Increased national and international competition within higher education has triggered an interest in branding within the sector. Higher education institutions are, as a consequence, currently re-examining their profile and image. This article addresses the problems higher education institutions face in this process, and points to the benefits and dangers of branding as a strategy for survival in the higher education market. The aim of the article is to investigate the potential relationship between branding and organisational change. Drawing on recent insight into organisational theory, we discuss how branding, a process of linking organisational identity and the external image of a given organisation, can enhance institutional development and stimulate organisational change. We conclude that while a branding process with these characteristics is necessarily incremental and on-going, it can also maintain the social responsibility of higher education even in a period when the sector is becoming an industry.