News Articles
We're All About Life!
New web look introduces U of G tag line, cornerstone
BY MARY DICKIESON
By the end of August, the University's website will be sporting a new look. WebMail will still be there, along with MyPortico, campus events and those other important buttons that help you manoeuvre around the online campus, but they'll have moved to a new piece of home-page real estate. And there will be some important changes and additions designed to make Guelph's No. 2 marketing tool more effective.
Although the U of G home page is an everyday work tool for the campus community, its bigger role is to market Guelph to those who visit the website from anywhere in the world.
“Our website is the most dynamic reflection of the University and has become a primary resource for all our key audience groups,” says Chuck Cunningham, director of communications and public affairs. “The message we deliver on the home page should be the one we most want people to remember about U of G, and it should be backed by an efficient design for navigation throughout the virtual University of Guelph.”
For the past year, Cunningham has been leading an initiative to re-evaluate the University's brand and develop marketing strategies to build greater brand recognition. Although a number of staff, faculty and students have been involved in the process, U of G's new web design will be the first campus-wide implementation of a new graphic look and tag line.
The project was spearheaded by five departments: Registrarial Services, Communications and Public Affairs, Alumni Affairs and Development, Open Learning and the Office of Research.
“We have received great advice and support from staff in the offices of the president, the provost and the chief information officer, from the deans and from numerous other offices across campus,” says Cunningham. “There is no doubt that U of G is one of Canada's top universities, and we are fortunate to have built our brand on a solid institutional foundation. We need the strength of Guelph's traditional brand image as we build the University's reputation in today's marketplace. The competition for students, faculty and staff, as well as donors and research support, is increasing rapidly. The strength of a university's brand has become more important in the higher-education sector as universities and colleges try to differentiate themselves.”
Working with Toronto-based Cundari SFP, the U of G marketing group conducted multiple focus groups and interviews with stakeholders, including faculty, staff, current Guelph students, high school students and U of G alumni.
In fact, it was a Guelph grad who helped pinpoint the University's new tag line when he declared: “U of G is all about life. It should be the life brand.” Another respondent echoed that, saying: “Guelph should define its leadership in terms of sustainable life systems.”
From comments like these and an analysis of the University's strengths came the words: “Changing Lives, Improving Life.”
“This tag line is clear and makes the point that U of G is dedicated to protecting and cultivating the essentials of life — water, land, the environment, health, community, commerce, culture and learning,” says president Alastair Summerlee. “The University's mission statement and strategic objectives are the foundation of its brand promise, but this tag line is our summary of those promises. They define our aspirations and achievements. At the University of Guelph, we do change lives and improve life.”
According to Cunningham, “these are words the University should ‘own' in the higher-education marketplace — a feat we will accomplish by using them on U of G promotional materials in conjunction with our trademarked identifier. By fall, they will be in use on admissions material, alumni communications, departmental brochures and other promotional materials.
“We heard over and over again that the U of G message should be bold and distinctive, easy to understand, true to the University's mission and relevant to our global society. We think ‘Changing Lives, Improving Life' does that, and it tested extremely well.”
The University also has a new cornerstone image that combines the tag line with the U of G identifier and a new pallette of colours and typography to help University designers achieve a distinctive and consistent look on Guelph publications and websites.
“How successful we are will depend on the University's No. 1 marketing resource — its people,” says Cunningham. “The launch of our new website and the revision of the University's graphic standards for publications will provide a mandate for all U of G departments to begin using the cornerstone on external marketing materials. When you promote a Guelph program, use the “Changing Lives, Improving Life” tag line. In a marketplace where consumers are hooked on logos and slogans, brand recognition requires consistent brand promotion.”
Copies of the cornerstone element and a preliminary quick reference guide to proper use are now available for campus users and will be incorporated into the University's graphic standards guide and web design guide over the summer.
Queries about use should be directed to Mary Dickieson at Ext. 58706 for printed material and Stuart Robertson at Ext. 56579 for web-related issue.