Columbia Business School Launches New Branding Campaign

by Stacy Blackman Consulting, Nov 25, 2013

Columbia Business School has launched a new, comprehensive brand positioning campaign to better define and communicate the core elements that make it one of the best business schools in the world.

To celebrate the new taglineAt the Very Center of Businessand better tell Columbia Business Schools powerful story, the School unveiled a dynamic new two-minute video that will serve as the cornerstone of its narrative moving forward. The video, titled simply, The Center, takes viewers through the key characteristics and attributes that distinguish Columbia Business School as one of the worlds leaders in management education.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZWnlIes1wWA

Columbia Business School is the only world-class business school that delivers a learning experience where leading-edge academics meets with real-time access to the pulse of global business, says Glenn Hubbard, dean of Columbia Business School, in a statement announcing the news.

Not only does our community enjoy countless benefits by being centered in the global hub of business, but the Schools regular impact on the daily practice of business and deep roots and connections in the citys business and entrepreneurial communities make us a key player at the very center of business," Hubbard adds.

The Four Pillars of the Branding Campaign

The campaign narrative is supported by four key attributes that collectively comprise Columbia Business Schools brand:

• KNOWLEDGE: An Unrivaled Culture of Academic Excellence. Columbia Business Schools approach to thought leadership is constantly informed in real time by the global business environment. Groundbreaking research from the Schools faculty influences business practices in every sector while the transformative, 21st-century curriculum develops leaders who can create opportunity in any environment.

• ACCESS: Unmatched Exposure to the Pulse of Business, Both Inside and Outside the Classroom. As the top Ivy League business school immersed in New York City, Columbia Business School provides its students with direct access to countless businesses and business leaders, both inside and outside the classroom, allowing them to take lessons learned in class and see them applied directly in the real world.

• COMMUNITY: A Diverse, Engaged, and Entrepreneurial Community. High achievers are drawn to the Schools reputation and unique position at the global center of business, where a diverse, entrepreneurial-minded community of students, faculty members, staff, and alumni share an open exchange of ideas and perspectives. Combine this range of voices with an alumni network of more than 40,000 graduates and you have an expansive community that fosters creativity, invites entrepreneurial thinking, and opens doors to opportunity.

• IMPACT: An Immediate and Lasting Impact on the Business World. The thought leadership of the Schools faculty and staff, combined with the accomplishments of its distinguished alumni and position in the center of global business, means that the Schools efforts have an immediate and measurable impact on the forces shaping business each and every day.

These attributes have always been a part of our DNAwe simply have never communicated them in one story so clearly, completely, and efficiently, says Dean Hubbard. Our powerful combination of leading-edge academics and real-time exposure to business give our students the knowledge, experience, and connections to be impactful in any endeavor they pursue.

Sarah Shen 14, offered her thoughts on the unparalleled access that Columbia Business School provides its students. For a lot of schools, having a big speaker on campus is a big event, said the MBA student. For us, this happens practically every day. Over the past week alone students have met with the CEOs of Godiva, Saks Fifth Avenue, and J.Crew, and tomorrow morning the CEO of Morgan Stanley will be on campus to share his views on the role and responsibilities of financial institutions in the new economy. This regular access to business titans does not happen everywhere, and it is one of the amazing benefits Columbia Business School affords us as students.

A Better Way to Tell Columbia Business Schools Story

The new campaign is the result of a rigorous and intensive process that solicited feedback from hundreds of stakeholders both inside and outside of the School. Through qualitative and quantitative measurement tools, the School set out to identify the key attributes and characteristics that were most commonly cited by stakeholders when describing their perceptions of Columbia Business School. These common elements serve as the basis of the story and positioning being launched today.

We sought to crystallize one powerful story that truly defines who we are, what we stand for, and how we are unique in a competitive marketplace, says Iris Henries, associate dean of Marketing and Communications. By launching this campaign we are bringing these defining characteristics to the forefront of our identity and making it easier to share the Schools story."

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