Stonehill College Brand Research and

Development

STEP 1: Research

Key findingsStonehill is delivering on the following areas that prospects want:• Variety of majors• Strong academics• Opportunities/achievement and success• Consistency and reliability of the educational experience• Supportive faculty• Community• Sports• Beautiful campus

Challenges revealed:• Boring/dull reputation• Remote location• Expensive• Not diverse• Low awareness (Stonehill is under-recognized for its distinctions)• Prospective parents and students are more focused on outcomes –

business skills, good jobs, employment rate – than on the values of aliberal arts education

• The internal community values attributes that prospective families can’t identify with such as social justice, strong character and fun campus life

Recommendations:• Raise awareness• Highlight academic excellence in terms of critical thinking and writing as

being crucial to post-graduate success• Aggressively and proactively address desire to see outcomes data• Increase/promote diversity• Promote campus life and value of being close to Boston, Providence, NYC• Promote aspects of the College that are intangible but critical to the value

of a Stonehill education (compassion, integrity and courage)

STEP 2: Develop a brand platform based on research findings • There are two key principles of branding: differentiation and

integration. “Differentiation” refers to the need for messages that distinguish an institution from its competitors. “Integration” involves communicating differentiators with consistency across departments.

• Many colleges and universities operate with a fragmented marketing

strategy; one that involves each individual department or school implementing its own tactical-level communication with no institution-wide plan (or sometimes even unit-wide plan) guiding daily decisions.

• A coordinated plan can be implemented to help key stakeholders

understand and appreciate what Stonehill has to offer.

Step 3: Build community support• Present and tweak messages as needed

Step 4: Develop an integrated marketing plan and strategy• Visual brand (colors, type style, photography, video)• Tone and personality• Key messages• Strategy and tactics to reach college marketing goals

Step 5: Develop creative work and launch brand• A significant increase in visibility does not happen without significant

investment of resources to promote the brand: Stonehill website, Web advertising and retargeting, social media campaigns, billboards, TV, radio, newspapers, print media, public relations

• Making an impact outside of New England will require a greater investment

• First year of launch will require greater resources, lower costs in

following years • Internal support for a great launch creates excitement among the current

community and among alumni if done correctly

Stonehill College Brand Message and Pillars

www.stonehill.edu/brandfeedback