Transitioning to an Updated College Brand

Steve Vandiver, Director of Marketing, Richland Community

College

Susan Kirtland, PresidentPropeller Communications

What is Brand Positioning?

• Branding is a promise; a pledge of quality

• Branding helps set Richland Community College apart from other institutions by reflecting the personalities, behaviors, and culture of the institution

Why is Brand Positioning important?

• Most written messages are ignored, but over 70% of visual messages are processed

• Sending targeted effective visual and verbal messages is vital to the success of the college

Brand Positioning Workshop

• Conducted April 4, 2008– Intended to determine values that are

meaningful to students, alumni, faculty, & staff

• Participants consisted of faculty, staff, alumni, high school guidance counselors, community leaders, and students representative of the student body (traditional, non-traditional, university transfer, career programs, age, gender and ethnic diversity).

Elements of Perception

Competitive Analysis

• Stakeholder participants were asked to give perceptions of six other area institutions– Millikin University– Robert Morris College– Lincoln Land Community College– Lakeland College– Parkland College– Heartland Community College

Brand Identity Attributes• Meaningful

• Different

• Credible

• Stakeholder participants identified key words (attributes) that describe and differentiate Richland

Brand Positioning Statement

Richland Community College is an educational resource offering an academic foundation for college transfer, career programs, job training, personal and professional growth in a friendly environment with supportive faculty and staff dedicated to the success of our students and community.

Visual Cues & Positioning Elements

• Stakeholder participants aligned the following elements with the final key words in the brand positioning statement:

– Color Palette

– Font Type

– Logo Mark/Graphic Styling

– Layout & Composition

– Photographic Direction

Branding Ensures Success

• Three factors critical for the brand promise to work:– It must be true to the values, practices

and products of an institution– It must be meaningful to the

stakeholders– It must be distinctive from other

academic institutions

Incorporation of Branding Directives

Thank You