Look at the picture at left. Where does your eye go? Why does it go there? Because the red apple stands out, right? And why does it stand out? Because it’s different!

That, my friend, is the essence of marketing: positioning your programs, colleges and universities so they stand out from the competition by pointing out their uniqueness.

Here are two easy exercises to help you build brand. First, list on a sheet of paper all of the features and benefits that are special about your program or institution. Now, on a second sheet of paper, list your top five competitors along with the features that are special to them. Taking your first list in hand, cross out everything that can be said by one of your competitors. What’s left is what is unique about your institution.

For your second exercise, define your brand by writing in one sentence your program’s position, purpose, and promise. If that sentence should happen to appear in the viewbook of one of your peer institutions, would it matter? Would the brand identity you’ve outlined for your program work just as well in defining theirs?

Positioning your institution, on the surface, seems like the easiest thing in the world. But of course, it isn’t. That’s why most institutions don’t do a good job of it. Take the marketing materials from most colleges and universities and they are interchangeable. But for the few that stand out, they do so for a reason. They’ve taken the time required to differentiate their product and they have clearly communicated their uniqueness.

Your program and your institution are unique. Invest the time in pointing out those differences and see what a difference it makes.

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