There is evidence in the literature that organizations struggle to formulate and implement their corporate branding strategies. This paper aims to provide an overview of the corporate brand building process in higher education. Design/methodology/approach – A qualitative methodology was used in this study. A single case study of a private American university was used to gather information about their corporate brand building process. University administrators and documents were used to gain insights into their brand building process. Findings – The corporate brand building process addressed three key areas; web administration, program marketing and corporate brand positioning. The corporate brand building process was conducted in four phases and a description of these phases is provided. Research limitations/implications – As this is a single case study further research will be needed to test the validity of the research findings by using other higher education institutions as samples. Originality/value – The corporate brand building process has been described and will be of use to all higher education institutions as well as other organizations wishing to build their corporate brand.