How To Build a Great Brand

Great brands aren’t born, they’re made.

They are based in honesty, a shared vision of excellence, and hard work.

They differentiate. They endure.

Great brands promise something extra that reaches beyond the basic product or service being offered, and provide intrinsic value to constituencies. Volvo, for example, promising “safety first, always” or Disney promising “happiness to people everywhere.” Then they set a goal of not just meeting – but exceeding – expectations for how they deliver on that promise.

So when people ask me for an example of a great brand in higher education, I often point to a surprising gem: Indiana State University.

ISU’s brand promise is “More opportunities for individual hands-on involvement from the very first day on campus.” It’s reflected in the powerful tagline, “More. From Day One.” It is a promise borne of honesty, and reflected in an oft-told anecdote about a freshman who had just arrived on campus and wandered into the student newspaper office, only to emerge as the publication’s editor after his first day on campus. The story is now legend in Terre Haute.

And this same brand is communicated well through print, electronic platforms, and in a TV-led campaign. Have a look at the two most recent :30 TV spots, playing in high-def in four Indiana markets:

The ads are good, and have gained lots of attention, but the really important element is that everyone on campus – from leadership to faculty, staff and students – believe in the promise, they own it, live it, and deliver it on a daily basis.

As the agency that helped ISU build its brand promise and platform, we are delighted that the ISU campaign topped a list of the “best branding ideas” in the country in a recent issue of University Business, a well-regarded higher education monthly. This article compiled a list of the country’s 50 best branding ideas in an effort to get college and university administrators to think about the promises they make to students, parents and other stakeholders and how those promises can be communicated effectively.

The ISU brand works because it’s true, honest, and meaningful. It’s based on broad input from stakeholders and tempered with solid audience testing. The process was not accomplished quickly or in a vacuum, notes ISU’s marketing director, Mark Edwards. “A diverse group of participants deliberated innumerable hours to ultimately forge a brand promise that accurately reflects reality.”

All true. But that sweat equity has translated into sustainability. Since the campaign launch more than four years ago, ISU the brand has grown, matured, and deepened. Today, nearly everyone on campus internalizes the singular idea that ISU delivers better than anyone else.

And it shows in a hefty ROI and rock-solid gains in market share, as more and more students each year choose the school that delivers “More. From Day One.”