5 minute read
Brand, New
Deep research and inquiry are skills the large and small make it harder to reach aspiring University of Mary Washington imparts to first-year college students. And declining its students. University leaders have turned birthrates mean that demographic is shrinking. these tools of discovery inward over the past two “The reality is that schools must compete years, engaging thousands of individuals to define for students,” Holmes said, “and schools tend the University of Mary Washington experience. to claim to offer the same benefits and the same
Current and prospective students, alumni, experiences regardless of what an individual staff, faculty, donors, and members of the wider Fredericksburg community participated in a research process aimed at telling a more inclusive and authentic story about the university. We want to be a place where “We couldn’t get it right if all of these individuals hadn’t been willing to participate,” said UMW President Troy each person matters, where everyone is seen, heard, and Paino. recognized as uniquely individual Paino knew when he arrived on campus in 2016 that UMW would need to refresh and absolutely indispensable to its branding – the messaging it uses to our community. present itself to the wider world – to stand Lisa Bowlingout in Virginia’s competitive higher education market.
Vice President for Advancement and University Relations Lisa Jamison Bowling ’89 said Paino’s involvement from the start set the student needs. When prospective stage for a process that had buy-in from students students don’t know us, the brand to the top leadership. will provide an insight about our values
“He has invested incredible time and energy and whether UMW is a good fit.” in making sure that this is not a banal marketing “We are not a one-size-fits-all school,” Bowling campaign,” she said. “An exceptional brand agreed. “Instead, we want to be a place where reflects an authentic experience. It’s the culture, each person matters, where everyone is seen, it’s the environment, it’s who we are, not just a heard, and recognized as uniquely individual and trite message on advertising and promotional absolutely indispensable to our community.” materials.” In a marketing landscape where students
“When we did our market research, people are turned off by overly polished sales pitches, who knew us had a positive impression,” Paino and the University Relations team knew it Paino said. Research demonstrated that Mary would be important to tell an authentic story that Washington’s alumni satisfaction and pride connected with people. are higher than national benchmarks, but he “We all agreed that it had to be inclusive, it had Erika Bush continued, “the biggest problem was, there were to be expansive,” Paino said. “Our research had to far too many people who didn’t know us.” be both deep and wide. We wanted to hear from
Director of University Marketing Malcolm diverse voices on this.” Holmes said solving this problem is more critical That research required finding the right than ever, as increasingly fragmented media and branding firm to lead the process. The search high-dollar marketing campaigns at universities started with more than 60 agencies, from boutique
firms to multinationals, Holmes said. That list was narrowed to 10, seven of which came to campus to pitch for UMW’s business.
Paino said he was impressed with the winning firm – Atlanta-based Mindpower – from the moment they arrived in Fredericksburg.
“They came early to spend time in Fredericksburg, eating in the restaurants and striking up conversations and asking people in the city what they think about the university,” he said. “Being willing to take that extra time to get to know the culture here told me a lot about them and the care that they take.”
The partnership with Mindpower began with research. Through individual interviews, attendance at pre-COVID campus events, focus groups, and multiple rounds of rigorous market testing, every major stakeholder had an opportunity to participate. “We purposely oversubscribed in the research so that anyone who wanted a voice in the process had an opportunity to participate,” Bowling said. “It is extraordinarily rare to have thousands join in this type of feedback process, but we believed it was crucial to identifying an authentic and unifying identity for all constituents.”
With the perspectives of more than 7,000 of its most invested community members guiding the effort, UMW and Mindpower developed a brand strategy and platform that will influence philosophical and tactical decisions across the university. This framework is also the basis for the creative expression of the brand, which members of the university community will start to see on campus and in school communications in the coming months.
In a discussion of the new brand at a February meeting of the Board of Visitors, board member Charles Reed Jr. ’11 said the concept perfectly expressed the reasons he chose to attend Mary Washington.
The branding process was delayed by a year because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Paino said that delay could be a blessing in disguise, as new branding would have gotten lost amid the elections and pandemic. As the world emerges from the crisis, he thinks the new concept will hit home with a generation of students looking for some of the very things Mary Washington does best.
“This is a place where people can come make a difference, both as individuals and as a broader community. For generations people have attended and supported Mary Washington because they want to make an impact and use their talents in a way that truly matters,” he said.
UMW will launch its new brand in the fall 2021 semester, when classes are expected to resume fully on
campus. The fall/winter edition of this magazine, which should mail in November, will explore the brand, how it reflects Mary Washington’s past and future, and how it will aid potential students in finding their best fit in higher education. Until then, watch
