September 2008
Siegel+Gale, one of the world’s premier strategic branding firms, announced the creation of a new worldwide Higher Education and Nonprofit Practice and the appointment of Peter S. Cohl as its Global Director.
"As funds tighten and global competition increases, higher education and nonprofits are seeking every advantage they can find in order to better reach their audiences. Capturing and conveying the identity, the essence, of an institution has never been more crucial," says Alan Siegel, chairman and CEO of Siegel+Gale. "Although Siegel+Gale has long been active in the sector, this is the perfect time to create a practice devoted to higher education and nonprofit institutions, and Peter Cohl is the perfect person to lead our effort."
Peter S. Cohl has significant experience in higher education, communications, marketing, and the arts – leading engagements with The Johns Hopkins University, College Board, Brown University, and Florida State University, as well as many of the best-known global corporations.
"We recognize that higher education and nonprofit institutions operate differently than the corporate world," says Mr. Cohl. "Budgets are tighter and consensus is critical to success. In creating a practice devoted to higher education and nonprofit institutions, we seek to leverage our vast experience in these environments to help institutions achieve more with less – globally."
Most recently, Mr. Cohl led the Siegel+Gale team that worked with the new Carey Business School at Johns Hopkins, helping launch the university’s first new school in 50 years with positioning, design, and recruitment materials. The school’s new positioning statement, "Where business is taught with humanity in mind," taps its mission to reinvent business education by combining business skills with critical knowledge from other disciplines. Additionally, the new positioning reflects the school’s aim to harness the entrepreneurial spirit in order to address societal needs ranging from sustainable development to renewable energy.
"Higher education faces challenges on several fronts," says Mr. Cohl. "Competition for funding has increased as federal, state and local governments slash education and research expenses in response to the economic downturn. Schools continue to struggle to improve alumni and community relations in order to build successful capital campaigns and expand local support. Retention and recruitment of top faculty are becoming crucial in anticipation of the mass retirement of the baby boom generation within an increasingly globalized faculty recruiting environment. And of course, there’s the never-ending race to improve the quality of undergraduate, graduate, and professional school applicant pools."
Nonprofit institutions grapple with similar issues, particularly in an uncertain economic environment, as they compete for public and private funding and seek to captivate the public’s attention, funding, and goodwill. "Ultimately," Mr. Cohl says, "each of these issues demands that higher education and nonprofit institutions define the essence of their excellence – and tell a compelling, well-differentiated story to each of their audiences."
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