Alumni kao odlučujući čimbenik stvaranja imidža i jačanja brenda sveučilišta

Strength of university’s brand assists its graduates in entering and advancing in the labor market and their successes further strengthen the university’s brand. This cause and effect relationship can just be nurtured and enhanced by the world known universities while young universities have an imperative of creating it, maintaining it and developing it. In order to succeed in this process, it is necessary to know the factors which affect brand creation, from the characteristics, over identity, image and reputation to the brand itself. Case study of the University of Dubrovnik represents how young higher education institutions experience difficulties in establishing emotional links with their former students who graduated from their legal precedents which are no longer existent. Weak turnover rate in attracting alumni in alumni associations and even weaker numbers of participants in yearly social functions organized for alumni shouldn’t be taken as discouragement, but as incentive as the image is being created and brand is strengthened by understanding of theoretical premises and hard and many years long work which in the end results in benefit for both alumni and the university they graduated from.