Branding in the system of higher education: particular features and main elements

Education is a purposeful process of education and training for the benefit of man, society and the state, accompanied by a statement of achieving by the citizen educational levels, established by the state. Receiving education by the student is treated as an achievement and confirmation of his specific educational qualification which is certified by the appropriate document.

Thus, the scope of educational services is an area of professional activity to meet the diverse needs of consumers in higher professional education and receiving the relevant document confirming its existence.

Education is considered to be socially significant boon, therefore, the process of education must meet certain requirements by the state, and by the consumers of educational services. The process of education is aimed at the development of professional, socially relevant skills and personal qualities that allow the user to achieve concrete results. Thus, a specific set of conditions and the ability of the educational institution staff to meet the needs of the customer, as well as to monitor the results of the activities of providing services are considered as the basis of the requirements for the quality of services.

Consumption of educational services is tripartite. The customers of high-quality educational services of the university are State represented by the Federal Agency for Education, a variety of businesses that hire young professionals and, finally, individual consumers - directly receiving educational services. Thus, the requirements for the quality of services are imposed by each subject of educational activities.

The process of providing educational services itself includes, in addition to the complex of educational programs, a specific set of planned or unplanned proposals, the impact of which may have a decisive influence not only on the choice of the institution, but also on the expected result.

There is no doubt about the fact that in modern conditions the transition of universities to the system of self-financing, maximizing revenues and profits is becoming one of the main objectives of education institutions. This means that universities today are in the same competitive conditions as commercial organizations. Due to the steadily declining birth rates, competition in the market of educational services is increasing. Universities seek to attract customers not only by modern educational programs, but also through a variety of marketing tools.

As is well known, the main features of the services are: immateriality, failure to store, originality, inseparability. Intangibility of the services indicates that they can’t be seen and demonstrated before receiving. Educational services are classified as the most intangible. For potential consumer it is difficult to understand and evaluate the content of the services before receiving them. In this context they have to rely on credibility and authority, image and brand of the university offering education services for sale.

Numerous studies have shown that applicants in choosing the university are guided more by external assessments and available external information about the educational institution, than by requests to obtain specific knowledge. For example, according to a study of Begin Group company [1], the decisive factors affecting the choice of the university are the prospects of future employment and the availability of interesting specialties. Indeed, modern applicants seek stability and prestigious job in the future. However, certain features of commercial products are inherent in the education market, so any novelty sooner or later be copied by competitors. In other words, if specialty is popular among students, it is likely to be opened in most universities. This complicates the choice of institution just by the criterion of specialty attractiveness.

With regard to employment opportunities, the instability of the economic situation in the world does not guarantee the execution of their duties by the university in this area. In addition, the advertising slogan about graduates' qualitative employment is difficult to prove or disprove.

Therefore in the present conditions the management of higher education institutions must be engaged in promotion of the university, not its separate specialties. This will ensure a steady stream of consumers of educational services, regardless of the changes in market conditions or macroeconomic indicators. In the field of higher education, as well as in commercial structures, the number of universities is growing, competition increases, and consumers are becoming more discerning in their preferences. Bright advertising campaign and ringing slogans attracte consumers less. Modern applicants need to be confident in the future, focus on a certain style of life and success. Applicants are seeking guarantees, not just big promises.

Thus, we conclude that in the field of higher education, as well as in commercial structures, offering a high quality product through advertising campaigns, even having a strong trade mark, is no longer enough. Therefore, for the most complete and effective achievement of the higher education institutions objectives, it is necessary to create and maintain its brand.

Brand - is a combination of functional and emotional characteristics of the goods or services that exist in the mind of the consumer, defining personality of the product or service, which, in its turn, stimulates the consumer preferences of a certain category of people.

Branding will allow higher education institution to provide a steady flow of applicants who do not need extra motivation to receive educational services, branding opens up new opportunities for funding, developing cooperation with foreign universities, facilitate market launch of new services (business or further education).

However, despite the obvious attractiveness of this strategic development, many university managers believe that the only true step is capture a larger market share for gaining a strong position. In other words, in conditions of shortage of applicants university managers tend to attract any consumer that can successfully pass the entrance test. This is facilitated by the system of admission to universities on the results of the unified state examination. It should be noted that this kind of behavior shows a serious threat to the future development of the university.

