Comments on: Our brand is North Carolina State University

By: Joe Hice

Joe Hice — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 22:17:03 +0000

Amen to Craig’s budget comment. But without that bigger budget can we do enough to create 175,000 alumni disciples and another 32,00 student disciples for NC State? I don’t know either, but we’re sure going to give it a whirl.

By: Craig McDuffie

Craig McDuffie — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 20:22:06 +0000

In my mind…

The NC State brand, right now, is only what each individual thinks it is, so basically there isn’t one. There’s been no sustained focus on a meaningful message. The passion people feel for NC State comes from their personal experiences, not from any past marketing plan. What little advertising the university has produced lacked passion, lacked a clear message and didn’t connect with people.

So how do you establish a clear brand that is meaningful to older alumni – who give most generously to the university and don’t use social media – while also connecting to potential students whose lives are in constant “tweet mode” (say it fast and make it count)?

You, Joe Hice, need a bigger budget!

Since that won’t happen, maybe a fresh approach with new ideas will work. I’m excited about the upcoming (Feb) IEI Emerging Issues Forum, “Creativity, Inc.”. As you know, there are a lot of smart, creative people out there looking at how to do things a little differently. I’m looking forward to hearing from some of them.

By: Chris Richter

Chris Richter — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 20:15:27 +0000

Nate brings up an interesting point about our “brand name.” We need to be consistent, but there needs to be some flexibility at the micro level. I know the use of “NCSU” has been discouraged, but on Twitter, that seems to be the dominant tag in tweets about the university. If nearly everyone talking about you there is using #ncsu, why not embrace and encourage its use in that context?

By: David Hunt

David Hunt — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 18:39:45 +0000

Somehow I think branding comes down to trying to answer the question, what would you want people to say about you (or your product) if they said just one thing. For me, I want them to say, “I know this about NC State, you go to that university and you leave with a career in a growth industry.”

Brand statement: NC State. Our diplomas come with a matching career.

After all, why do most people go to college? It’s the place most people launch their careers. What makes us different than a lot of universities is not just the variety of careers you can launch here, but the 21 century, leading-edge nature of those careers. Check out the advanced analytics program, for example. Or textiles, or materials science, or industrial design, or global innovation management.

By: Joe Hice

Joe Hice — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 16:31:02 +0000

I thought about the low cost but because all public universities in the state are “priced” well below the national average, I think that may be a key point for our National and International audiences. Still worth debating though.

By: Joe Hice

Joe Hice — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 16:29:14 +0000

But it is just a start. It gets harder when we have to start focusing in on the handful of key messages we want to focus on for the university overall.

By: Mike Vysocka

Mike Vysocka — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 16:24:30 +0000

“Our brand is North Carolina State University, NC State University, NC State, State, NCSU”… (I’ve also seen ‘NCST’) — Joe, you’ve touched on an excellent discussion point here… I think one of the things that Ripple Effects found with some of their focus groups while they were redesigning our university’s website was that many people simply don’t know what ‘NC’ stands for, especially our international audience. Does NC mean North Central? Northern California? Northern Colorado? We should make it a point to spell out the full name of the university where we can (and where it’s appropriate).

I think it’s also important to emphasize the extraordinary low cost and high value of the education our students are receiving here at NC State. My undergraduate tuition as an in-state student at the University of Vermont would have been eerily similar to the out of state rate at NC State many years ago. That’s something to think about…

By: Dee Shore

Dee Shore — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 14:23:05 +0000

As a graduate, a longtime employee, and the wife of a proud “legacy,” I give a passionate, “YES!” to what you’ve written. The trick may come in narrowing the focus, but I think it’s a fantastic start.

By: Joe Hice

Joe Hice — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 03:27:03 +0000

Differentiate or die, right. But finding those unique characteristics is the true challenge.

By: Joe Hice

Joe Hice — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 03:25:59 +0000

Or is it? The discussion around Our brand is North Carolina State University, NC State University, NC State, State, NCSU, is a good one and something we need to take up in our planning process. What do you think.