What is the fastest way for IoBM to earn a 100,000,000 rupees?
Raise fees?
Enroll thousands of new students (But that probably is not possible)!
Ask the government for a grant (For one, it won’t feel right to take money from the government education budget which barely is able to cater to the nation)
There is an opportunity. An opportunity which is ideal for IoBM.
In marketing, we are taught to be aware about our strengths.
No one markets on their weaknesses!
The idea is to utilize our strength to achieve growth
“What is IoBM’s Strength?”
As with most cases it is the people that make a brand, and not the other way round.
With a community of over 4000+ students, and an alumni presence in even greater numbers.
“IoBM is a strong institution”
It is without doubt, IoBM commands a certain respect in the city of Karachi, and has a lot of well-wishers.
These well-wishers will want to contribute anything they can to see IoBM flourish.
A classic opportunity which institutes like Yale, Oxford, and Harvard, have given to people is to become donors in their institutes in return for naming rights.
How this works is; a donor contributes funds for a specific building (Which can be spent on things like constructing a new building, or upgrading the older building). As a result, the specific college is able to improve the quality of educational experience it offers to its students.
Surprisingly, this opportunity has remained unexploited at IoBM. We have labeled our university buildings with names which are dull and lack creativity.
One example is the building we call “Library Building”. Perhaps, due to its proximity to the library. But then should we start calling CBM Building “Mosque Building” due to its proximity to the mosque?
The opportunity here is to bring in donors, and even corporations, who want to pay and use building labels. They may do it with objectives in mind which are related to legacy, advertising, or simply being well-wishers of IoBM. Either way, both parties gain.
For instance, in case of a reluctance to bring in major changes in building names, the Library building can go on to be named as the “Pepsi Library Building”.
The idea of branding buildings is not new. Previously, Donald Trump has done this by naming real estate properties after his name e.g. Trump Tower. More close to home, IBA and LUMS have raised way over 10 crores by naming buildings after donors e.g. Tabba Academic Block at IBA.
Comments