In 2013, the Michigan Colleges Alliance (MCA) embarked on a project designed to explore the collective brand of the 15 independent colleges and universities in Michigan that are members of the MCA. As a group, the MCA is the third-largest institution in the state of Michigan, awarding about 13% of all bachelor’s degrees. At the time, the MCA institutions were already engaged in a wide variety of joint initiatives. MCA President Robert Bartlett sought to expand the partnership to include visibility and brand building.
The first step in the branding initiative was market research. SimpsonScarborough conducted in-depth interviews with the president of each of the MCA institutions. The research revealed that there are important differences between the institutions such as faith environment, urbanity, selectivity, geographic reach, tuition, exclusivity, and delivery models. However, there are also significant points of parity, including emphasis on the liberal arts and personal attention, values orientation, focus on teaching, and credible outcomes like high graduation rates. A major outcome of the research was agreement that brand building for the collective set of institutions was both possible and worthwhile.
Fast-forward to 2014 to the launch of the MCA’s We Are The Independents campaign. The campaign website profiles students and alumni, busts common myths about private higher education, provides information on scholarship opportunities, and includes links to each campus. Since its launch in November 2014, the campaign has generated 7,000 social media interactions, 2.2M impressions, more than 60k page views, and 759 scholarship applicants. In addition to the web and social activity, the campaign includes college fairs, webinars for guidance counselors, college nights for parents, direct mail, and email outreach.
The MCA branding program is decidedly unique in higher education. “To my knowledge, no other consortium of independent universities and colleges has collaborated so directly and strategically in a promotional campaign,” said Robert Bartlett, President of the Michigan Colleges Alliance. “It’s a big step. Our member presidents deserve a lot of credit for being innovators in an increasingly challenging marketing environment.”