Ten with Ken (Audio)

Ken Steele starts reviewing the 12 higher ed rebrands of the past 2 years that caused outrage and opposition among faculty, students and alumni. Odds of a backlash are 10% overall, 20% at universities (4-year colleges), 0% at community colleges -- and 50% at arts institutes! This week, 5 disastrous rebrands that pretty much deserved what they got. 3 of them were overly ambitious, taking bold and d...

Based on our recent global survey of more than 100 higher ed brand identity redesigns over the past 2 years, Ken Steele counts down the 10 best rebrandings – those that are professional, memorable, balanced and well-designed, AND that didn't spark a backlash from faculty, students or alumni. In Part 1 last week, we looked at #10-6 - https://youtu.be/bkrxAD0AbbE Now, the countdown continues: #5: Ea...

Based on our recent global survey of more than 100 higher ed brand identity redesigns over the past 2 years, Ken Steele counts down the 10 best rebrandings – those that are professional, memorable, balanced and well-designed, AND that didn't spark a backlash from faculty, students or alumni.   #10: Saint Louis University, Missouri Design firm Olson of Minneapolis created a streamlined new logo usi...

Based on his global study of more than 100 higher education brand identity redesigns over the past 24 months, Ken Steele offers up these tongue-in-cheek samples of utterly conventional, unobjectionable logo designs following the latest trends. If your new identity had to be approved by 100 branding committees, this is what it would look like, for each of 4 categories of institution: Community Coll...

Brand strategist Ken Steele sums up the results of his global survey of 105 higher ed brand identity redesigns completed over the past 24 months, from May 2015 until May 2017. Examples from the US, Canada, UK, Europe, Middle East, Asia and Australia -- and ultimately, there are 10 clear trends. We identify the most popular recent colours, shapes, and imagery for universities, community colleges, r...

While the "Ten with Ken" team was at the University of Waterloo to profile the Velocity incubator, we sat down with President & Vice-Chancellor Feridun Hamdullahpur to discuss the overall innovation ecosystem at what has been ranked Canada's #1 most innovative university for the past 25 years. UWaterloo started off in the 1950s as a revolutionary idea - an Engineering-focused university created by...

Ten with Ken recently went onsite at the University of Waterloo, to learn more about the world's largest free business incubator, Velocity. For the episode, we spoke to 4 young entrepreneurs, including Ian Tao, Founder and CEO of Sesame. This is our complete interview with him. Sesame provides competency-based assessment software to primary, secondary and tertiary educators (licensed on a per-stud...

Ten with Ken recently went onsite at the University of Waterloo, to learn more about the world's largest free business incubator, Velocity. For the episode, we spoke to 4 young entrepreneurs, including Rachel Thompson, Founder of Marlena Books. This is our complete interview with her. Marlena Books is a social company producing reading material for individuals with Alzheimer's and Dementia, to imp...

Ten with Ken recently went onsite at the University of Waterloo, to learn more about the world's largest free business incubator, Velocity. For the episode, we spoke to 4 young entrepreneurs, including Steven ten Holder, CEO of Acorn Cryotech. This is our complete interview with him. Acorn Cryo sends collection kits to individuals who want to cryogenically preserve their own young cells, for use i...

Ten with Ken recently went onsite at the University of Waterloo, to learn more about the world's largest free business incubator, Velocity. For the episode, we spoke to 4 young entrepreneurs, including Daniel MacKenzie, the Chief Technology Officer at HealthIM. This is our complete interview with him. HealthIM has built upon PhD research to create a software tool for front-line police officers to...

Ten with Ken goes onsite at the University of Waterloo, home to the world's largest free business incubator, Velocity. The program's facilities include a campus Residence, Science facility, Start lounge, and the downtown Garage. In this extended episode, director Jay Shah gives us a tour of the Velocity Garage, explains the 3-stage model of business incubation, and introduces us to some exciting n...

In this special double-episode, Ken shares hilarious highlights from last year's April Fool's Day around the world. If you're curious, looking for laughs, or seeking inspiration for your own pranks this April, check out the collection! Some colleges and universities put real energy into prank media releases, hoax videos, or absurd webpages each April First. Last year, in "Ten Kinds of April Fooler...

