Internal branding winning staff support

Centre College and Stamats, Inc. - 1

CIC – January 2005

Internal Branding: Winning the Support of Faculty and Staff

January 2005

Dr. John Roush, president, Centre [email protected]

Dr. Robert A. Sevier, senior vice president, [email protected]


About Centre – Centre.edu

Personal Education, Extraordinary SuccessWe provide personal education that enables students to achieve extraordinary success in advanced study and their careers. They remember this experience for the rest of their lives. Centre alumni lead the nation in loyalty, providing annual financial support at a rate higher than that of any other college or university in the country

– Founded in 1819– Located in Danville, Kentucky, with campus programs in England, France,

and Mexico (Study abroad program ranked among the nation’s top 10)– Liberal arts and sciences, enrollment of 1,100– Have produced seven Rhodes Scholars and, in the last 10 years, 22

Fulbright winners– Alumni include two U.S. vice presidents and a Justice and Chief Justice of

the Supreme Court– Hosted the 2000 Vice Presidential Debate


About Stamats

We help clients develop integrated marketing and brand marketingstrategies to enhance student recruiting and fundraising. Our range of services include:

- Research, planning, and consulting:• Image and competitive analysis

• Brand development and planning

• Academic program marketability studies

• Tuition pricing elasticity studies

• Integrated marketing plans

• On-site consulting

Offices: Cambridge, Richmond, Atlanta, Los Angeles, and Cedar Rapids

- Marketing communications: • Publications

• Web and CD-ROM• Direct mail• Advertising


Overview

Introduction A quick review of brand marketingThe brand-building experience at CentreWinning support for the brand-building processWinning support at Centre


A Big Question

Why do so many brand initiatives fail to gain traction?


A Brief Review of Brand Marketing


What Is a Brand?

Contrary to popular opinion, a brand is not just a look

Rather, a brand is a valued trustmark, a warrant, and a promise

Perry Forster: “A brand is a promise expressed as a benefit that your target audiences value”

Al Ries and Laura Ries: “The purpose of marketing is to build a brand in the mind of a prospect”

Rob Frankel: “Truly successful brands are perceived by the target audience as the only solution to a particular need”

Brand marketing is all about creating and delivering relevance to both stakeholders and customers


Sample Brands/Positioning Statements* MIT: Premier technological university in the world

Yeshiva: Comprehensive Jewish institution of higher education in the U.S.

Biola: The nation’s premier, comprehensive evangelical university

*Positions these colleges hold or seek to hold


Awareness, Image, Brand

Brand

Image

Awareness

In most instances, initial awareness occurs before a more complete image, and a more complete image precedes a brand (but a brand is much more than an image)


BrandMarketing

DirectMarketing

CustomerRelationshipManagement

Integrated Marketing Communications


A Brand Leadership Strategy

Make a Promise That Matters

Make a Promise That Matters

Strengthen Your Promise

Live Your PromiseLive Your Promise

Communicate Your Promise

Communicate Your Promise

Strengthen Your Promise


Step One: Make a Brand Promise That MattersYour brand exists where your mission and marketplace merge

– The ideal brand promise is:• Important• Believable• Distinctive (not just to external audiences)


Promise TestingPromise testing involves asking key external and internal audiences—via quantitative research—to evaluate the five to six promise statements that have been developed

The promise statements are evaluated on three dimensions:– Important– Believable– Distinctive

The goal of the research is to identify the brand promise that has the most credibility with your key audiences

St. 5St. 6

St. 4 St. 2

St. 3

St. 1

6

6.2

6.4

6.6

6.8

7

7.2

7.4

6.6 6.8 7 7.2 7.4 7.6 7.8 81=Not at all Important to 9=Very Important

1=N

ot a

t all

Bel

ieva

ble

to 9

=Ver

y B

elie

vabl

e


The Creation of a Brand Portfolio

Brand PromiseBrand Promise

Brand RationaleBrand Rationale Brand Attributes(benefits, vivid

descriptors)

Brand Attributes(benefits, vivid

descriptors)TaglineTagline Graphic Identity

ProgramGraphic Identity

Program

– Elevator speech– Verbal and visual vocabulary


Step Two: Communicate Your PromiseYour goal at this point is to position your brand promise in the minds of your most important target audiences

– Your goal is awareness

Ultimately, you want messages that are:

– Relevant (important, believable, distinctive)– Repeated– Remembered

For these messages to succeed, they must first be noticed


Brand CommunicationChannels

The power is in integrating across multiple channels

Internal relations/communicationWord-of-mouth

Facilities and environmentals:1. Buildings and grounds2. Signage and wayfinding3. Perimeter marking

Media work:1. Hometowners2. Features3. Wild art

Sponsorships, promotions, publicity, and collaborations

Publications including variable digital printing and print on demand

Direct response:1. Telephone2. Postal mail3. E-mail

Interactive media:1. Web2. E-mail3. CD-ROM

Constituent relations:1. Public2. High school3. Alumni4. Donor5. Community6. Business

