Category — 1 of Many

I had a good conversation today with James Gallagher from the Triangle Business Journal about university communications and our efforts to develop a new NC State television spot.  We talked about why branding is necessary in higher education and it got me thinking about a story we put together about university branding back in 2005.  I think it’s still pertinent today and have made a number of edits to bring it up to date.

Branding is an investment in the future.  It is an investment in the university’s ability to compete effectively for students, faculty, staff, and funding.

In the competitive world of higher education, universities must continually compete for top students, faculty and staff in order to remain viable.  We do not operate in a vacuum.  Our peers all market aggressively and many have already begun their own branding campaigns.

The reality is, the most recognizable university “brands” consistently attract the best students, faculty and staff; secure the most funding; gain the greatest accolades, and receive the most recognition in the press.  All of which are critical factors in the health, growth and long-term success of an institution.

The objective of our branding effort at NC State is to build the kind of public image that instills confidence.  Confidence on the part of the best students to select NC State University over one of our peer universities.  Confidence on the part of faculty and staff to want to be a part of a prestigious institution.  Confidence on the part of our alumni that their investment in time, money and passion is well placed. And confidence on the part of the Legislature and other funding bodies to invest more aggressively in an institution that is producing great returns for the state of North Carolina and the nation. [Read more →]

KEY MESSAGE I:
Everything you can imagine

NC State, the largest university in North Carolina, provides big-school opportunities in a global innovation hot spot while fostering a tight-knit community in one of the nation’s most desirable places.

Aligns with:

• Producing leaders for the state, nation and world
• Creating educational innovation

KEY MESSAGE II:
Driving the economy every day

NC State provides results that drive the economy – bringing critical thinking skills and discipline-based knowledge to all sectors of society through education, dynamic discoveries, and solutions to real-world problems.

Aligns with:

• Fueling economic development

KEY MESSAGE III:
Solutions for your world

NC State touches lives. With North Carolina roots and a global reach, we deliver solutions that anticipate and meet the needs of society.

Aligns with:

• Improving health and well being
• Driving innovation in energy and the environment

KEY MESSAGE IV:
We all go to NC State!

When the stakes are high and the dreams are big.

And the world we build for our children depends on how we answer some very tough questions.

We all go to NC State!

Passion Rules!

1 of many

NC State student John Tucker is a disciple of NC State.  No, it’s not a religion, but Tucker is passionate about the place.  He gets it when I close my blogs with Passion Rules!  Last week I asked people to comment about our marketing efforts here on campus and Tucker had a lot to say. Good stuff, all.  He even produced his own version of an NC State television commercial.  More good stuff.

Whether you agree with him or not, for John Tucker, Passion Rules!  See his comments and television commercial below.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gIMu2Dz0×4U

The current NC State commercials aren’t REALLY NC State. Ask a student what they think of the commercials- they’re ostly used as punch lines to jokes (Nano what?). To most people those commercials feel just that- too commercialized. The best way to sell something is to connect a certain feeeling and emotion to the product that way everytime that person has that certain feeling, it reminds them of the product (NC State). Yes, the bridge commercial is high tech and nice, but it doesn’t create a connection to the consumer. They are great commercials, to air during a TED talk or on the History Channel. [Read more →]

Been thinking a lot about university branding lately.  With a new Chancellor on board and his vision starting to crystallize, hard to fight the urge to put his words into message form.  Wouldn’t it be great if there was something simple and all encompassing like We Fulfill Dreams or The Gator Nation.

Budgets are another concern.  Is this the right time to spend a significant amount of dough on a new TV commercial for use on the network broadcast of Wolfpack athletic events.

Between us communicators, I’m not sure.

I keep coming back to two themes;  North Carolina’s University or We all go to NC State.  It may have been a while since you’ve seen the last one, but it’s pretty good! Could even be better.

