An insightful speaking session where we will delve into the area of brand and the role it plays within post-secondary institutions. In today's competitive educational landscape, a strong and consistent brand is essential for universities to differentiate themselves, attract students, engage stakeholders, and foster a sense of identity and community. This session will explore the various aspects of brand and visual identity, including methods of implementing effective branding strategies within university departments and faculties, developing a singular cohesive identity, and building brand champions both external and internal. Examples from the University of Calgary (UCalgary) will be shared, including the launch of our current brand campaign called “Start something”.(CASE 2023 Circle of Excellence Grand Gold Winner).

Once upon a time, a few intrepid communicators at Brigham Young University embarked on a daring journey—one that would lead through thick forests of research, across deep oceans of campus conversations, and over soaring summits of strategic planning. On this journey of discovery, they found themselves listening for clues from consultants, campus partners, audiences, students, online data, and university leadership. In the end, what they learned helped BYU launch its first nationwide marketing campaign, grounded in good old fashioned storytelling and rooted in the institution’s mission and values. Now almost two years into the campaign, with hundreds of millions of ad campaign impressions, they have a quiver full of stories, a backpack stuffed with spreadsheets, and a fanny pack of ideas to share about how you can listen effectively to craft a successful marketing campaign.

More than 40% of Boise State graduates have graduated in the last ten years, making the near-majority of our alumni either Millennials or Gen Z. And yet, this demographic is most often the least engaged when it comes to philanthropy towards higher education. By flipping the script and taking a strategic cause-based approach to giving day, Boise State more effectively aligned itself, and higher education in general, with the societal causes that resonate most with these demographics. This approach resulted in a record-breaking giving day with $566,388 gifted, a 74% increase in digital impressions, and a 59% increase in alumni giving with the greatest giving amongst alumni, in both dollars and numbers, coming from our Broncos Of the Last Decade. Join Boise State professionals as they provide a step-by-step guide and take-away toolkit to instituting a cause-based giving day.

Many of us have been there (or are about to be there). You have worked so hard to reach this point, after the comprehensive fundraising campaign has publicly launched -- but now what? How do you keep it fresh and top of mind for your alumni and friends? This session will cover how the University of California, Irvine used earned (PR), owned (our websites/videos/newsletters) and marketing (paid) efforts during the campaign lifecycle. We will share what has worked for us: processes, programs, collaborations, and more.

As a higher education professional, you know the importance of engaging alumni and creating meaningful connections goes well beyond graduation day. In this session, we'll explore how to leverage the existing activities at your university to gather alumni and make an impact on local communities. This session will showcase how to enhance your various events to foster alumni engagement, and create positive change; and will show how you can get the media to tell these stories along the way. Attendees will leave with specific ideas to strengthen their events and create meaningful connections that benefit both the university and the community.