In general, colleges and universities struggle to differentiate themselves. Many can claim 鈥淪mall class sizes,鈥 鈥淓xpert faculty鈥 and 鈥淪tate-of-the-art鈥 this-and-that. What makes 鈥淩edefining What鈥檚 Possible鈥 more than just a marketing line is the rich and dynamic ecosystem that is built, curated, nurtured and evolved by our faculty and staff 鈥 empowering our students to be the heroes of their own stories 鈥 to actively reach for and craft their new reality and claim their future on their own terms 鈥 made possible by the foundational support they find within the UCM community. We are their guides, mentors, counselors and sometimes their drill sergeants.
UCM is not some magical place where anything is possible just because you enroll here. It鈥檚 hard work, but a community of support makes it possible. It takes desire, grit and a willingness to grow. And it鈥檚 personal. That鈥檚 what we do better than any other university community 鈥 we personalize the resources, opportunities and support, ensuring each student can succeed; however they define success. That makes 鈥淩edefining What鈥檚 Possible鈥 more than an empty promise.
In 2023, we surveyed and interviewed potential students, parents, current students, past students, faculty and staff. We enlisted outside consultants. We studied the current national attitudes and predictive enrollment models and then shopped our competition and ourselves. Our goal in developing the 鈥淩edefining What鈥檚 Possible鈥 campaign is to speak directly to the students who will most likely flourish in our community 鈥 a right fit student for UCM.
In February 2024, we began editing and curating UCM stories of all shapes and sizes. In March 2024, we started sharing the stories that help demonstrate what鈥檚 possible at UCM. We鈥檒l continue to collect stories and shape them into engaging marketing pieces as our brand campaign evolves and redefines what鈥檚 possible in marketing UCM.
Ready to get started? Click here to get your "Redefining What's Possible" email signature.
Listen to stories and insight directly from faculty, staff and students who live this campaign's culture everyday.
A lot, actually. This is an opportunity to share your program or department鈥檚 story with a broader audience. This campaign relies on student stories and real-world demonstrations of all that is possible at UCM. The more student stories you share with IMC, the more your program and department-specific stories can be used in recruiting.
Areas we鈥檙e most interested in:
The more lead time you can give us, the better.
Use the new brand campaign as an opportunity to update your marketing and recruiting efforts. Contact anyone in IMC, and we鈥檒l be happy to help.
Our 鈥淯CM Brand鈥 is visually represented in our official logos, colors and icons. It also includes our university mission, vision and values. But more than that, the UCM Brand is the accumulated experiences, interactions, feelings, communications and perceptions each person has with the university. This makes all of us UCM brand ambassadors, and that is why it鈥檚 important to know how to utilize both the UCM Brand and the Brand Campaign.
The Brand Campaign is used primarily in our recruiting efforts. Its elements are not designed for institutional pieces like environmental graphics (building signs, light post banners, directional signage, etc.) or for 鈥渆vergreen鈥 materials that will last longer than the life of the current marketing campaign.
The UCM community is at the heart of our new marketing campaign. Your involvement is critical. Not only does the campaign rely on your stories, experiences and examples, but your interactions with students, parents and campus visitors are invaluable. We want you to be involved in our campaign from the beginning. In March, we鈥檒l start sharing the campaign with you, our valued internal stakeholders, to build excitement, generate additional stories and demonstrate what鈥檚 possible.
Because this is a recruiting campaign, most marketing materials will be launched at the beginning of fall 2024, which is the fall 2025 recruiting season. A lot of work will go on between March and August, and we鈥檒l need your involvement from time to time. You may notice enhancements to the recruiting pages on our website. Our social media may start to look different. But the entire campaign won鈥檛 be visible until late summer. Look for updates on the campaign鈥檚 progress through UCM Daily.
Yes.
鈥淟earning to a Greater Degree鈥 and 鈥淐hoose Red鈥 are such old campaigns that any materials
created at that time are very out of date (and look like it). Please contact IMC,
and let鈥檚 talk about replacing them.
鈥淥pportunity in Action鈥 is a newer campaign, and as long as the content of the pieces is up-to-date, those materials should be used rather than thrown out.
Please do not reorder any materials using any of these old campaign themes.
Yes.
You鈥檒l find the guidelines here. Or skip the 60+ pages of guidelines and start your project with IMC. We鈥檙e available,
without cost, to UCM departments and offices. And we鈥檝e read the guidelines, so you
don鈥檛 have to.
If you have additional questions, please call Integrated Marketing and Communications at 660-543-4640 and ask to speak with our brand specialist.