Higher education that thinks like a brand

I recently spoke to the Ad Club of the Triad in Greensboro, North Carolina.  A nice AAF group from the third district.  A good presentation and some very interesting dialogue before and after.  Something came up in one of our discussions that I felt worthy of a blog post.  It seems that High Point University is located not too far from Greensboro.  A small private liberal arts school with about 3000 students.  I believe I had followed them in college basketball at some point and may have seen a sign coming through the airport, but I wouldn’t consider myself very familiar with the school, its setting, or their academics.  And those aren’t even the topics we spoke about. 

Under the leadership of their president Nido Quebin,  has turned High Point University in less than three years into… well, a brand.  And a brand that delivers a wonderful experience for faculty, students, and parents a like.  My Ad Fed colleagues spoke about all the great experiences that High Point had built into its campus, like lemonade stands and valet parking after 9pm to assure the safety of students.  It was just enough to whet my appetite to know more about this educational leader, change agent, and brand builder.  Grabbing a burger after the presentation I quickly went back to my room and Googled Nido and his University.  It was an enlightening web surf and I grabbed a short summary from Terry Paulson’s change and leadership blog that summarized some of their experiential efforts.

With new students just arriving at HPU, Nido and his team knew how frustrating that first day could be. He worked at changing that, “Positive experiences create brand. We want people to have a positive experience every three minutes when they first bring their kids to the university. We had bands playing music, free food and drinks at the kiosks around the grounds, free ice cream from our ice cream truck, and people ready to help with carts to carry luggage and boxes.” Nido was there walking the grounds, shaking hands, giving high-fives, talking to parents and students. The faculty and staff at the university joined in to make the WOW experience!

Nido realizes that initial experiences need to be sustained and institutionalized in a hundred different ways. Nido shared, “We have a Director of WOW at High Point University. Their job is to find the un-WOW and make it WOW. When a student first visits a campus, you have three minutes to make an impression. For the average student, it’s either ‘I feel at home’ or ‘Get me out of here!’ Since mothers are truly in charge, we focus on ‘What would momma say?’ Momma wants nice people, good food and a safe campus.” Nido has instituted WOW cards that people can give to anyone who provides a WOW experience. He and his team are committed to leaving a trail of tangibles that reinforce the HPU brand. The HPU Promise is contagious–”At HPU, every student receives an extraordinary education in a fun environment with caring people.”

Nido highlighted three WOWs that are making a big difference to students: “The best three things we did to create WOW were to bring a branded ice cream truck and kiosks for free ice cream, food and drinks, free car washes on the weekend and valet parking for students after 9 PM.” The food and drink kiosks and the ice cream truck sell the value of generosity. The valet parking sells the value of safety and security; even on a safe campus, HPU goes above and beyond to ensure the safety of its students. Because of the dirt from all the new construction and renovation, the free car washes on Saturday show the value of respect for the students’ property.

A leader of an institution that thinks of it as a brand.  How refreshing.  You don’t have to make or sell a packaged good to think like, or lead your business like a brand.  With all the choices in colleges for kids, here’s a man that knows he needs to stand for something different.  He’s not one of the larger schools in the state like NC State, Duke, or UNC.  No, High Point only has about 3000 students.  But last year their freshman class had almost 40% higher enrollment than their previous class of freshmen.  Something’s working.  Simple brand principles like positioning, personality, core essences, and consumer experiences should not be limited to the classroom in the college of business.  A wonderful case study is happening every day at High Point.  With two kids entering college in the next few years, as a parent I would certainly like to think that High Point would make the short list.  It just sounds like a fun place to go to school.

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