Assessing university brand personality through logos: an analysis of the use of academics and athletics in university branding

TLDR

Universities whose survival depends on external stakeholders must build strong brands, and brand managers need to understand consumer interactions to create effective recruiting materials, advertisements, and other marketing efforts. This study applies brand personality theory to academic and athletic logos and investigates the relationships between the perceived brand personalities. The authors surveyed university logos online, applying brand personality theory to academic and athletic logos and analyzing the relationships between perceived brand personalities. Survey results show that competence is primarily linked to academic logos, while excitement is primarily linked to athletic logos. Keywords: brand personality, academic branding, athletic branding, university logos, university identity.

Abstract

Abstract For colleges and universities whose survival depends on external stakeholders, developing a strong brand should be an important component of their marketing strategy. University brand managers could benefit from developing a better understanding of how consumers interact with their brand in order to develop more effective recruiting material, advertisements, and other marketing efforts. The current study applies the concept of brand personality to university academic and athletic logos and examines subsequent relationships between the perceived brand personalities. Results of an online survey indicate that competence is a brand personality dimension mostly associated with academic logos, and excitement is the brand personality dimension mostly associated with athletic logos. Keywords: brand personalityacademic brandingathletic brandinguniversity logosuniversity identity