We're Brand Conscious
UT introduces a snappy new campaign
Higher education is competitive.
UT competes with other universities for students, faculty, appropriations, and gifts. To be successful, the university has staked out a market position that reinforces its reputation as Tennessee’s preeminent public university.
WUOT's Jason Woodle shows off a FUTURE t-shirt
“For too long, we’ve let others define who we were,” says Tom Milligan, vice chancellor for communications. “With our new branding campaign, we’re clearly stating that UT is at the center of Tennessee’s future and is uniquely positioned to improve the lives of Tennessee citizens every day.”
Milligan and his communications staff from UT Knoxville, working closely with UT Vice President Hank Dye, helped develop the branding initiative for the entire UT system. The individual UT campuses and institutes are working to use that brand identity to promote their individual priorities.
“Each part of UT is using the brand identity to reinforce the idea of UT’s ‘distinct but linked’ family of campuses and institutes,” Dye said.
Milligan says the university brand encompasses the qualities that set the university apart from others.
“As we set forth on the largest comprehensive fundraising campaign in the university’s history, this effort is more important than ever,” he says.
Detail of new UT ad featuring the orange UT brand icon
The orange UT brand icon is the linchpin. Using it in words that include the combination of “U” and “T,” such as fUTure, enhances recognition for all parts of the university. Research showed—not surprisingly—that football was the first thing most people thought of in relation to UT.
“We decided to capitalize on UT’s strong sports identity to build an enhanced position as a rising star in higher education that is central to our state’s future,” Milligan says. “This creates a ‘big orange front door’ to lead our constituents to a greater understanding of our university.”
The new brand identity was unveiled at a university-wide faculty/staff assembly. Employees quickly adopted the idea; several hundred submitted entries in a contest for words that contain the “UT” combination and that describe some aspect of the university.
Advertising on television, in newspapers, and on billboards helped publicize the new UT identity. One of the ads appears on the inside front of this issue. See the TV spot and learn more about the branding identity at http://future.tennessee.edu/book/.