Teachers go there for inspiration

Business leaders go there for the vision

Kids go there for heroes

Working people go there for the opportunity

When the stakes are high and the dreams are big,

And the world we build for our children depends on how we answer some very tough questions.

We all go to N.C. State!

Full of pride and passion. Full of aspiration and promise. Still fresh after all these years.  What do you think?  A tweak here and there, and off we go…to NC State…in 3D!!!

Passion Rules!

1 of Many

Jeff Braden’s comments regarding a recent letter to the editor in the N&O has generated quite a bit of discussion.  Some loved it.  Some not.  Jeff wanted to point out that the editors had to delete a paragraph from his original letter — we can only assume — to make it fit.  Too bad.  The graph was a good one.

Here, in it’s entirety, is Jeff’s letter.  Names have been changed to protect the innocent.

Passion Rules!

1 of Many

Too bad the writer of the letter “shocks from the left”  didn’t do their homework before turning in the essay.  The  refrain is familiar—that leftist, liberal professors force students to read popular anti-American screeds under the guise of required summer readings for incoming freshmen. She seizes on this summer’s reading selections at Duke, UNC-CH, and NC State as proof of that liberal conspiracy, declaring “college faculty” select titles “to persuade young people to reject everything they thought was good.” [Read more →]

CHASS Dean Jeff Braden had a letter to the editor in the N&O over the weekend in response to a letter earlier in the week criticizing the summer reading materials at N.C. State, Duke and UNC-Chapel Hill.  My hat’s off to Jeff.  He calls ’em as he sees ’em and he’s not afraid to challenge conventional wisdom, be it to the left or right. 

Eric Ferreri highlights Braden’s letter and the letter he countered in his News & Observer Blog, Campus Notes.

A point/counterpoint on liberalism in academia

http://tinyurl.com/237osvh

Anybody who follows HiceSchool knows I like to preach about the impact for-profit universities will have on our business.  Well, I’m doing it again.

Last night Frontline on PBS featured “College Inc.”  The program was all about the growth of for-profit universities.  Unfortunately, it was not a balanced report.  IMHO, the reporter went in with an agenda and it was evident throughout; For-profit universities aren’t real universities and they are taking advantage of the huddled masses yearning to breath free.  He also seemed to pooh pooh the need to spend money marketing higher education.  God help us.

The for-profit institutions are filling a need that is unmet by today’s state and private universities.  All told, they have millions of students and they spend hundreds of millions of dollars promoting the importance of higher education in today’s economy.  I don’t understand what’s wrong with that.

There are issues, to be sure, but it’s a young industry and it will change the face of higher education in our lifetimes.  It will get better.  The bad will disappear and the good will prosper.  Take that PBS.

If you didn’t have a chance to see the show, check it out below.  It’s worth a watch, but remember, don’t believe everything you see on TV.  Don’t believe everything you read at HiceSchool.com either.

Passion Rules!

1 of Many

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/collegeinc/

There are a few people in our lives that make a lasting impression.  Benny Suggs is one of those who made a lasting impression on my life.  Benny was an admiral in the U.S. Navy when we first met and he and his office helped me organize an event for Harley-Davidson at the Navy base in San Diego.

Benny is a devoted Harley rider and I knew he was also a loyal member of the Wolfpack less than five minutes after we met. Somehow the conversation just made it’s way to NC State way back when.

Benny left the Navy shortly after we met and he joined Harley-Davidson where I was working.  We had some great years together, working  on the growth and expansion of Harley-Davidson University — his first job in higher education:-) — and on a couple of projects that are burned into my consciousness.  When you meet him just ask about the work we did for the Navy Seals or the ride to New York City with a number of Harley-Davidson Police and Firefighter Motorcycles the week after 911.  The images will never go away.

So you’ll understand when I shout out that I’m proud to welcome Benny Suggs back to North Carolina and back to NC State as the Executive Director of the NC State Alumni Association.  Hold on folks.  It’s gonna be an amazing ride! [Read more →]