Music played, a dance squad entertained, student-created videos flashed across a monitor, and the throng cheered along with the Eagle mascot. Hurley also introduced the University’s new website.
He then asked for help from those sitting in the bleachers. Use the tagline and talk about UMW’s core values, he said. Spread the word about Mary Washington. The crowd got the message.
As the audience of nearly 600 left the hall, people snatched up T-shirts emblazoned with “where great minds get to work.”
Those six words will show up nearly everywhere the University of Mary Washington logo appears. Like the permanently seared brands of old that let ranchers know which cattle were whose, UMW wants to sear its distinguishing qualities into the psyches of alumni, prospective students, faculty, staff, members of the community, and potential donors.
If Mary Washington were a person, EMG discovered, its personality could be summed up as passionate, intellectual, genuine, and innovative.
History and political science major Jeremy Thompson ’13 gets up close with James Monroe – the two are featured in an ad at Reagan National Airport. Photo by Norm Shafer
Those four characteristics, along with what UMW has to offer (called “brand drivers” in marketing-speak) are a guide to how the University presents itself to the world. UMW is ready to use a distinct look, and distinct words, to show the world its style.
Now, when it’s time to choose photographs for the alumni magazine or the Web, or when it’s time to choose the words to write and speak about the University, staff members will look to these characteristics as a sort of palette that shows who we are.
There is one thing UMW is not doing – it is not trying to change who it is. Nor is it denying its rich history. It’s facing the camera with its best side. It’s using lighting that accentuates its best features – it is synthesizing and elevating how it presents itself to the outside world.
About Anna Billingsley