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Sure, your brand needs to \\u201cown a word\\u201d in the minds of your customers. But what if some think it\\u2019s an insult?

Ken Steele has been a higher ed brand consultant for decades, working with hundreds of institutions across North America.\\xa0 He\\u2019s seen plenty of \\u201cone-word wonders\\u201d \\u2013 college or university brands that focus on a single word.\\xa0 But no doubt, one of his favourites came from American University, in Washington DC, back in 2010.

\\u201cCapitalizing\\u201d on their location in Washington DC, AU built their brand position around the idea that their students, faculty and alumni are \\u201cwonks\\u201d.\\xa0 Not just policy wonks or journalism wonks, but all kinds of wonks. The result was a fun, memorable brand with \\u201clegs.\\u201d

We feature excerpts from a documentary on the AU Brand, \\u201cGet to Know Wonk,\\u201d from October 2011. (The original source is no longer available online.)

Another AU branding documentary, appears on Vimeo at\\xa0https://vimeo.com/60581638

We also use an excerpt from AU\\u2019s 30 sec commercial, \\u201cAll the Wonks are Talking\\u201d:\\xa0https://youtu.be/GVzH0v78iYE

Whenever an institution tries to distill its identity into a single word, it runs the risk of upsetting campus stakeholders who see it as a gross oversimplification. But in recent years, there have been more and more of these \\u201cone-word wonders\\u201d in higher ed branding!\\xa0Next week, Ten with Ken will examine 10 recent examples in a full-length episode.

To be sure you don\\u2019t miss it, take a moment now to subscribe!\\xa0 And if you agree (or disagree) with Ken\\u2019s verdict, please comment or like this video!

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