Two large, well-respected national universities. Two assistant coaches. Two pedophiles.
Two marketing gurus. One is actually a hack, who goes on and on about the “new consumer” and how “she is in control” and that “you no longer control your brand.” The other admits the consumer ultimately defines what your brand stands for, but wisely asserts that does not mean you should abdicate control of how you would like it to be perceived.
One school is three times the size of the other, spawning satellite campuses across its home state. It is a major economic engine of said state. Yet, if you mention the name of the school to someone outside of Pennsylvania, 99 out of 100 people will make reference to its football team in some manner – the team, the coach, the heritage.
The marketing hack will say that’s just the way it is – because “the consumer is in control.” The other marketing guru will cringe, and think of other such schools like Ohio State.
The smaller school has some fine athletic programs also, mainly in sports other than football. People inside its home state are just as proud of it as the people in Pennsylvania are proud of their state university. And, when you mention the name of the school to people across the country, they aren’t as likely to reference a single sports team.
The marketing hack will say this school has a weak brand. The marketing guru will smile.
Then each school faces its worst nightmare. The Pennsylvania students actually riot, angry about the seeming injustice to its football program. The Syracuse situation flares up for about three minutes when the head coach apologizes for “misspeaking.”
Because it let the “consumer control its brand” essence, one school will be tainted for a very, very long time. Because the other school made marginally more effort to present a broader brand proposition, in three years’ time people will be hard-pressed to remember Bernie Fine’s name.
For a simple illustration of the differences in branding, compare Syracuse University’s website to that of Penn State.
The latter looks like it was designed by Bernie’s cousin, Larry.
