"Blanding" In or Standing Out?

Higher ed loves to talk about innovation—except when it comes to brand, marketing and communications. As competition gets fiercer, most schools aren't standing out. They're blending in. But in a market where skepticism is rising and enrollments are falling, is looking like everyone else really the best strategy?

The higher education sector faces a paradox: institutions tout innovation in academic programs while their branding remains mired in safe, interchangeable platitudes. As enrollment pressures mount and public skepticism grows, schools clinging to "Ivy-lite" aesthetics and generic taglines like “Unlock Your Potential” aren't just failing to differentiate—they're accelerating their own irrelevance. 

The Conformity Trap: Why Colleges Keep Copying

Risk Aversion in an Age of Disruption

The University of Oregon's disastrous “If” campaign—a $5 million endeavor abandoned in 2016 after faculty criticized its vague messaging—epitomizes the sector's tendency to prioritize familiarity over specificity.

Like Oregon's ill-fated attempt to mimic competitor ads, many institutions default to drone videography of campus buildings and generic imagery of diverse students playing sports and studying together because it feels safer than showcasing their unique value proposition.

This timidity stems from a fundamental misreading of modern families' priorities: while 78% of Gen Z students say authenticity matters more than prestige in college selection, marketers keep recycling imagery designed to signal traditional academic rigor.

It's safe. It's predictable. And it's the fastest way to be ignored.

The consequences are measurable. Before Bethel University's 2021 rebrand, its generic website generated only 300 annual leads for key programs. After overhauling messaging to highlight distinctive faith-based experiential learning, “Learn More” conversions surged 70% on traditional program pages and applications spiked 1,547%.

Yet most schools ignore such data, clinging to what a 2021 Inside Higher Ed analysis calls “differentiation theater”—superficial tweaks that maintain category conventions rather than challenging them.

The High Cost of Camouflage

Lost Identity, Lost Students

When Hampshire College eliminated traditional letter grades in favor of narrative evaluations—a move amplified through bold branding around “education without limits”—applications from non-traditional learners increased 22% despite the policy's initial controversy.

When University of Houston was struggling with regional audiences perceiving them as a commuter school rather than a Tier One research hub, they leaned in on branding to flip the script. By centering its 2022 rebrand on Houston's role as the nation's most diverse city and energy capital, UH saw a 34% increase in out-of-state inquiries within six months, as part of its "We Dare" brand campaign.

These examples underscore findings from the Brand Loyalty Matrix for Higher Education Institutions: schools with strong mission alignment between branding and operations retain students at 2.3x the rate of generic competitors. Yet most institutions still treat marketing as cosmetic rather than strategic—a disconnect that fuels the sector's $17 billion annual attrition problem from transferred students.

Lost Identity

When schools sound interchangeable, their true character—their quirks, values, and culture—gets diluted. Headlines like Our Mission, empty taglines and Campus News articles don't tell a story.

Weak Loyalty

Students and alumni don't connect deeply with institutions that feel generic. If a college looks and sounds just like five others, why should anyone feel a lasting bond?

Stagnation

Copying the competition leads to a stale, uninspired landscape. Schools focused on keeping up instead of leading risk becoming obsolete.

Is Blending In the Goal?

Maybe. Familiarity is comforting, and looking the part of a “good school” might be enough for some audiences. But in a time when higher ed is under fire for its cost and relevance, playing it safe won't fix the bigger problems for many institutions.

How to Stand Out in a Sea of Sameness

Lesson 1: Weaponize Your Uniqueness

Liquid Death disrupted the $25B bottled water market not through product innovation but by embracing heavy metal aesthetics and environmental activism—a lesson higher ed could emulate. The brand's $700M valuation stems from rejecting category norms like alpine imagery, instead using skull logos and partnerships with punk bands to attract eco-conscious Gen Z buyers.

Every school has ‘great professors’ and a ‘vibrant student experience.’ So what’s the one thing no one else can claim? Build your brand around that—or risk being forgettable.

Conduct a “Brand Autopsy” analyzing every marketing asset against three questions:

1. Could this tagline apply to any Top 100 school?

2. Do visuals reflect our campus culture or stock photo ideals?

3. What would happen if [Rival School] ran this campaign?

The University of Houston asked these questions pre-“We Dare”, realizing their previous ads could have been any Southern university. The rebooted campaign spotlighted Houston’s specific advantages—NASA partnerships, energy tech labs—through the defiant lens of “What happens when you dare?”.

Lesson 2: Make Data Your Ally, Not Your Master

Bethel University's enrollment team used analytics not to copy competitors but to identify underserved audiences. By targeting mid-career professionals with ads showcasing accelerated degree formats—a niche overlooked by liberal arts colleges—they grew professional studies leads by 30% without diluting their faith-based identity.

Actionable Takeaway:

• Use A/B testing to validate bold ideas, not just optimize button colors

• Mine CRM data for “hidden” audiences like adult learners or first-gen families

• Track brand lift metrics (awareness, consideration) alongside lead volume

Lesson 3: Turn Values Into Verbs

Patagonia's 2023 “Don’t Buy This Jacket” campaign—urging customers to repair gear rather than replace it—sparked a 24% revenue surge by aligning marketing with corporate activism. Translating this to academia, Hampshire College transformed its no-grades policy from an admissions obstacle into a brand pillar through student videos, employer partnership stories and web content contrasting their approach with traditional ones.

From Bland to Demanding: A Call to Action

The University of Houston didn’t beg for attention—it dared. Liquid Death didn't apologize for its irreverence—it weaponized it. Your institution has two choices: keep blending into the academic wallpaper, or follow these steps:

1. Claim Your Edge in 10 Words or Less
If your tagline works for any school ranked #50–100, scrap it. UH’s “We Dare” succeeded because it reflected Houston's entrepreneurial ethos, not abstract aspirations.

2. Audit One Asset Today
Pick your viewbook, homepage hero image, or Visit Day script. How many generic phrases (“transformative experience,” “vibrant community”) can you replace with campus-specific stories?

3. Schedule a Brand Bravery Session
The first 10 institutions to email me at th@helloadeo.com with “BUCK the BLANDING” will receive:

• A diagnostic of your brand's differentiation potential in relation to your direct competitors

• An initial impression audit of your brand's digital presence

• Five unique-to-you off-the-top-of-our-heads suggestions, wild ideas or rants—because we're creatives and we want to see more people doing more great work!

The New Rules of Academic Survival

Higher education's crisis isn't just about cost or relevance—it's a failure of imagination. As Patagonia proved by turning environmentalism into profit and Liquid Death by selling water as rebellion, category rebels don't just survive; they redefine the game. Your application essays demand vulnerability and vision from students.

Isn't it time your branding did the same?

Dare your marketing team to click send on that edgy campaign draft.

Dare your leadership team to green-light the manifesto instead of the mission statement.

Dare to be the institution that makes competitors ask, “Why didn’t we think of that?”