UNA UNVEILS NEW LOGO, LAUNCHES HISTORIC MARKETING, REBRANDING CAMPAIGN
September 4, 2008
FLORENCE, Ala. — Sept. 5 will mark a historic day for the University of North Alabama when the university launches a new brand and integrated marketing campaign, History in the Making.
“When you’ve been around for nearly 180 years, you have a lot of history to tell about,” said Dr. William G. Cale, UNA president. “UNA has some incredible stories in its history that any university would be proud to tell, and there is even more incredible history being made right now. This campaign will tell those stories.”
The development of the History in the Making campaign began last fall through a series of research projects, including surveys and focus groups among current and prospective students, alumni, faculty, staff, and administration.
“This research was conducted to find the true, authentic voice of UNA,” said Josh Woods, director of university relations for UNA. “We knew an effective campaign would require more than just a catchy, clever tagline and logo. This new brand had to be true to who UNA is and what it stands for.”
Based on its research, the new UNA brand promotes UNA as a well-established, historic, first-choice university.
“One of the most interesting things we found was that those students and alumni who had not made UNA their first-choice college ended up falling in loving with the university once they got here and wondered why it wasn’t their top choice all along,” said Dr. Alan Medders, UNA vice president for advancement. “The public needs to know the level of quality at UNA long before they ever set foot on campus.”
With the launch of UNA’s History in the Making campaign also comes a new official university logo. The new logo incorporates the university’s lion mascot as well as a loose rendering of the main entrance of the university’s historic Wesleyan Hall, built in 1855. The trademark replaces the university’s Victory Flame logo, developed in 1993.
Another significant aspect of the new UNA campaign is its integration of the entire university.
“Historically,” Woods said, “each UNA department has operated independently to promote and market its own programs. With the launch of this new brand, these different campus entities will be brought together to speak a central message through one unified voice.”
As of Oct. 1, UNA’s offices of university relations and publications will merge to create a central marketing and communications hub, the Office of University Communications.
In its first months, the multifaceted History in the Making campaign will utilize a variety of media, including social networking tools as well as search engines, television, cinemas and print media. Additional media will be incorporated as the campaign continually evolves.
UNA is marking the official launch of the campaign with the launch of its new Web site, scheduled for 2 p.m. Sept. 5. Visit the site at www.una.edu.
