effect cultural change within the Hispanic community to boost college attendance.

- Elizabeth Farrell, Client Development Manager

Traditionally, these imperatives have put community colleges in a tough spot. There is a natural tension between their institutional commitments to open-access for all students, and their characteristically low graduation rates.

This challenge has made it particularly gratifying for us to partner with Achieving the Dream: Community Colleges Count. Since 2008, we have been working with ATD – which has received significant funding from Lumina Foundation for Education and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation – to help community colleges stay true to their role while improving their outcomes. What began as a 26-college pilot program in 2004 has blossomed into a network of 130 such institutions spread over 24 states and the District of Columbia.

The success of this initiative receives some much-deserved credit and recognition in this Sept. 6th cover story in Community College Week. By highlighting the practices some “leader colleges” have employed to boost their graduation rates, the article provides ample food for thought for institutions struggling with similar challenges.

What is less well known is the big news management opportunity in the Tuesday morning after a holiday weekend. This is when the President can take advantage of a slow news cycle and reset the national conversation to his agenda and his priorities.

President Bush and his PR team were beyond excellent at this maneuver. Please note I’m not passing judgment or sharing my personal opinions about the content of these announcements—I’m referring to the technique. Bush, his press aides, and other staffers would undoubtedly find a way to release major news at about 7:10 a.m. on the Tuesday after a three-day weekend—right during “The Today Show.” I still remember how they rolled out a Supreme Court nominee that way, as well as economic policy announcements and other initiatives.

The advantage is that while the rest of America is still hitting the snooze button Tuesday morning, the President has deliberately said: “Here’s what I think is important. Now, follow my lead.” It also throws a bit of a surprise factor out there.

President Obama has mastered the Friday afternoon document dump, but not the Tuesday reset. He didn’t do it after the Fourth of July holiday. And the Tuesday morning after Labor Day has come and gone without such a move. Instead, Obama presented his new economic plans on Labor Day itself (when no one was paying attention) and will speak further about it tomorrow. That leaves today open to the President’s critics to control the airwaves, newspapers and websites with attacks and criticisms (as was the case during this morning’s “Today Show” news segment).

Does a day or two really make a difference? Yes, in this high-stakes political world it does.

Regardless of whether you are a fan or critic of Obama or Bush, it’s important to understand news management. And news management doesn’t always mean one wins with the public. But a Tuesday morning reset is a powerful tool. The PR team with the current occupant of the Oval Office should consider it when the next holiday weekend presents itself.

While the clients and issues we deal with don’t receive the same level of scrutiny as pronouncements from the White House, they do require the same level of strategic thinking and understanding of news cycles. In today’s competitive media world, visionary people and institutions want to do all they can to ensure they are heard above the news echo chamber.

- Adam Shapiro, Vice President, Public Affairs

All told, he’s right on target.  I wrote the book to meet both a beginner’s needs and a mid-level professional’s interests in learning more.  And hey, he ends up saying, “the final product is a worthwhile how-to resource for higher ed marketers.  I plan to share it widely with members of our branding and marketing team, and maybe even with some administrators.”

Thanks, Andrew. Your autographed copy is on the way.  Bound to be worth at least $2 more than the face value, someday.

-Rob Moore, President and CEO