Is Manoa meaningless in Munich?
By Beverly Creamer
Advertiser Education Writer
UH has an image problem. When a private high school teacher tells his class they need to study hard or they may end up "going to UH," something needs to change.
Of course it's enriching for young people to experience the wider world, but it shouldn't be because the University of Hawai'i is seen as a lesser choice.
None of this has been lost on Paul Costello. UH's new vice president for external affairs knows that creating the right image is as important as sharpening academic curriculum or refurbishing dowdy buildings.
To that end he's throwing out a question: Should the University of Hawai'i-Manoa become the University of Hawai'i-
Honolulu? It's Costello's contention that because the name Honolulu is more recognizable worldwide than Manoa, a small name change would start big new thinking about the university.
"As the university looks at how it projects itself as the world-class institution it is," he says, "maybe we're overlooking one gem that says a lot. By not saying 'Honolulu,' Hawai'i is missing a golden opportunity to brand and market itself outside the Islands. So I throw the idea out there for people to ponder."
In the advertising world it's called "branding," and Costello believes that the university is missing an opportunity to do some worldwide brand promotion. After all, the O'ahu Economic Development Board is now calling itself Enterprise Honolulu to grab global recognition.
"In this world you've got two seconds to communicate to people," says the man who has spent most of his career doing just that as an East Coast ad executive and political operative. "So you have to do it fast and with things people understand quickly."
There's something to that, says assistant football coach Dan Morrison, who spends time on the West Coast recruiting for the team, but has never found Manoa to mean much of anything to those he talks to. In fact, when they get here, a few have asked, "What's Manoa?" according to Morrison.
"I get phone calls from people as far away as Maine to the Deep South and they always refer to us as the University of Hawai'i," says Morrison. "I don't think anyone in the football arena refers to us as Manoa."
But then, tacking on "Honolulu" wouldn't make much sense either, he thinks — especially to young athletes weaned on Fox Sports West Saturday night and very familiar with the University of Hawai'i.
" 'Honolulu' would muddy the waters," he says. "They understand what the University of Hawai'i is and where it is. Up and down Orange County, person after person will say 'I saw all your games.' "
Gloria Garvey, who runs Hawai'i's only image-branding business, the Brand Strategy group, said a brand is about building emotion in a constituency, and she believes that to the degree you can "manage" your brand, you should.
Already UH President Evan Dobelle is looking at renaming the community colleges to put them on an emotional par with the central campus. Too long there's been a sense they're "lesser than" the main campus.
"He's trying to create a system that shares a common brand promise," Garvey said.
The idea of renaming the Manoa campus, to the Honolulu campus, could give it worldwide recognition.
On the other hand, says Garvey, "Maybe we don't need to say 'at anything.' Maybe the brand is the University of Hawai'i."
