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| Matilda Dodge Wilson and Alfred Wilson donated their estate in 1957 to Michigan State University to establish what became Oakland University. Read more about OU's founder. |
OU founder Matilda Dodge Wilson’s financial status afforded her access to an abundance of opportunity. She believed in her responsibility to create opportunity for others. An admirer of industrialist Andrew Carnegie’s philanthropy, Mrs. Wilson adopted a quote from him that is part of the 1956 document proposing MSU-Oakland:
“The opportunities to here develop an institution of higher learning of great significance to the region, the state, the nation and the world are almost without bounds. Here again in the words of Andrew Carnegie, there will be erected ‘ladders upon which the aspiring can rise.’”
By 1959, the new MSU-Oakland campus was attracting industrious, energetic, diligent and sensible students “free of nonsense and showing good judgment” — just like today’s Oakland University student.
“OU was and is about making opportunities available to all,” says John Young, associate vice president, University Communications and Marketing (UCM). “It’s about providing our students with an education of quality so that together, we put success within reach.”
Thus, the founding philosophy became the inspiration for “Aspire to Rise,” OU’s new brand identity campaign.
Defining the brand
The inclusive process to define OU’s brand identity began in 2011 with the formation of the President’s Faculty Advisory Committee, Young says. They examined internal and external research, which “clearly told us that we needed to strengthen awareness of OU by being authentic and by building on known core attributes that lead to a quality academic reputation.”
Establishing a strong brand became a priority, recalls Mandy Summers, the University’s director of marketing, to “help us solidify what we stand for in the minds of students, alumni and the community.”
In 2013, the University hired Ologie, a branding agency with several national accounts. In partnership with UCM and a multidisciplinary core team, Ologie met with a diverse group of OU stakeholders — including students, faculty, donors and alumni — to define OU brand attributes and develop the brand strategy.
Based on these findings and external market research recommendations, Ologie developed initial creative concepts for “Aspire to Rise,” which Summers says “embodies the spirit and motivation of our students, as well as the historical underpinnings of the University.”
“UCM is using this foundation to build cohesive, integrated communications and marketing and advertising initiatives,” she adds, noting that the campaign is rolling out creatively with new messaging, photography and font choices.
Telling the OU story
“We are telling OU’s story several ways,” says Summers. “We use traditional media — such as radio, TV, print and billboards — as well as digital media, the OU website and grassroots social media.”
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| Social Media Street Team members Jeff Cox and Bria Brown take part in OU advertising. |
Actual OU students, faculty and facilities give the campaign authenticity. Bria Brown, Jeff Cox and Josh Pokrefky were among the students who participated in campaign photo shoots and commercial filming.
Visitors to the OU website will find custom-designed landing pages that intuitively guide them to pages based on their needs — with a call to action, says Melinda Booth, assistant director of marketing. “For example, if someone searches for admissions criteria, they will be directed to a page on how they can apply to OU.”
Social media's role
At the grassroots level, social media is playing an ever-growing role in telling the OU story, says Colleen Campbell, manager of digital public relations. “OU,” she notes, “has more than 100,000 followers on social media and a potential reach of millions.”
The official OU hashtag, #ThisIsOU, is about encouraging students, alumni and faculty — anyone with a story of OU — to cover every aspect of the OU experience, Campbell says. “The response has been great. Within a year, we already have thousands of posts on Instagram using that tag.”
Campbell’s group broadens the definition of social media to include in-person networking to generate physical awareness. This summer, for example, they created a #ThisisOU human hashtag on the Lower Fields and conducted “sidewalk chalking” around campus.
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Social Media Street Team of students, alumni and faculty volunteers use a “bubble up versus top down” marketing approach to tell the OU story to their own personal networks.
“The Street Team is out and about living the OU life,” Campbell says. “Their stories make the brand promise tangible and add a level of authenticity to the traditional marketing campaign. We know that people trust personal recommendations over marketing and advertising. So our influencers are running the conversation. We capitalize on that and make them the stars (what we call #OUFamous). And it’s taking on a life of its own.”
