a sidewalk and greenery on the UO campus in Eugene on a sunny day

Strategies

What approaches will we take to achieve our goals?

  1. We will be a leading marketing and communications organization.
  2. We will develop a winning brand position for the University of Oregon.
  3. We will reach critical audiences effectively.

We will be a leading marketing and communications organization.

We will adopt the practices, standards, behaviors, and capabilities of a leading marketing and communications enterprise, creating the future we wish to see and which the university needs to remain a destination and a leading research university.

Rather than commit to become a leading organization at some point in the future, we will start with the destination in mind and begin in the present moment, acting and producing our work as a leading marketing and communications organization, even as we develop greater competency, skill, and experience. This will require a focus on quality and investment in the appropriate people, tools, partners, and programs that can bring and retain best-in-class capabilities to the division.

Our Investments:

People

People are the heart of our organization and of what we do to advance our university, which is itself a community. This means we hire carefully and structure efficiently; seeking always to place the right people and right skills into the right roles and right structure. Recognizing that our work requires attention to skill and changes in practice, we value and support professional development, and align meaningful rewards and recognition with our goals.

Programs and Systems

We use processes and systems to support our efforts, align and measure results and inform business decisions. We proactively and responsibly manage projects and budgets to annual goals, and work with partners in human resources, finance, and procurement to support our needs in accordance with our organization's processes. Finally, we embrace and use key performance indicators (KPIs) as essential tools in defining and understanding drivers of success.

Resources

We use our resources thoughtfully to accomplish long-term goals efficiently, building for the future. This includes making careful investments in equipment; optimizing our use of current-state software that supports our work; and creating workspaces that are productive, inspiring, and collaborative.

Partners

We recognize that we do not do this work alone. We are committed to working collaboratively with partners inside and outside the organization. This includes external agencies and vendors who bring best practice and specific skillsets to complement our team; and licensees and retailers who develop, create, and sell merchandise on our behalf. It also includes careful and trusted partnerships with leadership, colleagues, and units across the organization.

Learn more about how each department will support excellence.

We will develop a winning brand position for the University of Oregon.

At the core of our work is the articulation of an authentic, competitive brand position for the University of Oregon. An effective brand positioning should elevate the University relative to other options in the competitive landscape—differentiating it against other universities regionally and nationally. Priorities developed through this positioning should align the unique offerings, capabilities, and strengths of the university with market demand, the interests of donors, and the needs of industry and the state we serve.

Brand positioning will synthesize available research data and will begin with the articulation of the UO’s strategic plan in Fall 2024. This work will then be ongoing. Sources that inform positioning include current beliefs and associations of the UO; preference for UO against other options; marketing and perception research; licensing demand and customer surveys; measurable responses to communications and marketing (analytics); media coverage and sentiment.

Learn more about how each department will help develop a winning brand position.

We will reach critical audiences effectively.

Our success, and our measures of performance, will hinge on our ability to:

  • identify and reach key audiences consistently;
  • understand the gap between their current perception and our desired positioning; and
  • deliver content, programs, products, and messaging that will move these audiences toward closer engagement with and perception of the UO.

This means developing approaches and tactics that are audience- and opportunity-responsive and which we can track.

Tactics developed will focus on six approaches:

the number one inside the shape of the state of Oregon
Craft Content
Create compelling content that educates and inspires. This includes content strategy, creative direction and visual storytelling, distribution strategy, earned media strategies, leadership/executive messaging strategy, social media strategy.
the number two inside the shape of the state of Oregon
Drive Affinity
Promote the university to key audiences for the purpose of driving affinity and action. This includes brand marketing efforts that raise the profile of and preference for the university to Oregonians, alumni, peer institutions, business and legislative audiences, prospective students where alignment with enrollment creates opportunities, and others.
the number three inside the shape of the state of Oregon
Amplify Publicity
Leverage high visibility moments in which we can reach audiences at scale. Examples include Strategic Plan, Sesquicentennial; brand campaigns; new capital campaign; athletic and Big Ten conference opportunities, and others.
the number four inside the shape of the state of Oregon
Leverage Technology
Use technology to reach audiences and deepen brand relationships at scale. Examples include AI, Marketing Cloud, Drupal, Wrike, media and social monitoring, and other key technologies.
the number five inside the shape of the state of Oregon
Expand Licensing
Expand licensing and grow demand. Identify, develop, and market profitable product lines and expand our IP. Establish aligned revenue and growth plans in collaboration with athletics, our licensees, media rights partner, general counsel, and retailers.
the number six inside the shape of the state of Oregon
Build Work Culture
Support development of an employer brand, working with provost, human resources, student life, and others to create greater engagement, recruitment, and retention of talent and to support a culture of flourishing.

Learn more about how each department will reach critical audiences effectively.

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