OU staff received a newsletter July 3 from John Young, Oakland’s Associate Vice President for University Communications and Marketing.

In the third paragraph sat a quote from Matilda Dodge Wilson:

“The opportunities to here develop an institution of higher learning of great significance to the region, the state, the nation and the world are almost without bounds. Here again in the words of Andrew Carnegie, there will be erected ‘ladders upon which the aspiring can rise’”.

Replacing its predecessor, “Reach Beyond the Ordinary,” “Aspire to Rise” is the result of an extensive yearlong process, executed by OU’s Communications & Marketing Department as the university’s new slogan and brand.

“A key point is that faculty and students were involved from the beginning on this lengthy process,” Young said. “Deans Council, Academic Department Heads meeting, Faculty Senate and Diversity council each had an opportunity to review the groundwork.”

Students may have had an idea of what it took to “Reach Beyond the Ordinary,” but might wonder what exactly it means to “Aspire to Rise”. 

Included in the July faculty email blast was a presentation entitled “Oakland University Brand Guidelines,” which spelled out the entire branding initiative from a “brand promise” to appropriate ways to use the university logo.

“Oakland University provides an education of quality so that together we put success within reach,” reads the brand promise, defining what the university stands for.

But what is it about the student body that makes them uniquely Oakland? Through extensive research, “where concepts were debated for authenticity,” Young said, Communications & Marketing was able to pinpoint six qualities shared between both students and the university they attend.

A year of research with students, faculty, community members and stakeholders has shown that OU exhibits personality traits of being industrious, effective, focused, sensible, willful and self-made in both action and spirit.

So how will faculty and students be “Inspired to Aspire” this fall, and embody those six traits? Some exciting and redesigned advertising materials might do the trick.

Already, students who listen to the popular music streaming platform Pandora or use highway I-75 have gotten a taste of the new brand in the form of digital ads and billboards.

The admissions package for new students has also been thoughtfully redesigned, and students will enjoy plenty of street light banners as they return to campus this fall.

Spreading across both physical and digital landscapes has allowed OU’s new brand to fully penetrate its target market for what hopes to be a positive response from both students and the community.