With the implementation of a process aimed at increasing market share in the field of educational services, it is necessary to remember that the quality of the educational process is bilateral in nature. On the one hand, the quality of educational services depends on the professional level of service source, on the other hand - on the level of motivation and cognitive development of the subject receiving the service. Recruitment of students who are unable to perceive the quality of educational services in the long term leads to a decrease in the level of education of graduates and, as a consequence, a sharp drop in the image of the institution, reducing the flow of new customers (students), interest from funding government agencies and, most importantly, the potential employers offering employment for young professionals. Recruitment of students who are unable to perceive the quality of educational services in the long term leads to a decrease in the level of education of graduates and, as a consequence, a sharp drop in the image of the university, reduction in the inflow of new customers (students), loss of interest from funding government agencies and, most importantly, prospective employers offering employment for young professionals. The effectiveness of the educational process can be reduced to a minimum even with high quality of teaching, if the student is not able to perceive the information it receives or does not tend to perceive it.

Thus, careless capture a bigger share of the market, together with the increasing number of consumers can lead to undesirable consequences, which will eventually have a negative impact on the image of the university.

The need to develop the higher educational institution brand is dictated not only by the need to survive in a competitive environment, but also the need to develop under the new organizational conditions.

Modernization of Russian education is aimed at creating conditions for universities to integrate into the world educational space. However, it should be noted that today there are many foreign institutions of higher education with a strong position in the market, a certain segment of consumers and well-established image, based on the unique value. Many of them already over the long term are world-renowned brands in the field of higher education, and to take a place in the ranking of universities by Russian educational institutions will not be easy, despite the fact that Russian education is known for its quality. This proves once again the need to implement into the national education system not only innovative educational programs, but also marketing techniques applied extensively by business organizations, in particular brand building technology.

Despite the close relationship with the commercial branding, branding of educational institutions has several features:

• 1.    As mentioned above, the result of educational services is intangible, so applicants choosing higher educational institution based solely on the image and reputation of the institution. This means that the brand of the university should evoke positive associations and be known and easily recognizable by the target audience, as well as by students from other universities. Education in branded institution of higher education should enhance the student's personal brand not only in the eyes of future employers, but also in the eyes of students from other institutions. This creates a sense of elitism and exclusivity, which future applicants will seek.

• 2.    Lack of persistence and quantitative measurement of services does not allow the customer to assess their true quality, the customer does it indirectly. In other words, when assessing the institution customers pay attention to indirect factors, primarily on the material: number of classroom fund, the composition of the teaching staff, library fund, computer software and other measurable physical parameters of the educational process. Consequently, for the promotion of the brand management of the university is necessary to focus on the factors listed as actively as in the innovative programs and relevant specialties.

• 3.    In higher education the concept of "quality of service" requires further substantiation. In other words, unfounded advertising claims of high-quality education can adversely affect the image of the institution and loyalty. It is

• 4.    When you open a branch great importance should be given to the formation of the overall image with the main institution. It must be remembered that the negative attitude of consumers to the branch of the institution with high probability will affect the overall image of the university.

• 5.    Because of the content of educational services, the audience of consumers can be expanded up to a certain limit, therefore in the expansion and promotion of the brand management of the university should focus on the creation of the key values for a limited number of consumers, for applicants who do not need extra motivation to learn.

necessary to attract potential consumers on indicators such as highly qualified teaching staff, the use of modern technologies, cooperation with foreign universities and so on.

Inclusion the formation of the brand as a phase of strategic development of the higher education institution imposes certain obligations on the management for the long thoughtful work on the future image of the university. At the same time, any activity of capturing a place in the minds of consumers should be based on management's understanding of both the goals and the process of branding. For this it is necessary to identify the elements that build brand institution of higher education. As a result of analysis of the most successful business companies using the method of analogy and taking into account features of the higher education, we can identify the following elements of the brand of the university.

• 1.    As in the commercial sphere, educational brand-building begins with the production of high quality unique product . The uniqueness can be found not only in the specialty or the subjects studied. In other words, the existence of a set of brand new trendy specialties is not a prerequisite for the formation of a brand. Long-term consumer loyalty to the proposals of the institution can be created on the basis of traditional specialties, if the value of education in that institution supported by the unique conditions, training teaching staff, active cooperation with foreign companies or educational institutions, various internships, practices

• 2.    Product characteristics are generally important for external environment of organizations. However, its internal environment in the process of building a brand plays perhaps more important role. The university will look at the educational market a single entity, if it developed a set of values based on the uniqueness of the product and the organization itself. Values - it is vital principles, underlying basis of personality, this is what allows you to trust the brand. Although values substantially not expressed verbally, some keywords for their designations are important and must be carefully selected.

