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Public Service Announcements (PSAs) provide a rare opportunity for American universities to brand their university to a diverse audience of viewers. Research on branding has been in the corporate world for decades, but there is still work to be done with regard to branding higher education in order to fully conceptualize the factors of significance in determining a strong institutional brand. This paper looks to address the issues of branding in higher education by exploring the themes present in PSAs aired by American universities. In study one, researchers examined current PSAs employed by National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Football Bowl Subdivision schools of varying academic rank to evaluate the differences in messaging approaches. In study two, the researchers conducted a framework analysis to generate an understanding of what role international themes play in PSAs of ‘high-ranking …