A category stuck in default
Our latest Brand Divergence Index (BDI) study analysed more than 60 UK universities and 30,000+ data points, revealing one of the sector’s biggest challenges: universities are becoming increasingly difficult to distinguish from one another.
The problem is widespread. Across the sector, institutions rely on the same language, messaging structures and catchphrases. How often have you seen phrases like “world-class teaching”, “vibrant community” or “future-focused” in university marketing?
Outsmarting over outspending
The takeaway is simple: growth comes from being attractively different, not from doing more of the same.
Higher education doesn’t have a budget problem. It has a brand problem. And in a sector where students are making one of the biggest decisions of their lives, that’s a problem worth fixing.
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