NASHVILLE, Tenn. – If it were a reality TV show, it might have been called "Making the Brand." For the Owen Graduate School of Management at Vanderbilt University, it was a singular opportunity to engage students in a real-time, brand management case that would position the school for a new century and, in the process, give new meaning to the decades-old concept of "brand promise."
The "product" is the school’s new brand identity and marketing campaign that builds on the prestige and equity associated with Vanderbilt University. A marketing tagline, "Discover this place. Shape your world," projects the school’s intimate environment and its highly personalized approach to helping each member of the Owen community find the support necessary to succeed.
The "promise" comes in the form of "promise cards" clearly stating Owen’s responsibility to the members of its community-students, faculty, alumni, recruiters and businesses-and marking the first time any business school has committed so publicly to ensuring an academic environment that fosters and fulfills goals for all of these groups.
"Our new brand identity is truly by the people, for the people, of the people, getting to the heart of what matters to all our constituencies," said Owen School Dean William G. Christie. "It will support Owen as a powerful and effective marketer in an environment that has become as staggeringly competitive for attracting the best students as it is for getting a recruitment foothold in leading firms and corporations."
Working with Owen’s marketing director and seasoned brand experts, a team of five second-year students with different academic interests were closely involved with all aspects of the branding process, including competitive intelligence and interviews, creative development and implementation plans. The project was part of a second-year marketing course and provided a unique opportunity for students to apply academic theory and past experience to a strategic endeavor that would have long-term ramifications for Owen’s future.
"Bringing our students into the center of such an important marketing challenge underscores our commitment to providing the best possible preparation for today’s business marketplace," Christie said. "It was an invaluable experience that they will draw on in years to come, and the Owen community benefited from their commitment of time and talent."
At the center of the new Owen School brand identity is an entirely new logotype utilizing the signature Vanderbilt "V" with its distinctive oak leaf imprint and complementing the redesigned, institution-wide identity launched by the University in April 2003.
"Strengthening our ties to the Vanderbilt heritage of distinguished research and academic excellence reinforces Owen’s quality perception in the business marketplace," said Yvonne Martin Kidd, director of marketing and communications at the Owen School. "Striking a balance between the two names was also important for the immediate Owen community, which greatly values the gift bestowed by Peck and Lulu Owen in 1996," she added.
Calling the "promise" concept the "most tangible evidence of Owen’s character," Martin Kidd said it will be integrated into all facets of the school’s identity and marketing through the prominent use of the promise cards; each student will have a card that bears his or her name and class year. "Our many constituencies all depend on one another-and Owen-for their ultimate success. The promise cards are a visible reaffirmation of our commitment to them," Martin Kidd said.
New advertising formats will feature a "portal-like" design element depicting students plotting out their career paths on a large whiteboard with the goal of encouraging current, past and future MBAs to view Owen as a conduit to the next phases of their lives.
The new brand identity system carries forward through marketing brochures, facilities signs, branded merchandise and a revamped Internet site, to be launched during the summer of 2004. In addition, new logos have been created for all of the school’s major academic programs, including the MBA, Executive MBA, Executive Education and Ph.D. programs.
Martin Kidd led a team that included Vanderbilt Creative Services, Corporate Design, Inc. and the Scott.Gardner Group of Nashville. Richard L. Oliver, Valere Blair Potter Professor of Management, served as academic adviser to the student team. As part of the exercise, ideas and feedback were gathered from constituencies important to the Owen community-from students, faculty, staff, alumni and top University administration, to recruiters, corporate sponsors and the local business community.
"It was truly exciting for us to be an integral part of the entire marketing development process for Owen," said second-year Owen student Stephen Rice. "Most student projects in b-school are done for outside organizations, but we had the chance to become involved in the big-picture thinking for our own school, in which we all have a vested interest."
Added Christie, "Many aspects of the new Owen brand have long been hallmarks of this school, and will remain steadfast. Now those are communicated even more clearly through all of our marketing efforts. We have a brand that will last for years to come."
Founded in 1969, the Vanderbilt Owen Graduate School of Management is ranked as a top institution by Business Week, The Wall Street Journal, U.S. News & World Report, Financial Times and Forbes. For more news about Owen, visit www.mba.vanderbilt.edu.
Media contact: Susanne Hicks, (615) 322-NEWS
Susanne.hicks@vanderbilt.edu