You Can’t Advertise Your Way Into A Strong Reputation
Every college and university makes promises to its students, families, and communities. But the strength of an institution’s reputation depends on how consistently it delivers on those promises.
I saw a powerful example of this during my time at Valvoline. (And yes, I’m talking about the motor oil company!)
One of Valvoline’s core values is “People First.” And at Valvoline Instant Oil Change locations, that commitment is reflected in everything from employee training to the customer experience.
Even down to the belt buckles.
Valvoline technicians are trained to turn their belts so the buckles rest at their sides rather than in front. Why? Because when they’re leaning over a customer’s vehicle, they don’t want to risk scratching the paint.
Think about that for a moment. A company so committed to taking care of its customers that even the placement of an employee’s belt buckle matters.
It’s a small detail, but it has stuck with me since my time there. It’s a perfect example of what it means to live your brand rather than simply advertise it.
And it’s a lesson that college and universities should take to heart.
Awareness Isn’t the Same as Reputation
Colleges and universities invest considerable resources in advertising, brand development, and marketing campaigns. And those investments matter. They help institutions reach prospective students, communicate their strengths, and differentiate themselves in an increasingly competitive market.
But there’s a difference between what an institution tells people about itself and what people actually believe.
Advertising can build awareness and influence perceptions. Reputation is built over time, through experiences, actions, and demonstrated results.
A university can promote its commitment to student success in every campaign it runs. But that message only becomes credible when students experience meaningful academic support, graduate prepared for what’s next, and see the institution following through on its promises.
The distinction is important because a strong marketing campaign can generate attention. It cannot, on its own, generate trust.
And in higher education, where students and families are making significant investments in their futures, trust matters enormously.
Reputation Is an Institutional Responsibility
One of the biggest mistakes colleges and universities make is treating reputation as something the marketing and communications department is solely responsible for creating.
Having spent the majority of my career leading those teams, I understand the expectation. Institutional leaders want greater visibility, stronger recognition, and a more favorable position in the marketplace. And they often look to marketing and communications to make that happen.
But reputation isn’t created in the marketing office.
It’s built in classrooms, residence halls, admissions offices, and advising appointments. It’s shaped by the decisions institutional leaders make, the experiences students have, and the relationships colleges build with their communities.
Marketing teams can communicate an institution’s strengths. They can shape its narrative and elevate its achievements, but they cannot create the institutional experiences or outcomes that ultimately give those messages credibility.
That responsibility belongs to the entire institution, beginning with its leadership.
The most effective reputation-building efforts happen when institutional priorities, brand promises and everyday experiences are aligned. When what a university says about itself is consistently reinforced by what it actually does.
Great Institutions Still Need to Tell Their Stories
There’s an important flip side to this argument. Doing exceptional work doesn’t automatically translate into a strong reputation.
Higher education institutions accomplish remarkable things every day: Faculty conduct important research; students achieve extraordinary outcomes; colleges expand access, strengthen communities, and contribute to economic growth. But if those achievements aren’t reaching the audiences who need to hear about them, institutions are missing opportunities to build understanding and credibility.
This is where strategic communications plays a critical role.
Strong reputation strategies connect institutional achievements and priorities to a broader narrative about the university’s value and impact. They bring together brand strategy, earned media, thought leadership, executive communications, and storytelling to reinforce what the institution wants to be known for.
And they do so consistently, not just when there’s a new campaign to launch or a major announcement to make. This isn’t about producing stories for the sake of producing stories. It’s about telling the right stories, to the right audiences, in ways that advance institutional priorities and strengthen reputation.
Advertising, brand management, and strategic communications aren’t competing approaches. They should work together, with each reinforcing a reputation grounded in the institution’s actual performance.
It All Comes Back to the Belt Buckle
I still come back to those Valvoline technicians and their belt buckles.
Not because the detail itself was particularly extraordinary, but because of what it represented: A commitment to the customer experience that extended to even the smallest actions.
Higher education is obviously more complex than an oil change. But the principle is the same.
The strongest institutional reputations are built when an organization’s values, promises, and actions consistently reinforce one another.
Advertising can help people discover your institution. Strategic communications can help them understand its value and contributions. But ultimately, your institution’s reputation is earned through what you do, not simply what you say.
And sometimes, the smallest details tell the biggest story.
Want to understand how your institution’s brand promises, student experiences, and communications can work together to build a stronger reputation? Talk to an EDDY expert today.