Multimodal glocalisation approach for analysing university branding strategies: the case of pakistan on X

Social media has become central to how universities construct and project their institutional identities. This paper advances branding and multimodality research by introducing a multimodal glocalisation approach to university branding on X, integrating discourse-semiotic principles with theories of glocal identity performance. The approach explicates how institutions align global communicative norms with locally grounded cultural meanings through coordinated verbal, visual and interactional resources. To demonstrate the value of this conceptualisation, the study analyses one year of X posts (2,861 posts) from two leading Pakistani universities: the National University of Sciences and Technology (NUST), a government institution; and Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS), a private university. A multi-method design comprising content analysis, corpus-assisted discourse analysis and multimodal visual analysis captures the verbal and visual branding strategies, while questionnaires and interviews provide insight into audience perceptions. Findings show that NUST emphasises national development and research legitimacy, whereas LUMS foregrounds student experience, social advocacy and community networks. Both, however, consistently embed Islamic and nationalistic cues that anchor their globally oriented messaging within the Pakistani socio-cultural context. By conceptualising multimodal glocalisation and demonstrating its empirical applicability, the study offers a replicable framework for understanding how universities craft culturally resonant yet globally recognisable identities on social media, with implications for research and digital branding practice.