Shrinking financial support from governments and forecast declines in the college-going population have combined to exert tremendous pressure on institutions of higher learning. Branding as a strategy has become more popular as a way of differentiating an institution from its competition, but the complexity of higher education makes branding an even more difficult task than in traditional, commercial contexts. This paper describes the process adopted by a particular state university in the USA to navigate the branding terrain. Armed with research evidence, the university defined a brand position and implemented it through creative executions that resonated with diverse stakeholders. The paper suggests that the branding process, by taking several factors into account, generated a successful branding campaign measured in terms of receptivity to communication messages, but still does not answer the difficult questions about the role of branding in higher education.