Importance of Brand

A year ago Southwest Missouri State in Springfield, MO shortened their name to just Missouri State. They felt that the addition of Southwest narrowed its reach too much and made it sound like a much smaller institution than what it is rapidly becoming.

This year’s freshman class is up 1,200 students with that rather small change, a huge increase for a campus with 18,000 students.

I can’t stress how important this idea of brand is for towns and regions. The example of Missouri State is another example of why it can be so important.