European Journal of Marketing

Purpose – The aim of this paper is to consider business schools and to elicit whether, in seeking differentiation, rankings are more desirable than brand personality and whether silver medal winner effects exist in the perceptions of brand personalities.

Design/methodology/approach – Literature on reputation, identity, differentiation, brand personality and its measurement is reviewed. In seeking to determine the role of rankings and the presence of silver medal effects two survey data collections among business schools are conducted using the identified brand personality instrument.

Findings – Results highlight the importance of a distinctive differentiation positioning and show that reputation reflected in published rankings are able to provide counterfactuals that can influence consumer emotions and help establish preferences. Silver medal effects are found to play an important role.

Originality/value – These results emphasise the point that it is simply not enough to be ranked highly. What seems to be more critical is to be perceived as different. It appears that brand personality rather than reputation in terms of ranking is more strongly related to customers' expressed preferences. The results also illustrate the need to understand and deal with the challenge faced by marketing managers when silver medal effects are present.