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I’m interested in branding, but truly believe that a brand has to represent authentically what something is about… can consultants who are not at the centre of a brand really help… Times Higher Education has an article which indicates… not:

Paul Temple, reader in higher education management at the Institution of Education, has argued that although branding consultants have said they can change a university’s reputation, it can be built up only by years of academic excellence.

The attack comes as many universities are spending heavily on branding consultants to gear up for the new marketised sector.

Writing in Perspectives: Policy and Practice in Higher Education, the journal of the Association of University Administrators, Dr Temple argues that “people are not, mostly, idiots: they will see what is branding candyfloss and what is the reality, created over time by good management and a well-nurtured academic culture. Branding work…can have no significant impact on these matters.”

Even the most “credulous” university managers would not be persuaded that branding consultants could find short cuts to improve an institution’s reputation, he adds.

“If there were, we can be sure that someone would have found them by now,” he writes.

Read full story, and see also how the Australians are improving their chances with a different attitude.,