Last episode, Ken's 10th annual "Year in Review" continued with a look at some of the bigger PR headaches afflicting North American colleges and universities, with a focus on cultural insensitivity and its consequences. (Think Mount St Mary's, Missouri, Yale, Ithaca, and Harvard.) Check out Part I: Budgets & Bunnies at: https://youtu.be/1fnN8QOFrWs This week, he profiles 2 major PR migraines in mo...

This week, we start our annual look at college and university PR challenges and controversies with politically incorrect remarks, budget crises, workplace bullying, racial tensions and presidential resignations, across North America. 2016 Higher Ed Headaches, part I: Budgets & Bunnies! Bad luck, bad decisions, and even poor choice of words can derail an academic presidency. Last year started with...

Ken Steele is Canada's foremost higher ed strategist, speaker and facilitator, and for more than a decade he has presented hundreds of keynotes, campus presentations and workshops across North America, every year. In this brief video, he introduces himself, and the long and winding road that brought him to a unique vantage point on higher education. For more information about Ken's campus presenta...

Ken Steele is Canada's foremost higher ed strategist, speaker and facilitator, and for more than a decade he has presented hundreds of keynotes, campus presentations and workshops across North America. In this brief video, he describes how a combination of rich media, mini-keynotes, audience interaction, group discussion, and real-time polls keeps some of the toughest audiences engaged: college an...

Ken Steele is Canada's foremost higher ed strategist, speaker and facilitator, and for more than a decade he has presented hundreds of keynotes, campus presentations and workshops across North America. In this brief video, he describes the goals of campus presentations, workshops and PD sessions, to create widespread shared understanding of emerging trends and best practices, and to open eyes and...

Ken Steele's 10th annual higher ed "year in review" continues with part 3, a look at the fall – and rise – of for-profit fortunes in 2016. In the previous two episodes, we looked at the proliferation of free college tuition policies across North America, the rise of anti-intellectualism and protectionism, and some of the implications for international education. (If you missed them, check out part...

Ken Steele's 10th annual higher ed "year in review" continues with part 2, a look back at populism, protectionism and post-truth in 2016. (Check out part 1 at https://youtu.be/CZ6nuznRV_I ). There were some significant, and even terrifying, political events last year: 3) POST-TRUTH Oxford Dictionaries have declared "post-truth" the word of 2016. It was used 200 times more than any year previous, m...

Ken Steele's 10th annual higher ed "year in review" looks back at 2016 and sums up the major news and trends shaping the postsecondary landscape in just 6 words. In part 1, he reviews the many tragedies of 2016, from the loss of famous celebrities and great thinkers to Zika and Brangelina. 2016 was a year that left many feeling adrift, and the surge towards populism gave us Brexit, Trump, and Boat...

This week, Ken completes his 3-part review of higher ed branding in 2015 with a look at "New Names & Nicknames," from DMZ to uVic! (Part 1 was "Cautionary Tales & Cautious Rebrandings" https://youtu.be/m2LF3rGiMLc . Part 2 was "Bold New Brands of 2015" https://youtu.be/pxmRfUfzZ5o .) Without a doubt, institutions are loathe to lose decades of brand equity and recognition by changing their names. G...

Last week, Ken shared some classic cautionary tales of higher ed brand misfires, and we looked at some particularly cautious new brands from Canadian colleges and universities, perhaps in response. (Last week: https://youtu.be/m2LF3rGiMLc ) This week, we look at the flipside: provocative brands and campaigns that deliberately court controversy. Aggressive Competition: We start with some examples o...

For the next few episodes, Ken Steele returns to the Brand Chemistry™ Lab to analyze recent trends in higher ed brand identities and marketing campaigns. This week, we look at some notable brand mis-steps that have become cautionary tales for campus marketers, and the inevitable result: some very cautious, gradual rebrandings that don't risk passionate opposition from traditional-minded stakeholde...

Last week, Ken Steele looked back at some major PR headaches sparked by students and faculty, from white student unions to a blogging board member. https://youtu.be/qn0ylCsR9Jw But some of the biggest media relations migraines of all start at the top, with board chairs and presidents. At Western University, president Amit Chakma's double pay made headlines in 2015, but he had done nothing wrong in...

This week, Ken Steele looks back at some of the biggest PR headaches afflicting Canadian colleges and universities in the past year, looking for common causes and some lessons we can learn about crisis communications. Academia may well be the most challenging environment in which to manage messaging, with opinionated faculty, unrestrained students, and concerned parents, alumni, and taxpayers in t...