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It has become evident that the University of Rhode Island, like comparable institutions across the country, needs to approach its brand or reputation in a sophisticated way. It is time to engage in a serious and thoughtful process that clearly articulates the University´s unique qualities and strengths. It is our intent to define our distinctiveness in the marketplace, communicate our value, and tell our story in the most compelling way possible.
The reason for taking this journey to brand the University of Rhode Island is to meet our strategic goals of enhancing student recruitment, retention, involvement, and graduation rates, improving the fiscal health of the University, creating a more inclusive environment, and improving the efficiency and effectiveness of research and outreach support. Ultimately, this effort is about the long-term success of the institution.
In July 2006, 100 University of Rhode Island community members joined together in the Memorial Union to kick off the branding initiative. With broad representation from internal and external groups, the gathering was an inspiring and captivating experience. The following month, URI President Robert L. Carothers appointed a 21-member Steering Committee to guide a comprehensive branding process over the next two years. [Process and Timeline]
Branding is the process of determining an organization's core strengths, and communicating those strengths to its most important stakeholders.
The results of a branding program can be a clearly-defined, long-term identity and image that is consistent with stakeholders. In the context of the University of Rhode Island, this means stakeholders as diverse as students, prospective students, faculty, administrators, alumni, government officials, and the general public would share a unity of vision about exactly what the institution represents. Branding can be instrumental in establishing points of differentiation in key competitors, thus helping to distinguish the organization in stakeholders’ minds.
Organizations of all kinds invest in brand-building activities. Although many people are aware of branding efforts from organizations selling products and services, most people are unaware of branding efforts from academic institutions. In the last ten years, significant branding programs have been implemented at many private and even public universities. The list of public institutions includes the University of Connecticut, the University of Maryland, and the University of Nebraska. These investments have paid off handsomely in terms of greater visibility, appreciation, patronage and support. A branding program is imperative right now at the University of Rhode Island to allow us to better compete against public institutions of higher education that have seen these investments pay off, often with spectacular results.
However, it is important to understand that building a strong brand involves more than determining and communicating core strengths, and establishing an identity among stakeholders. A strong brand truly lives and breathes within the organization. Therefore, the brand must constantly be supported by the organization’s "attributes" and the people in the organization. In other words, attributes such as URI’s academic quality and reputation, student experience, and value must evolve and strengthen to support and be consistent with other brand development activities. Moreover, URI administrators, faculty, and support staff must understand and act consistently with the new brand. In this manner, every "contact point" with stakeholders will communicate the same theme underlying the new brand identity.
The resulting brand will assist our efforts in achieveing the following:
A. The initiative is being led by a 22-member Steering Committee appointed by the president. The Steering Committee has broad internal and external representation. [Who's Involved] . We have attempted to include individuals who will provide a diversity of perspectives, allowing those with marketing and branding expertise to partner with those who have a solid understanding of the institution’s history and culture. At the same time, we have brought representatives from areas most knowledgeable about student recruitment and retention, alumni relations, admissions, academic affairs, athletics, and student life. Recommendations will be made to the president and the vice president for University Advancement.
A. Yes. The Steering Committee and its subgroups will be working with the wider campus community and beyond to develop the brand. There will be opportunities to provide input and feedback, and updates on progress will be made to various groups. Input will be sought from the Council of Deans, the Joint Strategic Planning Committee, the Faculty Senate, and the URI Communications Advisory Council. Community members will also be able to offer input, ideas, and feedback on the branding initiative website.
A. A strong brand is essential to the long-term success of the University. Branding grew out of the need to align the University's internal and external communication objectives with those of the University’s strategic goals of enhancing student recruitment, retention, involvement, and graduation rates; improving the fiscal health of the University, creating a more inclusive environment, and improving the efficiency and effectiveness of research and outreach support.
A. The current budget for the branding initiative is $80,000 (Fiscal '07). Additional funding is expected to be allocated in Fiscal '08 to hire an agency to assist with the brand development and launch, and to fund the brand implementation plan. Every effort has been made to conduct the work internally, with faculty from the College of Business Administration (Professors Ruby Dholakia and Daniel Sheinin) developing the research plan and directing the activities of the firm that has been hired to conduct focus groups. They will also be working with the survey center in the Cancer Prevention Research Center, which has been contracted to conduct the quantitative survey. Graduate students in the College of Business will be working with faculty members to analyze the data collected. The expertise and resources of a marketing firm will be required to help develop the brand strategy and create the launch plan.
A. Yes. Ultimately, the visual identity will function as the shorthand for the brand. We are now focusing our attention on how the University is perceived by various audiences -- students, parents, alumni, legislators, media -- and what influences those perceptions in order to identify the institution’s strengths and areas of differentiation. From that research a positioning statement will be developed that will guide the messaging and the creation of the visual identity.
“While brand speaks to the mind and heart, brand identity is tangible and appeals to the senses. Brand identity is the visual and verbal expression of a brand. “ Designing Brand Identity
A. Contact the University's communications department at (401) 874-2116 or use the online form.
©2006-2007 The University of Rhode Island
Note: the design of this administrative website does not represent
current
or
future
branding elements or standards for the University.
"Branding effectively requires organizational introspection." [Linda Acciardo, Communications Director, University of Rhode Island]
What other universities and organizations are doing to refresh their brands.
Branding by nature is a collaborative, inclusive process. Voice your opinion!
