I really think that college sports are out of control in certain institutions, as is the idea that every university and college needs "to be a brand". It seems to me that the draw for most students and particularly international students, is "the brand" that institutions have cultivated due to their reputations for contributing to the liberal arts and the sciences. I don't know what the answer is, but something needs to change.

Oh boy. This part in particular, about branding in relation to colleges and college organizations is something that I have had many a conversation about. I'm fortunate enough to have become friends with my colleges Chief Communication Officer, and a big part of the reason that his job and university news positions exist is because of the branding push. Colleges make a very conscientious decision as to what their branding would be. Sure, a college might excel at liberal arts or engineering, but it goes much, much deeper than that.

The push to be a brand is a push to determine the philosophy behind organizational hierarchies and recruiting efforts at university. "How can a prospective student see a 30-second commercial and immediately connect with us?". "How can we as an organization exude and function in a manner that reflects our branding?". College is a big business, and every university needs to have a firm brand in order to attract students and potentially more importantly, to keep alumni involved. It's my opinion that a university that has a brand that appeals to alumni and keeps them interested after graduating is in a great position. Alumni donations are a huge part of the money train. Without the brand, every college is a faceless entity to people that aren't already invested in the college or considering it among other colleges. The enrollment drive and desire to keep alumni is what drives branding at universities. Oh, and international recruitment is a big part of that too but that's a whole extra 3 paragraphs.

Anyway, I have a few presentations and other stuff courtesy of the CCO and companies that they go to for branding help, and to say that "something needs to change" is a daunting task. I'm almost tempted to post a recent commercial for my university that I was privy to well in advance and ask people to analyze it, and then discuss the branding that went into it.