The abbreviation for ESC is in the process of entering in the history books. For the past ten years, one after the other, the management schools have changed names. Last date : the group Sup de Co La Rochelle, ESC Troyes, who revealed their new identity in October. The first becomes Excelia Group, the second the Y Schools. “With “Sup de Co”, we were the last of the Mohicans to use this term very marked “1980”, says Bruno Neil, the general manager of Excelia Group. However, we have training in the tourism industry or in the digital side of the business school. La Rochelle Business School, which retains its identity but with the logo Excelia Group, currently only represents 70% of our business. “” The brand is not everything, but it conveys the overall image of the school, including international. “John Coulon, director of the pole “naming” of the agency Nomen.
Same observation on the side of Troyes. “Groupe ESC Troyes is no longer what we are,” says Francis Bécard, the director-general of There Schools, which includes a school of management, tourism, design… The school of management had changed its name a year ago to become South Champagne Business School (SCBS), echoing the terroir neighbour of Champagne, known worldwide ; that of Dijon, in Burgundy, was, renamed the Burgundy School of Business (BSB). “It had to show that we were anchored on our territory, but also internationally-oriented,” explains Francis Bécard.
If Audencia is leading the way in abandoning the acronym ESC from the beginning of the 2000s, the movement has intensified since 2009 with Skema Business School. Resulting from the merger between ESC Lille and Ceram, the establishment was forced to change its name. “The schools had 120 years of existence. It was not necessary to miss, ” recalls Alice Guilhon, the director-general.
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The business school has to be accompanied by the agency Nomen, a leader in the creation of brands (Areva, Enedis, Engie…). It tests close to 40 names, pronounce in all languages to not to commit odd or stumble on a game of words deleterious. Skema, School of Knowledge and Management ” (” school of knowledge and management “) is finally out.
“A label on the CV”
Nine years later, Alice Guilhon note the power of the brand : “It is a label that the alumni will have lifetime on their CV. They should be proud of “. The education market, she says, is global : “on the one hand, the French may hesitate between one of our schools and the Instituto de Empresa in Madrid and HEC Montreal. On the other, our courses cater more and more foreigners. It is even more striking when we look at the employment prospects of graduates. ”
In ten years, all business schools have added “business school” or “school of business” to their name to put in before this change of scale. “The brand is not everything, but it conveys the overall image of the school. With this need for internationalisation, the institutions used to differentiate “, decrypts John Coulon, director of the pole “naming” of the agency Nomen.
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Necessary pourconquérir abroad, this brand strategy is also relevant in France. Even when they remain focused on the management, the business schools have, next to the classic program, a “course portfolio” that offers Bachelors, MBA, specialized master programs or continuous training. They are addressed to audiences who range from high school student to the experienced executive. The brand needs to provide consistency.
” We have been waiting for the right timing : the school changed its status, was to receive the Equis accreditation. The brand change was fuelling this dynamic. “Stephan Bourcieu, director of Burgundy School of Business
The students of prep, especially interested in the rankings and accreditations, are also beginning to be sensitive to it. “There are still ten years, the students did not see well what was one ESC to another. They chose as much the city as the school. The new names allow us to put forward a specific identity “, analysis Delphine Manceau, director of Neoma Business School, issue, for its part, the merger, in 2013, the former ESC Reims and Rouen.
Stephan Bourcieu, director of the Burgundy Business School, made the experience. Obao, Impulse… when its establishment has wanted to modernize their identity in 2016, the proposals, the agency sought have been bold. The school has played prudence in taking on the name she used at the international, since 2002. “We lived in a world of schizophrenia, says Stéphan Bourcieu. Manage two names, one in France, the other to the international, was becoming impossible. We have been waiting for the right timing : the school changed its status, was given the european accreditation Equis and adopt a campus renovated. The brand change was fuelling this dynamic. ”
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Dynamic is illustrated since in the ranking of the system integration to major management schools (Sigem), barometer of the attractiveness of the schools to the students of pre-med. BSB has won a place in 2018 and between in the ” top 15 “. Stéphan Bourcieu recognizes that this policy of differentiation is more difficult to implement in france : “If we put a lot on laSchool of Wine and Spirit Business of [the subsidiary wine and alcohol BSB], we do not want to be reduced to this single sector in France. We want to keep an image of the ota. ”
branding strategies go beyond the name of the school. The business schools are declining their identity in the “baseline” that are as much promises. EM Lyon labels and the slogan “early makers” in all its communication. “Makers report “, ” maker world “, ” makers factory “… The message is available on the social networks. “We have defined an editorial line to illustrate the evolution of our strategy,” says Nathalie Hector, the director of the program in high school (ex-ESC Lyon. As soon as the contest entry, a speech of twenty minutes explains to the eligible what is an ” early maker “, “able to take in hand his own destiny, to be an actor, and entrepreneur of his existence” recalls the school’s website.
Marketing and digital
” Behind a brand strategy, it is necessary to the sense, points Nathalie Hector. I demonstrate to students that breaks the digital knowledge of the company require managers to be adaptable and creative, entrepreneurs, discoverers of the trends, and that it is them that we want to train. “EM Lyon hammered this message at the time of the interviews of motivation, and within the curriculum.
today, the battle of the brand is engaged on social networks. Thomas Froehlicher is aware of this. After having led the ICN in Nancy, HEC Liège and Kedge, it is at the head of the Rennes School of Business since January. Among his first actions : create a directorate of marketing and digital. “We need a mark identifiable at a glance to capture students from the social networks and interact with them, believes the dean. The digital, this is the holy Grail. ”
supplements, and a show of the ” World “, November 10 and 11, to choose his or her high school
The 13th edition of the Salon des grandes ecoles (SaGE) will take place on Saturday 10 and Sunday 11 November in Paris, at the Docks, Cité de la mode et du design (13th arrondissement), from 10 hours to 18 hours. It will be preceded by the publication of our supplements, dedicated to engineering schools (in The World dated Wednesday, November 7, and online by following this link ) and business schools (in The World dated Thursday, November 8, and on The Monde.fr Campus here).
More than one hundred and fifty schools of business and engineering, IAE, institut d’etudes politiques, specialized schools category will be represented, to share information on the different programs and their accessibility (post-bac, post-pre-med, or after a bac +2, +3 or +4). High school students, students and parents will be able to attend thematic conferences hosted by journalists of the World Campus. A team of twenty “coaches” will be available to the advisor, helping them to define their draft guidance, preparing for the contest, write a CV…
The entrance of the Wise man is free, online pre-registration is recommended for quicker access to the Living room. A list of exhibitors and information practices are to be found on the website of the SaGE.