Bold education brands and the fear of standing out
The theme of this year’s Hashtag HigherEd conference, “Creating bold brands for the universities of tomorrow,” hits a nerve in the education sector, especially amongst those of us that have been advocating for bolder brands throughout our careers. Sadly, after more than 20 years of working with universities, I can confidently say that I’ve never seen a truly “bold” university brand - at least not one that fully and wholly embraces it beyond just a couple of initiatives or a shiny campaign.
Universities have a knack for claiming uniqueness and striving for distinctiveness, yet our marketing strategies feel frustratingly familiar. The promises of academic excellence, societal impact, and career preparation echo across the sector with little to distinguish one institution from the next. But the challenge isn’t just about saying something different – it’s about being something different. And that’s where the frustration in developing bold brand strategies really rises to a crescendo.
So why does our sector shy away from being bold?
The fear factor
Higher education institutions are inherently risk-averse. Our long histories, public accountability, and complex governance structures often result in a culture of caution. Boldness in branding feels risky – provocative campaigns or distinctive visual identities might alienate stakeholders, spark controversy, or be misunderstood. And the voices of one or two outspoken dissenters can reverberate in the corridors of the academy like a roaring crowd in a football stadium.
And yet, in a crowded marketplace, boldness isn’t just desirable – it’s essential. Students today have more options than ever, and choosing a university is no longer a local or even national decision for many. A bland or indistinct brand risks being drowned out in a sea of sameness. I think we’re already seeing the consequences of this across the sector, especially in the anglo-speaking world.
But it’s not just the outward-facing brand that needs courage. Boldness also requires institutions to address deeper, structural challenges within their product offering and the experience that is delivered.
Boldness beyond the brand
A bold brand can only succeed if it reflects a bold reality. Imagine promising an innovative, boundary-pushing education experience – but delivering tired teaching methods and uninspired student support. The disconnect between the promise and the product is where bold brands fail.
So, what does a bold education experience look like?
Curriculum innovation: Institutions must offer programmes that respond to current and future global challenges, ensuring that they are preparing students for the unpredictable world ahead.
Student experience: Boldness here means rethinking the whole journey, from enrolment to graduation and beyond. It might mean reimagining the way students engage with campus life or investing in personalised support systems that meet students where they are. It requires - yep, I’m going to say it - a customer-service and customer-centric culture.
Research impact: Universities often highlight their societal contributions, but how often is that narrative truly bold? It requires making genuine strides to connect research with the communities and industries it aims to serve, and to challenge their thinking in a way that inspires them to engage and act.
Universities leading the charge
Despite the sector’s cautious reputation, we have seen pockets of universities making bold changes in recent years and decades:
There is a rise of universities and schools that have eliminated the concept of a core physical campus altogether, with multi-city campuses that span different cultures or no campus at all.
There are attempts to innovate in programme design, especially in co-creating programmes with industry to help grow cohorts of graduates that are immediately ready for the workplace.
Some institutions - often arts institutions - have embedded a bold and “disruptive” or experimental quality to their brands and experiences that they create.
Other institutions have transformed the financial model of education, with examples of those who only charge tuition fees when a graduate is successfully placed in relevant employment, like a pay-by-success model.
But these instances are few and far between. And in the case of innovative programme design, it is often one or two programmes in amongst an offering of hundreds of other fairly “traditional” seeming programmes and products. Success will all be about reimagining the purpose of higher education and creating experiences that genuinely resonate with students and stakeholders at scale, and with the institution leaping in with both feet instead of a single toe.
Addressing the barriers: our micro stories
Sometimes, the greatest barriers to boldness are the stories we tell ourselves. These “micro stories” are the assumptions, fears, and narratives that hold us back:
“Our audience won’t understand or accept this.”
“This is how universities are supposed to communicate.”
“What if we alienate our core supporters?”
“We should be like this.”
“We need to keep everyone happy.”
These stories stem from a desire to protect the institution’s reputation, but they can also stifle creativity and innovation. And they all stem from individual anxieties and worries that then amplify across a university community. Addressing these internal narratives requires leadership, courage, and a willingness to challenge the status quo.
You can learn more about micro stories and how they get in our way from a keynote talk I delivered at KAUST in Saudi Arabia in January 2025 (skip the first 10 minutes to get to the start of the talk):
Leadership for a bold future
Creating bold brands isn’t just a task for marketing teams; it’s a whole-organisation effort. Leadership teams must champion risk-taking and empower their marketing, communications, and content strategy teams to experiment and innovate.
This might involve:
Encouraging collaboration across silos to ensure brand, curriculum, and student experience are aligned.
Redefining success metrics to reward creativity and differentiation, rather than defaulting to safe, incremental improvements.
Investing in staff development to ensure teams have the skills and confidence to lead the charge.
The opportunity to lead
Higher education is at a crossroads. With shifting student demographics, technological disruption, and increasing global competition, there has never been a more important time for universities to step up and define their unique identities. Bold brands can – and must – lead the way.
But bold branding isn’t just about visual design or catchy slogans. It’s about ensuring that every aspect of the institution – from its messaging to its culture to its student experience – lives up to that promise of boldness.
The real risk isn’t standing out. The real risk is staying the same.
How can we help?
Learn about the brand strategy services that we offer at Pickle Jar. We help institutions develop their brand strategies, brand vision and translate that to content and experience design. And our transformational coaching services helps teams to develop the creativity and confidence to call for and drive change.