Branding Public Universities in Ghana: A Supply Chain Perspective

Abstract

Public universities in Ghana are funded by the state. In spite of this privilege, increased demand for improved facilities and the need for the introduction of innovative and competitive programmes, coupled with intense competition from their private counterparts have increased the pressure on these universities to either innovate or risk being crowded out from the market. The purpose of the paper is to investigate branding strategies adopted by public universities and their effects on meeting stakeholder expectations. The study analysed branding strategies of six public universities in Ghana. The findings revealed that most public universities’ branding strategies focused mainly on improvement of physical infrastructure; the provision of state-of-the-art laboratories; broad band internet services; the introduction of market driven programmes; the mounting of huge signposts and pull-up banners among others. Indeed, the research revealed that the ultimate goal of branding these institutions is to be able to appeal to prospective students and attract well-qualified and competent faculty members. However, further findings point to the fact that little attention is paid to perhaps the most important stakeholders - the students, who according to the extant literature serve as major stakeholders and brand ambassadors for these institutions. This study is significant because it brings to the fore essentials of branding and brand strategies appropriate to academic institutions and also re-orient educational authorities about the importance to rethinking the educational supply chain from the upstream through the midstream or the institutions through the downstream.