AFTER TWO INTENSE YEARS of research and development, Chicago GSB
has implemented a marketing positioning and has unveiled the first
in a series of marketing efforts: a new graphic identity system.
The positioning is the result of collaboration between administrators
and a marketing task force, with input from faculty, alumni, and
students. Here chief marketing officer Tessa Burton explains the
steps they took to get there.
Why a positioning?
No matter how good Chicago GSB is, the b-school market is extremely
competitive. In today’s marketplace, the GSB must stand for something
compelling and differentiated. A differentiated positioning is
also vital to our international operations. As our global presence
widens, there is a greater need for one voice and one message,
to unite all our constituencies under a common theme and vision.
There is tremendous strength in developing a strong brand and
being able to articulate what the brand stands for and why a prospective
student should attend Chicago GSB.
What was the research behind it?
We spent a year analyzing the school inside and out, and initiated
a relationship with an advertising agency to assist with this
project. We met with scores of students, faculty, and staff. We
talked to alumni, corporate recruiters, and the news media. We
conducted in-depth interviews with two key groups of prospective
students: candidates who were offered a position in Chicago’s
M.B.A. class of 2000 and accepted and candidates who were offered
a position here but then decided to attend one of the other five
top schools to which we most often lose people–Harvard, Stanford,
Wharton, Kellogg, and MIT.
What conclusion was reached?
The research showed that both groups of people are pointed in
the same direction: They’re seeking skills and credentials to
manage their careers. A close look at market needs and wants and
the emerging career landscape indicated that business is constantly,
rapidly changing–no surprise. With today’s corporate uncertainties,
downsizing, and growth in the number of start-up opportunities,
M.B.A. graduates are interested in having greater control over
their careers and engineering their own destinies. Most M.B.A.’s
will have multiple careers, and what students want are skills
not for a specific job but long-term skills for life, for each
career they may embark on. The goal, then, was to show how Chicago
GSB’s approach to business education–clearly distinct from that
of other schools–is the superior means to the end that all top
candidates seek.
What sets Chicago apart?
Nearly every M.B.A. will tell you that the classroom cannot begin
to emulate the complexity of the real world. At Chicago, we believe
it also makes little sense to simply transfer skills and expose
the theories of the day. What is known today is often irrelevant
tomorrow, particularly in a constantly changing environment. What
today’s M.B.A. students need–and what Chicago GSB is all about–is
to develop their critical, analytical problem-solving and decision-making
capabilities. Chicago GSB gives students a set of skills that
they can call on throughout their careers, no matter where they
land. Chicago M.B.A.’s are better equipped to engineer successful
outcomes because they have the skills–in both analytical problem
solving and critical thinking–to resolve any business problem
that they may encounter. The school teaches the fundamental disciplines
underlying all business, providing students with a way of thinking
about business that transcends time, industries, and trends. This
way of thinking is one of our alumni’s greatest advantages, an
advantage that contributes to their successes every day of their
business lives. That is the lasting legacy of an education from
the GSB.
How will this be implemented?
Our first efforts at implementation of the positioning have focused
on four specific projects. In July we began working to create
a graphic identity system as one of the key first steps in articulating
the positioning. The new graphic identity will soon be evident
on everything bearing the GSB’s name (see page 12). We created
a new recruitment video and have been developing a new branded
Web site that will debut this spring. In addition, we have improved
our advertising efforts. All of our ads now incorporate the positioning
and are consistent, differentiated, and branded.
What’s next?
With the marketing foundation pieces in place, we need to review
and manage every brand contact point, where possible, to assure
strategic consistency with the positioning and aesthetic consistency
with the graphic standards. We need to look harder at the most
effective, on-going ways of building the school’s reputation and
to examine the most cost-effective ways to build the brand internationally.
In short, we’ve just begun, but these are critical first steps
in an ongoing program.–Colleen Newquist
The development of a marketing positioning for the GSB involved several administrators, alumni, and friends of the school.
In addition to the professional firms retained for research and development of the positioning and visual identity, a marketing task force worked with Dean Robert S. Hamada and deputy deans Gary Eppen, John Huizinga, and Mark Zmijewski to provide essential feedback on the positioning.
To learn who was involved in the task force, click here.
The development of a marketing positioning for the GSB involved several administrators, alumni, and friends of the school. In addition to the professional firms retained for research and development of the positioning and visual identity, a marketing task force worked with Dean Robert S. Hamada and deputy deans Gary Eppen, John Huizinga, and Mark Zmijewski to provide essential feedback on the positioning.
Judson Green Jr., ’76
Chairman, Walt Disney Attractions
James Kilts, ’74
President and CEO, Nabisco Inc.
Bill Lynch
President and CEO, Liam Holdings L.L.C.; former chairman, Leo Burnett
Mark McGrath, ’69 Director, McKinsey & Company Inc.
Gary Singer, ’78
Managing director and chief operating officer, D’Arcy Masius Benton & Bowles; formerly of Leo Burnett
Carl Stern
President and CEO, Boston Consulting Group