Founder's Personal Branding in Islamic Boarding School Education in Madura

Abstract

For the Madurese people, Islamic boarding schools remain the main reference in looking for educational institutions. The Madurese people's trust in Islamic boarding schools cannot be separated from the influence of the kiai as founders. Kiai has the most important role in the development of an Islamic boarding school. As a founder, the kiai is the "soul" of the Islamic boarding school. Personal branding and a strong professional image of a kiai will become“buzz” in building public trust in the Islamic boarding school he leads. The founder's personal branding will have a significant impact on the credibility and level of public trust in the Islamic boarding school. This will also make it easier to attract public interest in Islamic boarding schools, as well as build wider connections and networks which will provide many benefits for the sustainability of Islamic boarding schools. Moreover, if the Islamic boarding school is a new Islamic boarding school that is competing fiercely with other Islamic boarding schools that previously existed in Madura and had a good reputation.

The competence of the founder (kiai) in religious knowledge, his dedication and integrity as an Islamic religious leader, and supported by other essential abilities, will become a Unique Value Proposition (UVP) for a kiai. This UVP will form a reputation that will stick in the minds of the public as a kiai's personal branding. This personal branding will highlight the personal strengths that kiai have to build reputation, build trust, and communicate the differentiation that kiai have in developing their Islamic boarding school. Kiai will appear as the "face" of his Islamic boarding school. This "face" will appear in society so that people choose the Islamic boarding school they lead as a place of learning for themselves or their children.

This qualitative research will examine the UVP owned by the founder of the Nahdlatut Ta'limiyah Pamekasan Madura Islamic boarding school, namely kiai Musleh Adnan. Kiai Musleh Adnan was previously a religious preacher whose name was widely known to the public, especially in Madura. With the ability to lecture using simple, relaxed and entertaining sentences but full of meaning and religious advice, Muslim kiai are easily accepted by the public. For this reason, this Islamic boarding school, which was only established in 2019, currently has more than seven hundred students and more than a thousand congregants attending the recitations which are regularly conducted by the kiai every week.

Keywords: Boarding school,Personal Branding, Professional Image, Madurese.

For the Madurese people, Islamic boarding schools remain the main reference in looking for educational institutions. The Madurese people's trust in Islamic boarding schools cannot be separated from the influence of the kiai as founders. Kiai has the most important role in the development of an Islamic boarding school. As a founder, the kiai is the "soul" of the Islamic boarding school. Personal branding and a strong professional image of a kiai will become“buzz” in building public trust in the Islamic boarding school he leads. The founder's personal branding will have a significant impact on the credibility and level of public trust in the Islamic boarding school. This will also make it easier to attract public interest in Islamic boarding schools, as well as build wider connections and networks which will provide many benefits for the sustainability of Islamic boarding schools. Moreover, if the Islamic boarding school is a new Islamic boarding school that is competing fiercely with other Islamic boarding schools that previously existed in Madura and had a good reputation.

The competence of the founder (kiai) in religious knowledge, his dedication and integrity as an Islamic religious leader, and supported by other essential abilities, will become a Unique Value Proposition (UVP) for a kiai. This UVP will form a reputation that will stick in the minds of the public as a kiai's personal branding. This personal branding will highlight the personal strengths that kiai have to build reputation, build trust, and communicate the differentiation that kiai have in developing their Islamic boarding school. Kiai will appear as the "face" of his Islamic boarding school. This "face" will appear in society so that people choose the Islamic boarding school they lead as a place of learning for themselves or their children.

This qualitative research will examine the UVP owned by the founder of the Nahdlatut Ta'limiyah Pamekasan Madura Islamic boarding school, namely kiai Musleh Adnan. Kiai Musleh Adnan was previously a religious preacher whose name was widely known to the public, especially in Madura. With the ability to lecture using simple, relaxed and entertaining sentences but full of meaning and religious advice, Muslim kiai are easily accepted by the public. For this reason, this Islamic boarding school, which was only established in 2019, currently has more than seven hundred students and more than a thousand congregants attending the recitations which are regularly conducted by the kiai every week.