Traditional media (advertising):1. Magazine and newspaper2. TV/cable3. Radio4. Outdoor/out-of-home


Elements of a Brand Communication Plan1. Situational analysis 2. Brand promise/positioning statement (drawn from brand portfolio)3. Target audiences (need clear data on their media preferences)4. Target geography5. Brand attributes translated for each major audience 6. Visual identity/graphic identity 7. Two broad types of integrated marketing goals

– Deal with brand deficiencies discovered in research– Establish brand attributes

8. Marketing campaigns (audience and media specific) 9. Budget10.Calendar11.Evaluation mechanism


Step Three: Live Your PromiseFollow through: walk the walk

– Delivering, through the entire collegiate experience, what you promise

– Staff training and development

– Secret shopper

– Campaign maintenance


Step Four: Strengthen Your PromiseCan we:

– Make a better promise?– Communicate our promise better?– Live our promise more completely?

To strengthen your promise, revisit key audiences and ask them: “How’d we do?”

– Repeat external benchmark research to gauge brand campaign and brand assimilation success

• Invest in a research cycle– Conduct internal assessments– Evaluate retention, student satisfaction, and outcome data


The Role of the President The president is the chief marketing officer: The signals he/she sends—to senior staff, middle managers, and faculty—will telegraph whether or not integrated marketing and brand marketing is a legitimate institutional commitmentAs such, the president must:– Have a vision for how marketing can help the institution. Without this personal

vision there will never be personal commitment– Commit his or her power and prestige to the marketing efforts– Commit institutional time, talent, and treasure– Make tough decisions in a timely fashion– Provide authority to the chief marketing officer, department, and/or team– Convey that marketing is an institution-wide commitment and responsibility – Clear away organizational and policy roadblocks– Insist on shared goals and resources among senior administrators/staffs– Go toe-to-toe with recalcitrant administrators, administrators who adopt a

wait—and see attitude, and administrators who are hostile to the idea of marketing

– Demand departmental, and even individual accountability– Be the champion’s sponsor


The Brand-Building Experience at CentreWe’ve been intentional about brand management—or “reputation management” as we call it—for a good while


Laying the Foundation for Integrated Marketing and Building the Framework

October 1999: Trustees approve strategic plan (ambitious studentrecruitment and fundraising goals, goal to create integrated marketing plan)

2000: Formation of marketing committee (Gang of Seven—representatives from admissions, communications, development, faculty, and international studies)– Marketing proponents– Influential but intentionally ad hoc and low profile, especially in early

stages

2001: Drafting of integrated marketing plan (marketing committee, chaired by dean of admissions and director of communications)


Laying the Foundation for Integrated Marketing and Building the Framework - continued

2002: Refinement and revision of integrated marketing plan, presentation to and discussion with senior staff; initial incremental implementation.

2003: Additional refinement of strategic plan, approval by senior staff, presentation to and discussion with trustee planning committee; continued implementation.

2004: Contracting with Stamats for communications review, on-campus interviews, and surveys of key constituencies; initial survey of prospective students and parents, development of draft brand promises, testing of brand promises, and final section.


Laying the Foundation for Integrated Marketing and Building the Framework - continued

1999 to present: Establishing and integrating brand communication channels

Publications (consistent branding across areas — not just admissions)Web site (minimum requirement: consistency—one click off home page)Magazine and newspaperTVEvent-based promotionRadioOutdoor

CD-ROM

Hometowners

Features

Elevator speech

Constituent relations

Buildings and grounds

Signage and way finding

Perimeter marketing


Centre Brand PortfolioBrand promise:

– Centre provides personal education that enables students to achieve extraordinary success in advanced study and careers

Brand rationale:

– As a smaller, residential college, Centre has always been about personal education: 11:1 student faculty ratio, active researchers, but commitment to teaching comes first


Centre Brand Portfolio - continued

Brand attributes/benefits:– Personal interaction with faculty and staff

members enhances academic and social growth

– Personal education means students make choices that reflect and best develop their individual interests and abilities—self-designed majors, double majors, internships, study abroad, and student/ faculty research

– Teachers who know students personally offer more effective advice and guidance vis a vis advanced study and careers, and write more convincing letters of recommendation



Vivid descriptors (a sampling)– Faculty-intensive education– One-to-one from day one– Tailored– Custom– Top 50– The Centre Commitment– Nation-leading alumni loyalty– Success– Prepared you to succeed in a personal way– Satisfied alumni



Tagline: Personal Education, Extraordinary Success

Graphic identity program

– The communications office coordinates the College’s graphic identity program

– Primary media:PublicationsThe WebSignage



…We’ve been able to achieve a high

degree of visual consistency

through persistence and

persuasion.Web-based

examples, templates, and

guidelines are also helpful.




