As you have probably noticed, the University is embarking on a new branding campaign.
Part of that process has been the development of a clean, very straightforward, highly professional look that is universal, easy to identify and, eventually, powerful enough to cause action.
When you talk about a new visual identity for an institution that has been around for over a hundred years, it is an especially sensitive subject since nearly everyone has a different interpretation of what this place means to them personally. The task is made even more difficult when you try to articulate those feelings, memories and aspirations into a single symbol that can also be used effectively in marketing.
The visual identity is but one element of a successful branding campaign. What we say, how we say it, where we say it and the people we say it to are all elements of a successful branding campaign.
The branding campaign, in short, has a single objective … to create the perception there is no other product like ours in the marketplace.
In its simplest form a brand is a noun.
As an example, each of us represents an individual brand. You consistently brand who you are by the way you talk, the language you use, the activities you pursue, the way you dress, the causes you are passionate about and the things you do everyday that define who you are.
The brand you create about yourself determines the kinds of jobs you get and the relationships you create. Employers and people you meet either buy into your brand or they don’t.
The same goes for a university.
One of the biggest challenges we have in the marketing department here at the University is to effectively articulate the University’s brand so consistently that it becomes recognizable, remembered and selected by our various target markets.
A good brand becomes stronger when you narrow the focus. Rather than trying to be all things to all people, the University is in the process of articulating its core competencies and intellectual capital so that a powerful message of uniqueness is communicated and clearly understood by the groups of people who are looking for what we have to offer.
That is what we are trying to do with the new branding campaign. We are trying to narrow the focus of our visual identify program so that the new word mark and spirit logo are part of a powerful and consistent brand that causes people to respond in a positive way.
The first challenge has been to condense all the various looks, logos, messages and styles into a single, easy to read, easy to understand and easy to remember brand via the new visual identity of the word mark and spirit logo.
The next challenge will be to make the brand so powerful that people who are looking for what we have to offer will instantly stop and recognize Texas A&M University-Commerce and know in an instant who we are, what we do and why it matters.
Randy Jolly is the director of marketing communications for Texas A&M University-Commerce.