Mad Men and Good Brands (continued)

And now a response to the Mad Men piece from yesterday that appears on one of my favorite blogs, The Educational Marketing Group, Inc.

Michael Armini of Northeastern wrote an engaging viewpoint piece for Inside Higher Ed last Thursday:  “Beware Higher Ed’s ‘Mad Men.’”

It’s a nicely-written opinion piece that warns institutions to avoid quick-fix branding from “mad men” marketers, a reference to the AMC cable show that caricatures Madison Avenue of the 1960’s.

And Michael is right, to a degree.  Building a reputation or changing how you’re being perceived takes lots of time and commitment.  Sustainable brands aren’t created through pretty pictures, trendy designs, catchy headlines, or slick advertising campaigns.  Neither are they created by having “consistent” publications or a persnickety application of the graphic identity.

And it’s also true, as Michael notes, that an influx of corporate marketing agencies have turned their sights on higher education in search of new clients during the economic downturn. Many of them don’t really understand higher education, and base their work on high-impact creative campaigns instead of on deeply held core values and unique advantages.  And while more than a few colleges and universities have been beguiled by this creative-campaign approach, most are disappointed by the results.

But here’s where Michael goes astray.  He seems to believe that because a few slick advertising agencies say that what they’re doing is “branding,” it must be true!  Well, not really.

Effective branding is all about developing a framework through which to express genuine differentiation and an internal process for focusing organizational improvement.  Anyone who thinks you can build a brand without having everyone – faculty, staff, students, alumni, administrators, board of trustees – delivering on what you promise is kidding themselves.

Why has the Disney brand been so successful?  Certainly not because of their advertising, publications, or website, even though they’re all first-class.  It’s because the organization has made a significant, focused commitment over years to carrying out Walt’s original vision.  Behind the curtain, the Disney brand platform and strategy are documented in exceptional detail.  Everyone who works there – from corporate executive to part-time theme park worker – has been trained and tested to be a representative of the brand.

Here’s another example:  The lovable Wall Street baby in E*Trade commercials doesn’t define a brand.  But he does catch attention (the baby has garnered something like 10 million combined views on YouTube, and has helped E*Trade gain significant market share), and conveys the company’s fundamental market position of an online trading platform that is so easy and convenient even a baby can do it!

Is the baby the brand?  Of course not, and if E*Trade does not deliver on its promise, no amount of baby-buzz will help.  But contrary to Michael’s position that paid advertising is no match for good old-fashioned public/media relations, good marketing is extraordinarily effective.

But brand marketing is effective for colleges and universities only if and when the “brand platform” reflects the institution’s genuine core values and its shared vision of excellence.

A brand cannot be handed to you by a creative advertising agency.  It must be built from the inside out, based on institutional strengths and core attributes. It doesn’t change with the seasons or with a new CEO, but endures, building an earned reputation over time by focusing on and expressing your unique distinctives.

Branding is no quick fix, to be sure.  It’s something you have to live and deliver, day in and day out.  It brings an institution together and provides focus.

Dr. V. Lane Rawlins, former president of Washington State University, was one of the rare CEO’s who truly understood the nature of sustainable branding.   Just before stepping down from WSU’s presidency in 2007, he said:

“Branding isn’t so much about talking to all of our different audiences.  It’s about convincing ourselves of what we are, and what we can become.  It has beginning, but it has no end.”

So I’m afraid that Michael simply failed to distinguish between developing an enduring brand and just launching yet another creative-driven campaign.  They are not the same.