Dear IC Community:
As a follow-up to recent conversations with the deans, President’s Council, and Administrative Assembly, we are announcing that the college is moving to a strategic marketing communications model that focuses on three key areas: enrollment, advancement, and top college priorities as defined by the president, deans, and VPs in collaboration with faculty and staff across campus. As such, the Office of Marketing Communications will become the Office of Strategic Marketing and Communications, effective October 1.
The purpose for this shift in focus is twofold. First, in order to strengthen the brand perception of an IC education, increase recognition of Ithaca College, and build engagement with all key audiences, we must clearly articulate the value of Ithaca College as a whole, and do so in a way that our entire campus community understands how their work contributes to the overall quality of an IC educational experience and connects with the college’s highest goals.
Second, we must steward the college’s resources in a more responsible way in order to keep an Ithaca education as affordable as possible for our students. While our client-based service model has served the college well, the number of project requests and scope of work coming to Marcom has increased exponentially, and the vast majority of these new requests have lacked a strategic basis.
Our office’s shift to this new model has been accelerated by the recent departure of two marketing communications managers (MCMs) and the announced departure of our director of creative services. While we will immediately seek to hire a new creative services director, we know that rehiring the two client-based positions doesn’t make good sense in this time of transition. Next month, MCMs Melissa Gattine and Jenny Stockdale will relocate to Peggy Ryan Williams Center, where they will work closely with Bonny Griffith and our new AVP Jennifer Campbell over the coming weeks to redefine this supporting structure. Note: athletics communications will continue to operate with the current structure in place for their team.
During this transitional phase, Marcom will work with each school and key program directors to release print templates and facilitate student designer support to address marketing needs that fall outside of our previously identified FY16 priorities. A small number of commonly used templates are now available for download on the Marcom website. Tony Tabone in ITS (atabone@ithaca.edu; 274-1045) will be the point of contact for staff and faculty seeking training on the use of Adobe InDesign in conjunction with these print templates. We are also working with ITS to develop digital signage templates that will be ideal for promoting campus events and guest lectures and hope to release those soon.
We would like to ask for patience and cooperation from the campus community as we place a moratorium on all new project requests and initiatives that are not already approved and aligned with our FY16 enrollment, advancement, and college-level priorities. Any new project request coming forward that aligns with these areas must be reviewed and approved by the VP of enrollment management, the VP for institutional advancement and communication, and the AVP for marketing communications before a decision will be made.
Marcom and ITS must also table all new custom design and web development work on the ithaca.edu site to allow us to focus on the research and discovery phase of a comprehensive overhaul of the college’s web presence. Work on this massive project is set to begin in the new year.
Finally, we are also placing a hold on all new Ready advertising and signage requests pending the Simpson Scarborough research results this fall. These research findings are fundamental to evolving our core messages and future campaign work.
Going forward, project specialist Amy Thompson (athompson@ithaca.edu; 274-1154) will be the primary point of contact in Marcom for new project requests, and she will work diligently to route your requests appropriately and answer questions in a timely fashion. You should also feel free to call or email Bonny Griffith or myself with questions or concerns as well.
Bonny and I will be meeting with Faculty Council on October 6 and Staff Council in November to answer questions and address concerns. Thank you again for your support as we move forward and for your commitment to ensuring an excellent immersive learning experience for all our students.
Chris Biehn, Vice President
Division of Institutional Advancement and Communication
https://www.ithaca.edu/intercom/article.php/2015092917115358