Source: Rex Features

Anchor away: it¡¯s tempting, but you can¡¯t build a ¡®lighthouse¡¯ on Joey Essex

The cynics predicted that the creation of a market in higher education would lead to universities pointlessly splurging on marketing as competition for students increased.

But they reckoned without the ¡°Challenger Lighthouse¡±.

A paper titled ¡°Developing a ¡®Challenger¡¯ Lighthouse Identity¡± was recently presented at the University of Essex¡¯s governing council.

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Essex has commissioned consultants eatbigfish to work on ¡°creating a convincing narrative around what distinguishes the university¡­projecting an identity that will help [it] to recruit the students it wants and needs¡±, the paper says.

Eatbigfish specialises in ¡°challenger brands¡± ¨C smaller names that want to grab a bigger share of the market. The firm explains on its website that challenger brands ¡°project what they believe like a lighthouse, so you notice them, even if you are not looking for them¡±, and are ¡°anchored on a product rock or compelling truth about their offer¡±.

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The firm explains that the ¡°Challenger Lighthouse Identity Programme¡± is ¡°an intense facilitated process run over a 12-16 week timeframe with a cross functional team (including agency partners)¡±.

And ¡°with strategy and execution running together the deliverables for the process are both tangible ¨C a 3-5?year vision and illustrative executional ideas to accompany it ¨C and intangible ¨C ownership and alignment across a team through co-creation and addressing all needs¡±.

Randy Banks, University and College Union branch president at Essex, said that while it was ¡°right for the university to think about how it competes for students¡­I¡¯ve got to say that examples such as this make me despair¡±.

He questioned why Essex needed to resort to ¡°obfuscatory and barely informative language in order to convey what is at root a simple message: ¡®Come to?Essex because of the quality of the education we provide, the quality of research that we produce, and the quality of the staff¡¯¡±.

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Chris Chapleo, senior lecturer in marketing at Bournemouth University, said he ¡°struggled to see real differentiation¡± between the Challenger Lighthouse concept and ¡°a good brand generally¡±.

Dr Chapleo said that while many universities talk about the need to create a ¡°distinctive¡± brand in the emerging market, they are ¡°inherently similar and¡­don¡¯t have absolute control over their products¡±.

The Essex minutes state that ¡°work was ongoing to capture and distil¡± the university¡¯s ¡°sharp points of difference, such as internationalism and social mobility, and to work popular conceptions of Essex into the university¡¯s self-image¡±.

Given that the institution already has a promotional video that junks the popular stereotype of the county, eatbigfish may have to anchor its Challenger Lighthouse on something other than white stilettos, fake tans and Joey Essex.

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john.morgan@tsleducation.com