The ZTA Brand
It is the rush of adrenaline you felt as you ran toward your new sisters on Bid Day. It is the reverence experienced during Initiation and the laughter shared during a late night study break. It is your best friends serenading you with ZTA songs at your wedding and the pride you feel when you see our letters on the woman you just passed on the street. Zeta Tau Alpha is more than an organization. It is a feeling. It is happiness, pride, a sense of belonging, empowerment and love. Think back to your favorite ZTA memory. Does it bring up any of those things? What is special about ZTA is that while each of us has a different favorite memory that reveals what our membership means to us, our stories are the same. These shared feelings and experiences create a special state of being—the state of being Zeta Tau Alpha. It is who we are. It is our brand. In a purely visual sense, a brand is your logo, your colors and your design esthetic. But those things don’t fully encompass ZTA. These elements must be a physical representation of “who” the organization is. As our Founders once asked, “Who? Who? Who are we?” In fall 2012, we began to explore who our members think ZTA is. We then used those findings to create a new visual identity, an updated look that conveys the personality and meaning of ZTA. This visual identity was launched at Convention 2014 in Los Angeles.
“[The Logo] brings everything in that we represent. It’s fun, classy and states our motto.”
– from an alumna in our November 2013 survey
“To say Zeta Tau Alpha has a new brand isn’t exactly true,” explained ZTA National President Keeley McDonald Riddle. “A brand is an outward expression of who we are on the inside, but who we are has not changed. We are merely showing it to you in a new way.”
22 · Themis
So why launch a new visual identity now? ZTA unveiled our previous identity in 1991, a time when corporate logos and mission statements were becoming increasingly popular. The Fraternity wanted a professional, corporate logo to represent our three entities: the Fraternity, the Crown Development Trust Fund (now the ZTA Foundation) and ZTA Fraternity Housing Corporation. From The History of Zeta Tau Alpha, “The window logo provided a progressive outlook for the Fraternity through its design. Denoting ZTA’s heritage, the logo displayed the architectural style of our International Office. The image portrayed a rising sun as a dynamic beginning for ZTA.” This logo was used on all Fraternity stationery and published materials for 23 years and became a recognizable image of ZTA in the fraternity/ sorority community. However, it was less recognizable outside of the Greek world and not often used by our own members or chapters. Today, the trend for brands is to have a less corporate look and feel. They aim to be dynamic and engaging, something people would want to use for themselves. For Zeta Tau Alpha, the goal for this new visual identity is for members to relate to it and for it to remind them of why they love ZTA.
The Process
Because ZTA’s brand is a visual representation of who we are, we first needed to define the Fraternity’s brand essence—the words that sum up the heart and soul of ZTA. In February 2013, 774 Zetas were surveyed, including all National Officers, all alumnae and collegiate chapter Presidents, Former National Council members, as well as randomly selected alumnae, collegiate members and new members. They were asked about what comes to mind when thinking about ZTA, their own experiences as a member, which symbols are most associated with ZTA, sentiments on past Fraternity imagery, our mission, and what makes ZTA unique in the Greek world. The same was done for the Foundation and FHC.