Rebranding General Education at ISU. General Education General Education at Illinois State lays the...

Rebranding General

Education at ISU

General Education

General Education at Illinois State lays the foundation for the undergraduate experience. It provides the knowledge and skills that prepare for a major as well as a lifetime that may well include several different career paths.

How it all began....• 2013 State of the University Address• Tom Lamonica and James Munz

o 4 marketing undergraduate students• Elise Cowan• Nick Maggiore• Nicole Poggensee• Ryne Watson

o 4 communication undergraduate students • Bridget Anders• Bobby Bobbitt• JoeyLauren Jiracek • Jessica Perri

Initial Meetings

• December 2013 – April 2014• Shared personal perspectives • Researched students’ perspectives and

other general education programs• Established objectives for campaign• Looked at popular rebranding campaigns

to gain better understanding of process

Client Recommendations • Met with Dr. Rosenthal • Established group objectives

o New nameo New slogan o Rebranding/marketing ideaso Create a buzz about General Education Program

• Target Audienceo Current students o Prospective students

• Researcho Focus groupso Meet with admissions and recruitment staffo No surveys

Admissions Counselors Recommendations

• Nathan Barger and Patrick Walsh• Students Inquiries:

o Most prospective students are unfamiliar with the General Education Program

o Typically ask questions pertaining to AP credits and minimum requirements

• Nathan’s Response:o Importance of organizational and leadership skills

gained from General Education courses• Our takeaways:

o Help show students the variety of experience gained from courses

o Emphasizing the value of the program

Admission Ambassadors Focus Group

• Their outlook on General Educationo Variety, easy, boring, repetitive, tedious,

unnecessary, irrelevant

• Experienceso No relationship with professorso Big lecture hallso Enjoyed sophomore year classes moreo Good exposure, but not challenging

Admission Ambassadors Focus

Group (cont.)• Questions perspective students ask them

o How is the general education program?o What will they be like?o Usually parents ask more questions

• Suggestionso Preview Video o Better explanation of the programo Incorporate general education courses with

major courses

Student Focus Group

• Attendees included: freshmen and junior students• Their outlook on General Education:

o Required, basic, waste of time, become well-roundedo Knew about program, but not much else

• Experiences:o Good relationship with communication and english

professor o Social anxiety with participation in lecture halls

• Suggestions:o Video with interviewso Tailor to interests and major

Namestorming Session

• Attendees included: Carol Jalowiec, Steve Barcus, and team

• Purpose to guide us in a direction, not to actually choose a name

• Spent an hour brainstorming different name ideaso Three timed rounds o Narrowed down ideas after each round

Meetings After the Storm

• Further brainstormed names and slogans• Discussed and chose pairings • Picked final two names and slogans • Began designs for the layouts

And now we present to

you...

Options Moving Forward

• Continue research and testing • Choose a brand• Commission a campaign to roll out the

brand with the new Gen Ed program coming on-line in Fall 2014

Thank YouQuestions? Comments? Suggestions?