This presentation addresses what branding means in today's highly-pressured environment. There is a new competitive context for university brands, and new challenges that will drive brand development: the presentation emphasises the importance of clarity and accuracy of information, and an integrity of purpose for an institution's brand. It outlines the links between brand and reputation, and points out that reputation is created by an institution's ability to deliver on the promises of its brand.

The importance of the transparency and accuracy of information available to students is also highlighted here. Marketing must respond to the ways in which prospective students access information, and personalised information, advice and guidance should be available to everyone. HEIs need to work harder to develop a coherent framework to bring all their information together. The presentation introduces 1994 Group's JISC-funded project to produce a piece of technology that will empower students by guiding them through the information available, and can be attached to existing websites.