Issue link: http://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/62215
The of B-School Branding forward question to ask might be, "If a business school offers educational programs and no one identifies with its offerings, does it matter how good they are?" Here, the answer is unequivocal: No. Yet, business school marketing programs often en practitioners often ask the enigmatic ques- tion, "If a tree falls in the forest and no one is there to hear, does it make a sound?" The elusive answer may be best left for Buddhist mystics and acoustical scientists to ponder. A more straight- confuse the quality of their programs with their identities in the marketplace. That can be a mistake, says Tim Westerbeck, executive vice president of Lipman Hearne, a marketing consulting firm with offices in Chicago, Illinois, and Washington, D.C. Creating a recognizable name that resonates meaningful- ly in the public mind—that is, a powerful brand—is not about a school's characteris- tics, he says. A brand is less about a school's rankings and test scores, and more about its culture and mindset. "When you pick up a school's view book or look at its Web site, it's almost always focused on product characteristics. That's sales," says Westerbeck. "Branding is based on who you are, not what you do." A business school brand should also take into account its By Tricia Bisoux hopes for the future, adds George Sopko, vice president of New York City's Stanton Crenshaw Communica tions, "As we put it, branding should capture both the 'is' and the 'ought.' It should describe not only who you are, but also what you aspire to be." Increased attention to business school brand- ing has led to much soul-searching within the adminis- trations and faculty of individual schools. Branding is an art, both Westerbeck and Sopko admit, but it isn't rocket science. Rather, it's a culmination of discus- sions that start with business school staff and stu- dents asking and answering one single ques- tion: "Who are we, really?" To develop a dis- tinct brand, say consultants, business schools must look at their histories, their legacies, and their ambitions to uncov- er what it is they truly stand for in the business school market. 24 BizEd NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2003 AARON WINDSOR/PHOTONICA