UNIVERSITY BRAND DEVELOPMENT MODEL AND BRAND COMMUNICATION STRATEGY TO CREATE A COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE OF SILPAKORN UNIVERSITY, THAILAND

Abstract

In the competitive Thai higher education sector, Silpakorn University faces a strategic challenge in reconciling its historical identity as a premier 'art school' with its modern reality as a comprehensive, multi-disciplinary institution. This research aimed to address this disconnect issue by developing and empirically validating a brand development and communication model to guide the university in creating a strong brand identity.

A mixed-method, convergent parallel research design was employed. The qualitative stream involved semi-structured interviews with 7 key university staff to explore internal branding perspectives. Concurrently, the quantitative stream surveyed 684 undergraduate students to test the proposed model, which is grounded in Stimulus-Organism-Response (S-O-R) theory. Data were analyzed using thematic analysis for qualitative insights while CFA & SEM were applied for measurement validation and hypothesis tests.

The findings successfully validated the S-O-R model, demonstrating an excellent fit with the empirical data (χ²/df = 0.80, CFI = 1.00, GFI = 0.95, RMSEA = 0.000). The study reveals that Brand Image is the single most powerful predictor of student Brand Advocacy (total influence = 0.67), followed by Brand Awareness (total influence = 0.33). Branding stimuli; such as Marketing Communication, Customization, Trendiness, and Interaction were found to exert their influence indirectly, by shaping these crucial student perceptions. Notably, Interaction and Trendiness were the most influential stimuli in building brand image.

e study concludes that fostering brand advocacy is the partial mediating result of marketing tactics but is the outcome of meticulously cultivating a strong, positive brand image. The path for Silpakorn University lies in a holistic, student-centric approach that strategically manages student interactions and institutional relevance to harmonize its artistic legacy with its comprehensive identity, thereby transforming students into lifelong brand advocates.

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