The Centre CommitmentWe back up our promise to deliver personal, timely education with a guarantee: All students who meet the College’s academic and social expectations will be able to …– Complete an internship– Study abroad, and– Graduate in four years…

…or Centre will provide up to a year of additional study tuition-free

Third year of The Centre Commitment and no “claims” to dateIf you live your promise, you gain the ability to confirm it with a guarantee


Building Internal SupportGet the right people on the bus Clarify why strong brands are important Build confidence in the brand creation process— Help the campus understand the process— Clarify their role in the process— Build confidence in the process— Give the campus community access to the process— Clarify the role of campus members in building and

sustaining the brandImplement aggressivelyShow outcomes


1. Get the Right People on the BusAny change initiative must have active support of senior administrative leadership

The time for debate is before the decision is made

If you have dissention at the top, you will have confusion at the bottom

Three key components:— The team— The champion— The sponsor


Everybody Pulling in the Same Direction

Recruiting& Fin Aid

Fundraising

Academics

Student Life

Facilities

IT

Finance& Budget

MarketingVision


2. Clarify Why Strong Brands Are ImportantStrong brands attract:– The best students and faculty– More full- and fuller-pay students (brand equity)– More students who will persist– More donated dollars– More media attention

Strong brands generate:– More alumni support– Positive word-of-mouth

Strong brands require fewer direct marketing expenditures

Parents are less likely to encourage a son/daughter to attend a college with which they are not familiar


3. Build Confidence in the ProcessHelp the campus understand the process– The model you are using

Clarify their role in the process– Think futuristically, globally, and participate in discussions– Must understand that their role is limited; while their input is sought,

care must be taken not to convey that they are in control of theoutcomes

Build confidence in the process– Defendable, inferential research


Build Confidence - continued

Give the campus community access to the process– Open and overt

Clarify the role of campus members in building and sustaining the brand– Understand the resources that are available to them– Training on how the brand might impact their behavior– Changes in how faculty and staff are evaluated and rewarded


4. Implement Aggressively Launch, not leakPick some low hanging fruit Celebrate early winsCommunicate successes– Especially successes related to resource gains

Share the rewardsShow outcomes Maintain inertia Don’t blink


5. Work with Faculty It is worthy of their time and attention (much like a facilities plan)

The purpose of brand marketing is to increase the flow of resources to the institution

It is not about being something you are not; it is about more completely telling the story of who you are

Strong institutions have strong brands– If you don’t build a brand, the marketplace will build one for you

It is not about popularity; it is about relevance


Work with Faculty - continued

Begin with faculty leadership– Make the case– Show likely and reasonable outcomes– Clarify their role

Spread ownership through aggressive data- and feelings-gathering– Interviews– Focus groups– Quantitative research

Use faculty leadership to involve other faculty– While you must be willing to work with all faculty; don’t spend too much

time trying to solicit support from faculty who don’t want to support the process

– Rather, work with the faculty who want to work with you


Winning Support at CentreTo reiterate: The first step was in drafting the strategic plan in 1998-99—building support for integrated marketing in the strategic plan is crucial

Full campus participation in Stamats project (on-campus interviews; ongoing reporting of results; e-mail survey of students, faculty, and staff to select brand promise)

Reporting of final results and discussion with senior staff

Discovering that for us the phrase “reputation management” was more effective than “branding”


Winning Support at Centre - continued

Campus group discussions to explore how Centre provides personaleducation that leads to extraordinary success

– Document and develop an extensive list of examples of how Centrefulfills its brand promise

– Explore how Centre can more fully deliver on its brand promise (“campus conversations,” including enrollment management committee, representatives of faculty steering committee, representatives of the College Council, planning and priorities committee, representatives of staff congress, three groups of student leaders, and the athletic staff)



Communicate Progress Internally and ExternallyLike members of House of Representatives maintain a “continual campaign” to convince internal audiences of the importance and rewards of consistency and integration in “telling the story more effectively”

Student recruitment success– Applications up 30% over last year’s

record total – Test scores and other academic

measures rising (middle 50 ACT = 28.5; SAT = 1300—around 70% in top 10% of high school class)

– Increasing minority enrollments



Communicate Progress Internally and ExternallyFundraising success– Rising alumni giving percentages (No. 1

in nation in annual percentage— 63.4%)– Record setting annual fund total– 13th in the nation in average alumni gift– Almost $90 million committed in $120

million campaign



Communicate Progress Internally and ExternallyFundraising success allows Centre to keep prices low (most affordable of U.S. national colleges)

– Best value recognition: U.S. News & World Report, Fiske Guide, Princeton Review, Consumers Digest



Communicate Progress Internally and ExternallyTrustee support for major campus enhancements ($22 million College Centre)



Communicate Progress Internally and Externally



Student success in winning postgraduate awards (Rhodes, Fulbright, Goldwater, Truman, Rotary)Attracting better qualified faculty and staffLeading international studies program— three of four students participate (ranked 9th in the nation by U.S. News & World Report)Increasing media placements (2003-04 included, USA Today, New York Times, L.A. Times, Washington Post, NBC Nightly News, Today Show, NPR, Sports Illustrated)


Thank YouAny Closing Questions