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Printer-Friendly ModeUniversity refines image
April 4, 2005 —
University Communications is working on presenting advertising that will make SVSU immediately recognizable to those interested and show the reputation that comes along with the University.
On Monday, March 21, Lucille Beuthin, vice president for Public Affairs and executive director for Development & SVSU Foundation, presented a report on University Branding and Image to the Board of Control members.
The approach the department will take is one of consistency in marketing messages and appearance. Among other things, the consistency will take effect by updating the SVSU Web site in August, changing the stationary and envelopes used by campus to school colors and updating the current logo.
The new tagline of "Something More, Something Better" will help illustrate what SVSU aims to give its students. Beuthin showed that the promise is to provide caring faculty for students, encourage students to explore, and also give back to the community.
"A lot of people have commented on how nice the new front entrance is, but they don't know what is happening inside the buildings," Beuthin said.
Senior Communications Coordinator Tim Inman mentioned that advertising will be concentrated in different areas than it has in the past. This new initiative will not cost the University more money, but change the focus of advertising.
SVSU has been targeting mostly newspaper and print advertising, but will be working on using outdoor billboard, television and radio advertising. A three-month campaign will be taking place for the outdoor advertising. Billboards will go up on I-75, US-10, I-675 and M-47. There will be fewer small advertisements, as the idea is that the bigger advertisements will have more of a lasting effect and impression on people.
"We want to get beyond the fact that we have a beautiful campus," Inman said. "We will be looking for stories of students who are doing projects in their field of study and community service at SVSU to incorporate into the advertising." Inman pointed out that this can already be seen in a display in the Alumni Lounge.
Construction of new buildings at SVSU is expected to level off in the next two to five years. The department and University find it important to show what makes SVSU distinctive and special to possible incoming students. This focus will also help develop relationships with business and industry and alumni.
"This is not just a nice thing to do because of the visual image alone," said J.J. Boehm, SVSU's Media Relations Officer. "As SVSU's reputation increases, so does the likelihood an employer will view you as more favorable and your job prospects increase."
An example that Inman spoke of was a student who was trying to get a job with an employer in the field of engineering.
The student was involved in a project to build a feeding device for a child with cerebral palsy. A portfolio was created for this student to use at the interview.
The interviewer read the entire portfolio before asking any questions to the student. This shows the impact that the project had on the employer and the likelihood of a positive increase of his view on SVSU.
Although competition is always a factor in bringing highly qualified students to a university, Boehm and Inman stressed this is not the case with this program.
The advertising is meant to send an individualized message and a brand promise.
The advertising will also be expanded further than the five county radius previously used by the University.
This change will provide options to students in other areas of the state and also expand the University reputation across the state.
Inman summed up the focus of this campaign by saying, "The goal is for the SVSU logo to register as a distinction in the student minds that triggers that they can associate quality and distinctiveness at SVSU."