Trends in Higher Education: Implications for Branding

Intro

To improve their positions in international rankings, universities have been investing in attracting faculty, enhancing infrastructure, and boosting marketing efforts. This has led to increased bureaucratic structures and, consequently, rising costs of higher education worldwide. The recent wave of university rebranding also indicates growing competition for the best students and professors.

In recent years, the increase in tuition fees for undergraduate and graduate programs in the US, the largest global market for higher education, has significantly outpaced the growth of average incomes and similar values for other consumer goods and services, including real estate and healthcare.

In OECD countries, the rise in education costs has also far exceeded the increase in consumer prices. In the US, this has resulted in a total of $1.56 trillion in student loan debt—$670 billion more than credit card debt.

Updating Brand Positioning

As higher education becomes increasingly globalized and students move around the world in search of the best-fit universities, institutions still leverage the strengths of their locations as competitive advantages.

In this context, brands in the higher education sector face two alternative opportunities: focusing on their global connections, integration into the world academic community, and diversity of faculty and students, or highlighting the unique aspects of their location—such as the history and culture of the city, its business environment, and relationships with local stakeholders. Updates in brand positioning and corporate identity result from these changes.

By partnering with Electric Brand Consultants for your branding needs, you will benefit from our extensive knowledge of best practices across more than 20 industries, allowing us to tailor our rebranding methodology to your specific requirements.