Designing a Genetic Model of Brand Identity: A New Approach to Higher Education Brand Management

In a competitive and complex market of higher education, universities must adopt strategies to maintain and improve their competitiveness. They need to create competitive advantage through a unique set of features, and having a unique identity is vital to differentiate and attract students and staff. The purpose of this study was to identify the effective components and design a brand identity model based on the concept of brand DNA in non-governmental universities. Methodology, In terms of purpose, was applied research and exploratory in nature which exclusively was conducted by the systematic grounded theory .The research population includes related academicians and experts of marketing and branding and the managers of universities. The research data were collected through in depth semi structured interviews. Judgmental sampling was used. To determine sample size continued to reach the theoretical saturation. And finally 13 interviews were conducted. Open, axial and selective coding was used to analyze the data. The components of data analysis in 6 main category, 11 main categories and 43 subcategories including causal conditions, contextual conditions internal factors and visual identity, axial phenomenon, intervening conditions, strategies ,outcome were categorized. The findings suggest that having a strong and integrated brand identity in higher education is essential and requires a comprehensive and coherent genetic infrastructure and approach.