Over the past year the university has been working with the Higher Education consulting firm Carnegie Communication to refine the university’s What Starts Here Changes the World brand messaging. The goal of this effort is to position the university as a national leader in public education – one that is uniquely qualified to create a new vision of higher education.
To reach this goal the entire university community must focus on this common purpose. And, to do so, the university must embrace a new framework for how we think about and communicate about the university.
The brand messaging framework includes a positioning statement that outlines the vision for the university and four supporting messages that will be used to help frame the way the university communicates about its work.
Positioning Statement
The University of Texas at Austin, a global community united in creating a new vision of leadership in higher education for the next generation of leaders, will have more impact on changing the world than any institution of its kind. With a depth and diversity of assets unmatched by other universities, it drives economic, social and cultural progress as one of the world’s most powerful centers of learning, research and creativity.
The supporting messages include:
Making the Greatest Impact: Through its community, its creative culture, its unmatched scope and scale the university is having and will continue to have a greater impact than any institution of its kind on issues, people and events that are changing the world.
Engaging in a Common Purpose: The university’s enduring leadership and impact are grounded in its ability to unify, collaborate and build partnerships, internally and externally, and to instill a commitment among alumni, faculty, students and staff to work together to make this shared vision a reality.
Leading for Change: The university will define what it means to be the leading public research university in the nation by setting a new national agenda on higher education and addressing key issues facing the world.
Focusing on Creativity and Critical Thinking: The university’s culture of innovation and its position as the hub of the leading creative community of Austin drive a continuous focus on new ideas and approaches to address complex economic, social and cultural issues across Texas, the nation and the world. Read more about our creativity and critical thinking.
In addition to providing a framework for communicating the university’s work, communicators are being asked to incorporate these key supporting messages into any or all written materials that are disseminated by or about the university reports, presentations, brochures, etc. The positioning statement and key supporting messages will be used as a foundation for framing content and are not intended to be used word for word.
Brand consistency is a fundamental communication strategy and plays a key role in communicating the university’s message to the public. To be successful this initiative will require a coordinated effort by all members of the university community. University communications efforts must consistently convey the value of higher education to society. The goal is to ensure that the brand presence exhibited across the university supports a public image matching the high reputation and elevated goals of the university.
The Office of Public Affairs is responsible for managing the university’s institutional brand. The office plays a coordinating role among the administration and academic offices and is the main resource for issues relating to The University of Texas at Austin brand.
Questions about the brand can be e-mailed to Dave Holston, director of Strategic Design Management.
View the brand guidelines.
