Recent crises at York have been making headlines since November. While I'm not a York alum myself, the strike got me thinking about university communications, and in particular about the branding of my own alma mater. A few years back, Western underwent its own re-branding process, which included a new logo complete with "Western" rather than "UWO" or "The University of Western Ontario." Perhaps most interesting, Western's slogan became "The Best Student Experience."
I, for one, think Western was a great student experience, but not for the reasons you may think. For the most part, I had supportive professors, engaging TAs, and challenging and interesting course material. There was a plethora of extra-curricular activities to choose from, and for such a large university classes were relatively small.
Still, there's an obvious joke to be made about the slogan. Even if you haven't heard about the Saugeen Stripper (no, I don't know her) or missed the Gazette spoof issue debacle (yes, I was disgusted), chances are you've heard the rumours that Western is a party school...best student experience, indeed.
In fact, the slogan came from the fact that several years running, Western has been named the best student experience in the Globe and Mail student survey. It also received rave reviews for its attractive campus and expansive libraries, but those aren't nearly as catchy.
However, its likely that if you aren't a UWO student or a proud alum like myself, you probably didn't make the connection. You might think that Western decided to play on its reputation as a drunk tank, perhaps seeing it as equal parts pride and self-parody. Also, let's be real-- for some 18-year olds residence carpets stained with beer are the ultimate draw, so maybe Western sees it as an enrollment booster. In sum? You might very well be right.
So, fellow students, seasoned professionals and any other loyal readers this infant blog may have, let me pose a few questions:
Do you see reputation as being the key to effective PR, even if the reputation isn't neccessarily the image you want for your organization?
Is self-parody an effective tool in communications?
Is it common to re-brand to conform to expectations, rather than change them?
What are some of the considerations that university communications requires?
I, for one, think Western was a great student experience, but not for the reasons you may think. For the most part, I had supportive professors, engaging TAs, and challenging and interesting course material. There was a plethora of extra-curricular activities to choose from, and for such a large university classes were relatively small.
Still, there's an obvious joke to be made about the slogan. Even if you haven't heard about the Saugeen Stripper (no, I don't know her) or missed the Gazette spoof issue debacle (yes, I was disgusted), chances are you've heard the rumours that Western is a party school...best student experience, indeed.
In fact, the slogan came from the fact that several years running, Western has been named the best student experience in the Globe and Mail student survey. It also received rave reviews for its attractive campus and expansive libraries, but those aren't nearly as catchy.
However, its likely that if you aren't a UWO student or a proud alum like myself, you probably didn't make the connection. You might think that Western decided to play on its reputation as a drunk tank, perhaps seeing it as equal parts pride and self-parody. Also, let's be real-- for some 18-year olds residence carpets stained with beer are the ultimate draw, so maybe Western sees it as an enrollment booster. In sum? You might very well be right.
So, fellow students, seasoned professionals and any other loyal readers this infant blog may have, let me pose a few questions:
Do you see reputation as being the key to effective PR, even if the reputation isn't neccessarily the image you want for your organization?
Is self-parody an effective tool in communications?
Is it common to re-brand to conform to expectations, rather than change them?
What are some of the considerations that university communications requires?
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