{"id":1086,"date":"2014-06-25T16:32:03","date_gmt":"2014-06-25T20:32:03","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/wiltroutmarketing.com\/?p=1086"},"modified":"2014-06-25T16:32:03","modified_gmt":"2014-06-25T20:32:03","slug":"4-four-things-consider-rebrand-school","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wiltrout.lutzcreativegroup.com\/?p=1086","title":{"rendered":"#4 of Four Things to Consider Before You Rebrand Your School"},"content":{"rendered":"

When last we spoke, we were talking about the attitudes and opinions of others in regard to your branding campaign<\/a>. The more creative you get with your campaign, the more inevitable naysayers are. Focus groups can help gauge response and spot serious issues before you go live, but trying to please everyone can not only be a fruitless effort, it can also water down your message.<\/p>\n

Once you\u2019ve got your brand look and messaging down, however, there\u2019s one more thing to know in order to support the ultimate success of your campaign.<\/p>\n

#4\u2014Commitment and consistency are key.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The words \u201ccommitment\u201d and \u201cconsistency\u201d have a number of meanings when it comes to branding. But before we get into that, let\u2019s step back a second and talk about how an integrated brand campaign works.<\/p>\n

Your brand campaign, as said before, communicates your university\u2019s unique stand in the marketplace. It is like an umbrella hovering over everything you put beneath it. In the example of the University of Maryland brand, the umbrella campaign or integrated brand concept is \u201cFear the Turtle\u201d and the \u201cfear\u201d is meant to represent the growth and momentum of the school\u2019s programs, the power of its faculty and curriculum, the impact of the school in the world and within various areas of specialization and the kind of outcomes a student can expect from going there. That one short message encompasses all the awesome you\u2019ll find at UMD, as well as confidence and a bit of whimsy.<\/p>\n

So Fear the Turtle is the brand campaign, the umbrella concept. And, most recently, the campaign has evolved into \u201cFearless Ideas\u201d, which still sits under the Fear the Turtle umbrella. An umbrella concept is built to last for years and, sometimes, decades. Beneath that, evolutions or iterations of the campaign might run just a year or two, but should nonetheless fall under the brand umbrella. Since Fearless Ideas is about the innovative and inspiring work being done at the university by faculty and students, it directly supports the umbrella brand. The words \u201cFearless Ideas\u201d might be big and bold on promotional pieces, but you\u2019ll still find \u201cFear the Turtle\u201d connected to the logo as a tagline on all pieces.<\/p>\n

Usually, when introducing a new brand effort, you\u2019ll create a \u201cbrand kickoff campaign\u201d that introduces the new branding. In the case of Fear the Turtle, it was a couple of years of ads bearing headlines of \u201cFear the Turtle\u201d and TV spots featuring turtles roaring, marching in formation and even piloting a rocket into outer space. This establishes the brand message so it becomes top of mind. Then after that, you can hone in on more specific aspects within the brand by changing the campaign, but retaining the brand messaging in, perhaps, a more subordinate role.<\/p>\n

That said, let\u2019s get back to commitment and consistency. Commitment is not just about committing to the brand concept as we\u2019ve mentioned in previous articles, but it\u2019s also about committing time and budget to the campaign:<\/p>\n