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Megatrend
#4: Branding
Branding will become
increasingly important in the education industry, just as it has
become a predominant means of building companies in other
industries. In the education industry of yesterday, brands were
built by delivering an exceptional education to an exclusive set of
students. These brands have a dominant force in the education
industry of today, with names like Harvard, Stanford, Princeton and
Yale carrying significant authority as we enter a new world where
education is delivered in a variety of forms.
In the knowledge economy there is
opportunity for education brands to be built through inclusiveness
and accessibility (not exclusivity and inaccessibility) when coupled
with high-quality programs that have a consistent, positive impact
on educational achievement. Educational providers can form very deep,
trust-based relationships with their students (and, when serving
young children, their parents, too). Successful providers have
intensely loyal customers, providing opportunity for these companies
to extend that relationship through other products and services.
Other "deep" brands include Disney, Nike and
Mercedes-Benz. With Americans busier than ever before (evident by
both parents working), we are increasingly making product decisions
based on brands. Branding has become a short cut to identify quality
and consistency.
Brands With Highest Level
of Customer Commitment
- Apple Computer
- Disney
- Body Shop
- Harley-Davidson
- Mercedes-Benz
- Nike
- McDonalds
Interbrand describes deep brands as
those that "have developed intimate relationships with their
customers, usually on the basis of shared 'central' or 'higher'
values. These brands
might not always have dominant market shares, but they have real
power to influence their customers." We believe in the next
several years we will see a strengthening in educational brands, as
well as through expanding the breadth of educational content along
these lines.
Moreover, as lifetime
learning becomes a necessity, the value of branded franchises will
increase as students return again and again to the knowledge well.
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Branding's Impact on Education
& Training |
|
Sector |
Impact |
|
Early
Education |
With increased
understanding of the importance of early education on a
child's learning potential, parents are increasingly
looking for quality care for their toddlers, identified
by a strong education brand or NAECY accreditation. |
|
K-12 Education |
Infusing our
schools with the characteristics of the new economy, in
particular, subjecting them to the discipline of the
free market, where they provide results or are not paid,
will be a positive change. |
|
Post-secondary |
As choices
proliferate in the post-secondary market, particularly
through technology-based programs, students will
associate Education with brands that signify strength in
the areas they plan to develop expertise. |
|
Corporate
Training |
As
corporations look to outside organizations to manage
their training programs, branding will be a
factor in the early selection process. Companies
themselves are also branding their own training content
whether for internal or external use, to, for example,
extend training to their channel organizations or
end-users around the world. |
|
Consumer |
Branding has
become a short cut for parents and students to identify
quality educational products and services. |
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Source:
Merrill Lynch |
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