Brands in Higher Education

This study explores the challenges of university branding and the qualities that make university branding different from commercial branding in terms of cultural issues, branding concepts and frameworks, and brands architecture. The literature about branding in the university sector is described and viewed in the context of exploratory interviews with 55 university managers. The results present the differences between university and commercial brandings as well as culture, brand concepts, and brand architecture. The study was conducted in U.K. universities, but similar issues in many other countries mean that the results are comparable internationally. Overall, the findings presented in this research offer a valuable contribution to our understanding of the complexities of higher education branding.