|
University of Massachusetts
The Objective
In order to compete with the many private colleges and universities in the state, as well as with major educational institutions nationwide, the University of Massachusetts President's Office recognized the need to create a brand identity for its five-campus System and online component. Those campuses included: Amherst, Boston, Dartmouth, Lowell, Worcester, and UMass Online.
The University engaged Carnegie Communications to conduct market research to understand constituents’ perceptions about each campus in order to initiate a System-wide strategic branding initiative. |  | 
 |
Our Process
Over a period of eight months, we conducted qualitative and quantitative studies among the University's internal and external audiences.
Given the complexity of this project, Carnegie worked with a System branding team comprised of marketing staff from each campus and the System office. The project included focus groups and surveys with current students, faculty, and alumni from each campus. Additionally, focus group and survey research was conducted with prospective students from high schools within the primary and secondary markets of the campuses. Parents of prospective students in Massachusetts were studied through online focus groups and a phone survey. | |
|
The goal of the project was to identify those characteristics that distinguished each campus from the other UMass campuses and its competitive set while finding the shared characteristics that tied the campuses together under the UMass System brand.
After completing the extensive research study, Carnegie was contracted for a communications audit and marketing operations assessment. Carnegie conducted interviews with marketing personnel on each campus with a goal of creating efficiencies through streamlining processes. Carnegie also conducted a communications audit of campus marketing materials from a System perspective, identifying inconsistencies and opportunities for collaboration. | | |
|
Our Findings
Through the research, Carnegie was able to identify the personality of each campus in the UMass System, encompassing traits that resonated with important constituents like students, faculty, alumni, prospective students, and their parents. Some key findings included the fact that while awareness of the campuses was high, knowledge of their programs and offerings was quite low. It was also apparent that the key internal constituencies were unable to articulate the key differentiators of campuses other than their own. | | |
|
The Outcomes
Through the research, Carnegie identified the signature programs that were viewed as high-quality by campus constituents and of interest to prospective students and their parents. Carnegie recommended highlighting these high-quality signature programs as a means of distinguishing the campuses from one another and unifying them in the notion of academic quality. The research also pinpointed characteristics that were true of each campus and appealing to prospective students and their parents, thus creating talking points for admissions and marketing personnel on each campus. | |
 |
|
|
