An Exploration of Brand Values

Xie Yuan-yuan

【Abstract】This assignment explores the design and brand as a communication vehicle on the basis of a case study of the University of Wanli. The paper first gives a brief overview of the background information. It then goes on to discuss the university from a students perspective and from an employees perspective. In the third section， adjectives and strap lines are produced to export Wanli to the international market. Finally， two negative aspects of the university are addressed and accordingly some suggestions made.

【Key words】brand values； case study； Wanli

In the new global economy， branding has become a central issue for marketing. The success of a business strategy depends on how successful a company communicates the concept to its customers. This market-oriented and customer-centred approach also applies to the competitive higher educational market. In order to meet students specific needs and attract more students， a university should succeed in building an effective brand and in distinguishing its products and services from those of its competitors.

The University of Wanli， located in Ningbo， Zhejiang Province， grows out of the closure of another university which has a history of more than 50 years. Because of the way it was set up and it is financed， it can not be simply categorised as either a state-owned institution or as a private institution. As for the internationalisation of the higher education， Wanli has established its cooperative arrangements with many prestigious universities in the UK， USA， Germany， France， Japan， Korea， etc. （University Profile， 2016）. Furthermore， through cooperation between Wanli and the University of Nottingham， the first Sino-British University was founded in Ningbo （Coughlan， 2004）.

A key factor in the universitys success is its emphasis on humane education and personality development. Wanli attaches great importance to both students academic progress and their innovation and creativity through a series of extracurricular activities and scientific researches. Apart from this， the university has distinctive features in student-centredness， unique academic atmosphere， pioneering spirit and openness. Moreover， it integrates education and economy. Wanli regards its customer as King and asks students parents to take part in the management.

Wanli also succeeds in attracting a number of talented people from different parts of China and from all over the world. As new teaching staff， one can feel the co-existence of the opportunity and the challenge. The challenge that they face is the flexible system of “survival of the fittest”. The high standards set by the university require teachers to improve their teaching quality， which ensures teachers a high salary and accordingly encourages them to work harder. On the other hand， all teachers are given better treatment and offered more opportunities for advanced training compared to those from other universities.

In light of this， core messages are produced with a view to communicate potential customers and promote Wanli to the international education market. A description of the business can be “internationalised”， “ingenious”， “creative and innovative”， “supportive”， “modern”， “people-friendly” and “student-centred”. Suggested straplines can be “Wanli， where West meets East and move forward”， “Think first-class education， think Wanli”， “Wanli， the pursuit of creativeness and innovation”， and “Come to grow with us.”

The above adjectives and strap lines show the openness， a high speed of the development， an excellent and creative teaching and learning environment. Despite the fact that Wanli has made great achievements and it has many competitive advantages， weaknesses can not be ignored. The first aspect is concerned with the score of students. On average， students are of lower academic quality than students from key universities. In regard to the second aspect， people tend to hold the view that students from Wanli are fabulously wealthy but not hard working. This point of view does harm the recruitment of the university to some extent. In fact， not every student of Wanli was born into a rich family. The majority of students are from medium-income families. Besides， some students have to get student loans to pay tuition fees and do part-time job to cover living expenses.

Since the idea of traditional state-owned institutions is deep-rooted in peoples mind in China， other new running systems are still not mature enough to be accepted widely. Therefore， advertising strengths of the new system simply can not solve the problem. However， the negative aspects can be dealt with in a different perspective. As for Wanli students， the performance may not be as impressive as those from key universities originally， but there will be a giant leap through the universitys support and students own efforts after three or four years study. Wanli can mainly target students who want to have a giant leap in the performance and fulfill their potential to the full. Besides， it is important to report students achievements regularly in the mass media with a view to keep their good performance publicly known. In this way， the negative perception of Wanli students will be altered as time goes by.

In conclusion， this assignment has focused on design and brand of Wanli University in the higher educational market. A brand usually integrates good points and weak points of the business， which establishes an identity in customers minds. In order to overcome the drawbacks， Wanli should re-position itself to deliver its core values through brand and design. Meanwhile， opportunities for potential expansion should be identified and strong brand with distinction should be built to address customers specific needs constantly. In this way， the sustainable development of Wanli University can be realised.

References：

[1]Coughlan，S.（2004）.UK university to open in China.Retrieved on Dec.27，2016，from http：//news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/education/3565665.stm.

[2]University Profile.（2016）.Zhejiang Wanli University Webpage.Retrieved on December 26，2016，from http：//www.zjwu.net/8/list.htm.