Ithaca College

Ithaca College is proudly sharing the message that its students are “Ready.” The Office of Marketing Communications is excited to announce that it will officially launch a new brand identity and advertising campaign on Sept. 1, 2011. The campaign, dubbed “Ready,” will serve to increase awareness and ensure a consistent message and image for the College. It will be extended to all of the College’s communications and be promoted through a comprehensive advertising campaign.

Mindpower, Inc. developed the initial Ready brand identity for the College, which was inspired by market research conducted by SimpsonScarborough and an ever growing collection of student, alumni and faculty success stories. The stories will serve as the main content for the branding campaign, showcasing a variety of ways that Ithaca College has prepared its students and alumni to be forward thinking, professional, well-prepared and ready for the future.

As a result of the greater visibility brought about by the branding effort, the College hopes to strengthen relationships with alumni, boost the attractiveness of the College as an employer for faculty and staff, and proactively prepare for the increased competition for college bound students in the Northeast.

A 2009 alumni opinion study; a series of focus groups conducted with students, faculty, staff and alumni in the fall of 2010; and a survey distributed to over 20,000 administrators at other higher education institutions, prospective students and Ithaca College faculty and staff helped spark the Ready concept and identify the college’s unique strengths and level of awareness in the marketplace. The first series of Ready-themed advertisements were tested in March through a survey sent to current students, prospective students, peers at other higher education institutions, alumni, faculty, and staff. Suggestions and feedback from the survey were used to further refine the concept and its visual representation. Every step of the way, the Office of Marketing Communications sought feedback from key constituents, including the College Marketing Advisory Committee (CMAC) and President’s Council.

New College Logos
As part of this branding effort, the Office of Marketing Communications has created a fresh evolution of the Ithaca College logo. The new logo includes an emblem that takes its cue from the official Ithaca College seal, giving it a sleek, simple style meant to transcend the decades. “College” makes its way back into the logo to avoid confusion with the city, town, and other local institutions that share the moniker.

There is one primary logo mark and four alternative, secondary marks of different configurations and sizes for different applications. Guidelines for usage of the logo and proper spacing are included in the Identity Standards guide. Logo-lockups that include division, office, center, school, department, organization, and program names will be available from the Office of Marketing Communications next week. Members of the IC community can request a specific logo file by contacting Jill Ahart at jahart@ithaca.edu or call 4-3828.

Color Palette and Typography
The traditional colors of Ithaca College, blue and gold, have been purposefully chosen to reflect a richer, more classic blue and a deeper, bolder gold. Supporting warm and cool color palettes have also been selected to accentuate these primary colors for use in specific publications and electronic media. Standard fonts have been identified to represent the College and complement the new logo, both on the web and in print. Exact color values and fonts can be found in the Identity Standards guide.

Stationery
The newly designed stationery system, including letterhead, envelopes and business cards, incorporate the new logo and are now ready for ordering from the Center for Print Production. Order forms are available for download from the Center for Print Production website.

PowerPoint Template for Faculty and Staff
A custom PowerPoint template reflecting the new brand identity is available to faculty and staff interested in giving presentations on behalf of the College. It can be downloaded from the Office of Marketing Communications website.

New Website Design and Microsite
On the evening of Wednesday, Aug. 31, 2011, the Ithaca College website will be updated to reflect the new brand identity. For more details about the new website design, view this previous Intercom message. A new Ready-themed microsite will also launch that same evening. The microsite will showcase a collection of student and alumni stories about how Ithaca College made them or is making them “Ready.” The microsite will continually be updated with additional stories and videos. An interactive tool will be added in the future to allow alumni, faculty, and students to submit their own stories.

Advertising campaign
Ready-themed advertisements are planned to run in a number of media platforms over the next year, including online, radio, newspapers, and magazines. A sample of specific outlets includes Google, Facebook, NPR, and the New York Times.

Brochures, publications, campus signage, etc.
Implementing a new brand identity is an all-encompassing project and can require a large investment of time and financial resources. For this reason, IC will be following a phased approach to rolling out the new brand identity to all aspects of the College. All additional collateral, signage, and publications will be updated to reflect the new brand as determined by financial budgets and purchasing and renewal cycles.

For specific questions regarding the brand identity or advertising campaign, please contact Rachel Reuben, associate vice president for marketing communications at rreuben@ithaca.edu or 4-3830. General feedback can be sent to the Office of Marketing Communications through this comment form.