Elite U.K. universities are seeking tutorials on selling their brand
By Thomas Crampton International Herald Tribune International Herald Tribune | July 25, 2005 http://www.iht.com/articles/2005/07/24/news/marketing25.php OXFORD, England With the prospect of dwindling state funds, the eggheads of Oxford and Cambridge face a question many living beneath this city's dreaming spires may consider beneath their dignity: How do you market universities that are eight to nine centuries old? "Fund-raising is a topic we have to approach very carefully because it is not ingrained in the culture of these universities like it is in the United States," said Frances Cairncross, rector of Exeter College, Oxford. "There is a shift taking place, but it will take time." Indeed, both Oxford and Cambridge have major fund-raising efforts under way, but with scant details thus far available. Oxford has hired a fund-raiser from a North American university who starts work in October, and Cambridge will hold a public kick-off this year of the university's largest-ever campaign, to raise funds to honor its 800th anniversary in 2009. For all their prestige and fame, cashing in on their brand names will take more than a simple campaign, according to John Birnsteel, a London-based consulting director at Enterprise IG, a brand consultancy. "While they are both among the most prestigious educational establishments in the world, their amateur communications efforts give totally mixed messages to alumni," said Birnsteel, a graduate of Queen's College in Cambridge. "As it stands, I can never understand who is asking for money or for what." The administrative structure of Oxford and Cambridge is run roughly along the lines of a federal system that has individual colleges operating with a high level of autonomy in all respects while the central university administration coordinates a number of university-wide services, faculties and all undergraduate degree examinations. To eliminate confusion, Birnsteel said that both universities should establish a "masterbrand." "The key brand weakness is that there is very little identifying the universities as a single entity," Birnsteel said. "Sports unite universities in the U.S., but the only events that unite Oxford and Cambridge as a whole are a rugby game and a rowing race." The result, Birnsteel said, is that he receives requests for money from his college, the university and from individual faculties. "There is no streamlined message or economy of scale in this setup," he said. "Strong brands stand out from the clutter, but this does the opposite." Officials from both Oxford and Cambridge agree that fund-raising efforts must somehow overcome the decentralized manner in which these institutions have always been run. Individual colleges, in which students spend much of their time and hold strong allegiance, seem to compete in fund-raising against the university itself. The university raises money for the university-wide services like the faculty of English or the department of chemistry. "Alumni confusion about whether to give to their college or the university is something we are actively addressing now," said Aniela Shuckburgh, fund-raising campaign manager of the University of Cambridge. The challenge for Cambridge, as she sees it, is that U.S. institutions have more experience at raising money. "The university is working with the colleges to simplify our message," she said. "This is unprecedented, and we hope it will bring unprecedented results." Traditionally, colleges will raise money for accommodation buildings, scholarships and perhaps restoration of the chapel, and the university will raise money for things like a new law department building, a new chair of chemistry as well as scholarships. "Now we have narrowed it all down to four objectives," Shuckburgh said. "We want money for investing in students, investing in staff, investing in discovering creativity and investing in our great collections." Over at Oxford, fund-raising has also been raised to a higher priority. Formerly undertaken by the director of development, who answered to the college registrar, fund-raising has been raised to the level of a pro vice chancellor, who answers directly to the university's top executive, the vice chancellor. "We are putting development and fund-raising at the top of the university's agenda and absolute center of our operations," a spokesman for the University of Oxford said. Jon Dellandrea, the first person to fill the newly created post at Oxford, came from the University of Toronto, where he worked in a similar post. -- This is ZESTGlobal. Post articles on international affairs to [email protected] If you got this mail as a forward, subscribe to ZESTGlobal by sending a blank mail to [EMAIL PROTECTED] OR, if you have a Yahoo! ID, by visiting http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ZESTGlobal/join/ Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ZESTGlobal/ <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
