VALLEY VIEW UNIVERSITY – TECHIMAN CAMPUS

SCHOOL OF GRADUATE STUDIES

Financial Management in Education

EDAD 570

Lecturer: Mr. Asante Djin Victor

Group Seven Members:

Question: Brand Image – The Central Element of Success for Higher Education Institutions

In a market that has become competitive, higher education institutions must increasingly

consider the problem to build a successful image both among prospective students and among

employers to maintain an advantageous position on the market.

Required:

As a ranking member of CHASS, you have been called to present a paper on School Branding.

Identify what is Branding, and discuss how the school could be well branded using marketing

approaches.

Content

 Introduction: Definitions of Branding

 Elements of School Branding
 Significance of School Branding
 Marketing Approaches for School Branding
 Summary
 References
INTRODCUTION: Definitions of Branding

In this era of competition, it has become necessary that organizations adopt a strategy to place

itself appropriately. Branding has become a very important aspect of any organization’s

management strategy. The historical meaning of the word “brand” is “burn”. This word comes

from an Old Norse Germanic root for “mark made by hot iron” (Healy, 2008). It means

something being burnt in something, for example customers minds.

Brand is the sum of all the sensory experiences every person or organization has had in any

aspect of facing the brand. (Hammonds 2008).

Brand is also the image and all the perceptions of the product or service which a company is

providing (Persuasive Brands, 2013)

The American Marketing Association defines brand as ‘name, term, design, symbol or any other

feature that identifies a good or service as distinct from those of other sellers’ (cited in Asante,

2019, unpublished)

Branding is also the process involved in creating a unique name and image for a product in the

customers’ mind mainly through advertisement and campaigns with a consistent team (Kotler &

Armstrong, 2010). Branding aims to establish a significant and differentiated presence in the

market to attract and retain loyal customer.

School Branding: Similar to a brand as applied to a traditional business application, school

branding is any type of term, mark or insignia which identifies one school from another. These

marks are intended to indicate affiliation with a particular school. School brand is synonymous
with how a school is perceived by students and throughout the community in which the school

finds itself. It is also what people immediately think and perceive when your school comes to

mind.

ELEMENTS OF SCHOOL BRANDING

Elements of school branding could be considered as the key components which constitutes the

entire process of branding a school. It could be taken as the basic items and/or core resources on

which the image of the school is projected to its direct and indirect consumers. The following are

some identified elements for branding a school.

 School Name: Full or partial name that the school is best known for.

 Mascot or Logo: Visual representation of the school that identifies and projects the

school’s vision and values.

 School Colours: Selected colours by the school as a form of representation or recognition.

 Moto/Catch phrase/Tagline: A simple but interesting statement that when said identifies

your school. It must project the core values of the institution. It promotes school spirit

and pride

 Website: The school must have a website accessible to everyone. It must present the

school’s logo, colours and other services offered by the institution such as programmes of

study, examinations taken and extra-curricular events.

 Vehicle wrap: It is a fantastic opportunity to project your school by having the school’s

logo and colours designed on the bus. Colour scheme and logo must be eye catching.
SIGNIFICANCE OF SCHOOL BRANDING

1. Ensures good school reputation. It increases school and students’ pride.

2. Loyalty of major stakeholders such as parents, alumni and current students.

3. Tools for attracting best workforce. Management, teachers and other non-teaching staff

hope to affiliate to the institution.

4. Easy assistance. Good relationship with partners such as NGO’s, Traditional and religious

leaders, opinion leaders, etc who readily come to your aid in times of challenges.

5. Validation. It helps to reaffirm school’s core values and mission.

Marketing Approaches for School Branding

Knowing the significance of branding your school it is expedient that all efforts be made as well

as making the necessary investments to achieve the best for your school. Below are some

significant market strategies that could help place a school in a competitive environment.

1. Business cards. Faculty members and other staff should have business cards featuring

school’s identifications such as the logo, mascot, etc.

2. Letter head. Communication being sent on professionally designed and printed letter

head.

3. Electronic media platforms. Linking up with the world through social media platforms

such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc and having an active email and website.
 4. Catalogue. Creating an online catalogue platform to exhibit school’s achievement and

also showcase prominent individuals affiliated with the school.

5. Calendars. Creating a customized school calendar to get your school brands well

displayed. It could be given out to parents, teachers, other staff, institutions and

individuals of interest. For revenue generation purposes, the calendars could be sold out

to parents and alumni.

6. Banners. Banners placed at vantage points throughout the community could strongly

communicate the school’s mission. It could also be used to address pertinent societal

issues alongside projecting the school.

7. Customized stickers. Print stickers to stick items such as laptops and car seats. Produce

customized vests and bands to also sell the school.

8. Name badges. Badges having names of staff members and members of the management

team could be made and put on their chest for easy identification.

9. Memo pad. Giving customized emo pads to staff and students for jotting of notes. Diaries

could also be customized and sold or given out to alumni, parents and other individuals.

10. Social and academic activities such as honours day celebration, debate competitions,

drama and language week, art and craft feast could be organized. Participating in

community based programme could also aid in branding your school.

SUMMARY
The brand image of a school is successfully built if the elements of branding is built to suite the

core mandate, principles and values of the school.

REFERNCES

Kotler, P., & Armstrong, P. (2010). Principles of Marketing. Upper Saddle River: Pearson

Education Inc.

Rageviciusa, D. (2014). Branding Elements: A Study of the Largest Latvian Companies. Thesis

submitted to Jamk University of Applied Scinces

Somma, M. (2014). Brand Positioning Branding Strategy Insider. Retrieved from

http://www.brandingstrategyinsider.com/brandpositioning

van Eck, M., Willems, N. & Leenhouts, E. (2009). Stages of Internal Branding. European

Institute for Brand Management.

Yushchuk, P. & Dzyaba, Y. (2012). Importance of Slogan for Branding. Retrieved from

http://ir.nmu.org.ua/simplesearch?

query=THE+IMPORTANCE+OF+SLOGAN+FOR+BRANDING&submit=%D0%9D%

D0%B0%D0%B9%D1%82%D0%B8