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The brand audit university branding in China

Written by: Steve Cranford

Article Overview: Vanderbilt University, an internationally recognized research university in the United States, attracts a high percentage of student enrollment from Asia. A number of students attend Vanderbilt from China and Taiwan.

The brand audit university branding in China

Vanderbilt University, an internationally recognized research university in the United States, attracts a high percentage of student enrollment from Asia. A number of students attend Vanderbilt from China and Taiwan.
An MBA student conducting the equivalent of a brand audit discovered over a dozen Chinese translations for the term Vanderbilt University. Here’s what happened as a result, as reported in the Nashville Business Journal:
Vanderbilt University is honing its identify in China through creation of a single brand name that will identify the school in different Chinese dialects.
Shih-Ping (Nancy) Wang, a Taiwan native and second-year [MBA] student…initiated the move…and suggested administrators standardize a name.
‘Fandebao,’ a Mandarin word that translates to ‘place of academic excellence’ or ‘academic center of virtue,’ will be registered with educational ministries and trademark offices to represent Vanderbilt.
The close phonetic match of ‘Fandebao’ to ‘Vanderbilt’ should ease the association process, say school administrators. And Mandarin is the main official language of China and Taiwan.
A brand audit frames a point-in-time snapshot of brand effectiveness within a competitive market. Expertly performed, a brand audit reveals whether the brand is working as intended for both owner and consumer, identifies brand opportunity within an industry or market niche, and often reveals gaps between actual performance and expectation. The brand audit is a tool serving as a reset device for any good brand.
As with Vanderbilt University, a simple brand audit can often expose significant market opportunity.
We recommend Brand Audits be performed at least annually.
And the benefits? Just ask Vanderbilt University.

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