At our Annual Industry Conference in Toronto this past June, Tom Peters argued that “the value attributed to a brand is a function of its character.” Character can be seen in terms of the attention, affection, and trust awarded to the brand by the market.
Today, there are too many of the wrong characters defining the MBA brand. Perp walks, orange jumpsuits, and bankruptcies are all too common threads in the media’s reportage of the MBA. Yet never heard are the stories of MBAs who so generously give back to the community and to their schools.
How does one get a story on the social responsibility that so many of our MBAs demonstrate every day? An advertising campaign is not the answer. Character is defined by actions, not words; by the walk, not the talk.
And so, this summer, GMAC® has created TeamMBA. What is TeamMBA? It is a logo, a brand, and an idea.
So many of the MBA programs in the world support local, regional and even national charities. Some MBA students enter into events like the “Walk for the Cure”. Some groups hold auctions. A number of campuses have chapters of Net Impact, an organization of 10,000 MBAs and MBA students dedicated to giving back.
TeamMBA was created to support MBA programs in their building of the MBA brand.
Our first venture is the establishment of a team to ride with Lance Armstrong on October 8 as he arrives in Washington in his Tour of Hope® DC Ride. Twenty-five bike riders who have all dealt with cancer will ride from San Diego to Washington, D.C., in five-person teams. For the final ride down Constitution Avenue and onto the Ellipse, they will be joined by 1,500 additional riders. Bristol-Myers Squibb and other sponsors are underwriting the operating costs of the Tour, so each dollar raised by the riders will be given to the Lance Armstrong Foundation for clinical trials in cancer and cancer research.
Every TeamMBA rider who qualifies for the DC Ride by raising $500 will receive a TeamMBA bike jersey from GMAC® and be asked to wear it for the ride. A 100 person TeamMBA peloton would be a marvelous sight as it rides into Washington. If you send any riders, GMAC® will provide a media packet for your school to facilitate coverage in your community.
This ride is only the inaugural event. Other events will be forthcoming.
But still more important are the local and regional events that your students and alums engage in. We have designed T-shirts with the TeamMBA logo on the front and ample space on both front and back for you to imprint your own logo. Just ask and we will send you enough TeamMBA shirts (in the sizes you need) for any charitable event in which you are participating. We will also have bike jerseys available for any cycling event that your students, faculty, alums, or friends enter.
If the value of the MBA brand is a function of character, let’s work together on the character we portray.
GMAC® is a registered trademark of the Graduate Management Admission Council® (GMAC®). Tour of Hope® is a registered trademark of Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. TeamMBA: Making a Difference on Degree at a TimeSM is a registered trademark of the Graduate Management Admission Council® (GMAC®).