Presentation given to the eighth annual conference of the CIM Higher Education sector interest group, 9 July 2015.

1. RICHARD CHINN
WOLFF OLINS
HOW TO BRAND IN
HIGHER EDUCATION

2. WHO HAS
BEEN THROUGH
A BRAND PROJECT?

3. WHAT WAS IT LIKE?

4. BRAND ≠ LOGO
SLOGAN
ADVERTISING
WHAT DO WE MEAN BY BRAND?

5. BRAND
OFFER
Courses
Student experience
Stories / thought leadership
CAPABILITY
Structure
Skills / processes
Network / partnerships
EXPRESSION
Name
Logo / identity
Website / prospectus
CULTURE
Leadership style
Campus environment
Internal comms / events

6. WOLFF OLINS

7. 50 YEARS

8. 1968
APPLE
RECORDS
Musician power
+
45 years in business
2004
GE
Eco and health innovations
+
Customer-facing business
2012
MICROSOFT
More confident
+
More connected
2004
UNILEVER
Vitality to life
+
Focused portfolio
2010
PWC
Creating value
+
Accelerated growth
1989
FIRST
DIRECT
Better banking
+
1 million customers
2009
TATA DOCOMO
Smartphones for everyone
+
42 million users in 18 months
2012
USA TODAY
Reinventing an American icon
+
Digital revenue up 69%
1994
ORANGE
Mobiles for everyone
+
£25 billion in five years
2011
OXFAM
One voice against poverty
+
Sales up 89% in
rebranded shops
2000
TATE
Art made accessible
+
Visitor numbers tripled
2012
SKYPE
Communication
barriers broken
+
Usage up by 40%
2015
ORANGE
Essential listening
1983
3i
Thousands of SMES funded
+
Europe’s biggest
private equity firm
WOLFF OLINS GREATEST HITS

9. 5 GENERATIONS OF BRAND
BRAND v1
1660
BRAND v2
1820
BRAND v3
1920
BRAND v4
1980
BRAND v5
2000
Stamp
asserting
ownership
Trademark
ensuring
quality
Idea
promising
pleasure
Identity
inviting
belonging
Platform
for
action

10. IS BRAND
THE CAUSE
OR EFFECT?
ROBERT JONES
Mentor at Wolff Olins
Visiting professor at UEA
MSc Brand Leadership
http://bit.ly/becomingmeaningless

11. DO UNIVERSITIES
NEED A BRAND?
LONDON’S GLOBAL UNIVERSITY

12. WHAT DO YOU LEAD WITH?

13. IN THE PROSPECTUS ON THE WEBSITE
Student
experience Place
Idea
Research
Student
experience
Place
Idea
Place emphasised most among
the top 5, student experience by
those lower down the top 20
Research emphasised most
among the top 5, top 10 don’t
show student experience
WHAT DO YOU LEAD WITH?

14. TRADITION?
LEAGUE TABLE POSITION?
STRATEGIC PLAN?
SOCIAL PURPOSE?
USEFULNESS FOR STUDENTS?
WHAT IS DRIVING THE UNIVERSITY?

15. STRENGTHS OPPORTUNITIES
Content rich organisations
–
Many faces and touchpoints
–
Purpose-led
Embrace storytelling
–
Be more than marketing
–
Become a platform for individuals

16. WHERE CAN
WE FIND
INSPIRATION?

17. MAKE
INDIVIDUALS
THE FOCUS
(NOT THE
INSTITUTION)
WHAT DO YOU
ENABLE THEM TO DO?

18. ORGANISE YOUR
CONTENT AROUND
INDIVIDUALS
WHAT DO THEY
WANT TO DO?

19. SPOT NEW
OPPORTUNITIES
TO TAKE THE LEAD
WHAT NEW CONTENT
COULD YOU CREATE?

20. EXTEND YOUR
CAPABILITY BEYOND
YOUR ORGANISATION
WHAT MORE
COULD THEY DO?

21. BE GENEROUS
& RAISE THE GAME
FOR EVERYONE
WHAT COULD
YOU GIVE AWAY?

22. 7:30 AM
Radio 4
iPlayer
Mobile
11:30 AM
Essential mix
Soundcloud
Laptop
9:20 AM
BBC World
Twitter
Laptop
9:30 AM
Radio 1
iPlayer
Laptop
1:35 PM
Graham
Norton Show
YouTube
Laptop
3:40 PM
Wimbledon
Website
Mobile
3:41 PM
Wimbledon
iPlayer
Website
10:11 PM
(Nothing)
iPlayer
TV
10:11 PM
News at 10
Broadcast
TV
BE EVEN
MORE PRESENT,
USEFUL AND
ALWAYS RELEVANT
WHERE ELSE
COULD YOU GO?

23. WHAT COULD
THAT MEAN
FOR UNIVERSITIES?

24. UEA

25. BEFORE AFTER

26. THE WORLD IS RUNNING OUT OF ANTIBIOTICS.
BUT WE’RE TAPPING INTO A SURPRISING NEW
SOURCE – THE BACKS OF LEAFCUTTER ANTS.
WHAT WILL YOUR DISCOVERY BE?
WWW.UEA.AC.UK/BRILLIANT

28. 1. BE BRAVE
Break with
tradition – don’t
be afraid to try
something new
2. BE BOLD
If you’re not
evoking strong
reactions then
it’s probably
not working
hard enough
3. BE AGILE
Test, refine, align
– and repeat.
Move fast by
working in
focused sprints
REFLECTIONS

29. QUESTIONS?

30. THANK YOU.
RICHARD.CHINN@WOLFFOLINS.COM
@RICHARDCHINN