• 3.    Staff . Just to make a product or service with a set of unique characteristics is not enough today. If all the employees are not involved in the process of branding, if they do not accept and do not share the values of the organization, educational institution fails. It should be noted that the involvement of employees in the system of values of the brand in the field of services, including education, plays a more important role than in business structures. In commercial organizations, consumers' loyalty towards the brand is formed primarily through interaction with the product and staff providing maintenance services. In educational institutions, most of the time the consumer interacts with the staff: with lecturers and staff, who, being involved in the creation and promotion of the brand and sharing the values of the organization, have placed their trust and strengthen the image of the university.

• 4.    One of the main characteristics that distinguish the brand of the trademark is its ability to give the consumer more than just the satisfaction of needs. Brand allows the consumer to get the feeling of belonging to a social group to which he may not belong. In other words, the brand must have strong mental foundation. For example, buying a BMW or watches Rolex, the consumer wants to be perceived as a serious, successful and self-sufficient person. The same want to feel the consumer educated in universities such as Oxford, Sorbonne or MGIMO. Although finding a basis for the creation of such value for the customer in the field of education is much more difficult than for a commercial organization, in case of success management will be able to form a long-term attachment of the target audience of high school.

• 5.    Stability . Market positions may be lost by the absence of continuity and stability in the decisions of the university management in the education market. In other words, defining the direction of the strategic development of the institution, management should follow it. For example, positioning itself as an elite educational institution, differing by special approach to the selection of applicants, adaptation procedures, training and education of students, the university cannot

• 6.    Commitment . Sense of commitment to the brand is reflected in the fact that, regardless of external conditions, entrants will seek to get an education in this university, and after they will be a living instrument of brand promotion. For example, graduates of Oxford lifelong proud that they have been educated in this university, and often education in this institution becomes a family tradition.

• 7.    Trust. All components of the brand of the university listed above allow to generate the desired behavior of consumers, not to win a place in the handbook of the best universities of the city, region or country, but in the minds of consumers. However, as has been said above, created brand must be constantly patronized and supported. Without trust, both from employees and from the students, the continued existence of the brand in the market is practically impossible.

• 8.    Management . The most difficult step in building a brand in the field of education in modern conditions is the formation of the necessary relations with management. The most common behavior of heads of educational institutions today is the detachment, a desire to shift marketing events for various departments. However, experts in the field of marketing and branding have shown that the formation of the brand of any organization must begin with management and only by their enthusiasm transferred to others. No one can create and implement brand in the distance, as well as to guide detached creation of the brand

and so forth. These unique characteristics attract the attention of potential consumers. Thus, any feature that will highlight the institution of a variety of others, should be identified and clearly specified.

Despite the fact that the values have a particular impact on the behavior of the employees of the organization, they are also important for all elements of the external environment of the university. Customers’ loyalty to the brand and the desire of the authorities, business organizations and other educational institutions to maintain a relationship with it is stronger in those universities, which internal corporate values are most near and dear to the target audience.

«Explanation of the company's employees the meaning of the brand and its ideas - this is one of the best investments that can make the organization», – writes an honorary member of the National Council of the American Institute of Graphic Arts Alina Wheeler in her book «Individuality of the brand. Guidelines for the creation, promotion and support of strong brands» [2]. Long-term success of the university and the effectiveness of the process of building a brand is directly dependent on whether staff accepts the corporate culture of the university and its values, symbols, history and so forth. Adoption of the values firstly depends on understanding, a clear vision of the essence of the brand. To do this, is necessary constantly coordinate the organizational culture of the university and the behavior of employees.

afford to take anyone who applies even in times of crisis. In this case, the image of the university would be undermined and its recovery will take a long time.

The credibility of the brand in the first place is based on the degree of implementation of the promises that the university provides to its customers, both existing and potential, and everyone in the organization. Promising nothing, the brand loses the ability to attract consumers. However, non-advertising promises can lead to the loss of most of the target audience. In this case, won credibility is undermined by unfair advertising advantage fabricated or biased comparisons. Creating brand managers need to remember that trust is very hard to win and easy to lose.

is impossible. In the words of Martin Lindstrom, one of the most original theorists of branding: "Successful brands are created out of love and not out of duty".

Thus, educational branding in modern terms - is an objective reality, a technology that is necessary to seize the leaders of universities, in order to survive in the education market to fight the competitors and win a place in the mental space.