The purpose of this Brand Guide is to support your marketing and communication goals with an entire suite of resources and tools from photography and writing guidelines to logos, colors, the tagline, social media standards and more. Above all else, become familiar with UNCG’s “Why-How-What” Strategy, which will inform all of your communication decisions. Under that tab, you will find a research-based approach unique to UNCG and essential for developing authentic, distinctive materials that resonate with your audience.
Training Overview
As UNCG competes for students, dollars, top faculty, community partnerships and more, presenting a unified voice is critical. IMSC training will help our campus community speak with a unified voice and present a consistent visual identity – both of which are extremely important in helping audiences clearly understand what distinguishes UNCG.
When IMSC launched in March, Brand Standards Training was made available to the entire campus.150 staff, faculty and outside partners participated. Based on the survey feedback, close to 90% of those who attended found the training to be helpful.
As IMSC continues to be implemented, ongoing training is being conducted in the form of customized unit strategy sessions. These sessions are organized jointly between University Relations staff and unit deans or vice chancellors. Typically, the format involves two parts. The first part is a brainstorming session to discover how the “Why-How-What” strategy can be applied to each unit, with a deliverable of a customized messaging grid. The second part is a session to demonstrate how units apply the messaging grid to new marketing communication materials. This second session is often run as a live workshop in which participants share materials for possible rework. The deliverable is a set of customized headlines that can be used either verbatim or as a model for new materials.
Who attends the customized unit strategy sessions? Each dean or vice chancellor determines who will attend the sessions. Most often, the first session includes department chairs, directors, outreach coordinators and the dean’s staff. The second session includes C3 members – the Community of Content Creators – for each unit. C3 is comprised of anyone who creates marketing messages that reach audiences like current students, prospective students, alumni, donors, the community and other key groups. If you’re not currently a member of C3, but you would like to join, please email brandaid@uncg.edu.
Who facilitates the unit strategy sessions? Mike Fox, who has been our partner throughout the IMSC process, facilitates the sessions, with support from University Relations staff.
How do I know when my unit’s strategy session is going to be scheduled? Heading into the fall 2012 semester, the following units have completed their sessions: Admissions, Health and Human Sciences, Athletics, School of Education and Student Affairs. By the end of the fall semester, the following units will be completed: the Bryan School, Undergraduate Studies, University Libraries, the College and the Division of Continual Learning.
If your unit is not listed, you will be scheduled for spring or summer 2013. We recognize the importance and value of these customized sessions to your unit and, therefore, are making every effort to meet with units as soon as possible. These sessions require thoughtful planning and collaboration with limited resources in terms of manpower. Ultimately, our goal is to empower and educate each unit and to provide a set of customized tools (the message grid and headlines) to enhance IMSC engagement. We appreciate your patience, understanding and support.
If you have additional questions, please contact us brandaid@uncg.edu.
