The relevance of studying the theory and practice of building the reputation of higher educational institutions is of an enduring nature due to the fixed cyclical nature of their work process and the high degree of specificity of the results obtained. In the second and third decades of the twenty-first century, the rethinking and development of this activity were significantly influenced by the state project "5-100" and the "Priority 2030" program. However, the formal indicators of their effectiveness included in the project and program do not exhaust the list of positions that make up the content of an attractive image of a higher education institution but are the result of their implementation. To update this list, the research analyzes the conceptual basis for building the image, reputation, and brand of an organization -- a subject of socio-economic relations). The authors conduct qualitative research on the reputation management of three leading Russian universities: National Research Tomsk State University (TSU), Peoples' Friendship University of Russia (RUDN), and National Research South Ural State University (SUSU). The performance indicators of their participation in these projects are examined in dynamics. The authors analyzed the activities to develop the identification positions of universities in the public space, changing or correcting their semantic messages as guidelines for meaningful activity. Finally, the authors provide recommendations for optimizing theoretical approaches and applied components of the image direction of work at a university. [For the complete volume, "University 4.0 and Educational Technology for Sustainable Development: Best Practices and Perspectives in Russia and Central Asia. Education in the Asia-Pacific Region: Issues, Concerns and Prospects. Volume 75," see ED675741.]