A 2015 vote to rename Georgia Regents University to Augusta University provided the school's Division of Communications and Marketing with quite an undertaking: rebrand the university and reunite the aggrieved community.

Just five years earlier, the decision to merge two colleges and create Georgia Regents University left Augusta, Georgia, residents feeling slighted as many had wanted the city's name to be part of the university's name. The decision ignited a community protest and a "Save the A" campaign.

"The switch to Augusta University was the institution's third name change in five years," writes Karla Leeper, executive vice president for strategic communication and chief marketing officer for Augusta University, in the January/February 2018 issue of Currents. "All the disruption had muddied the university's identity and drained the community's energy to participate in yet another rebranding initiative."

How did Augusta University recapture the community's support?

It did some research. To avoid the missteps of the last rebranding effort with GRU, the communications and marketing team sought to connect stakeholders personally with the university's new identity. They conducted research with surveys and focus groups to gather in-depth information on constituent needs and welcomed any and all opinions from the community.

"We asked them to describe the institution, what they valued about it, how they engaged with the previous brand and more," explains Leeper. "Stakeholder committees offered honest feedback. The conversations were difficult at times, but we wanted our constituents to feel heard and valued."

It crafted a new logo. Leeper and her colleagues then set their sights on brand imagery in an attempt to unite all elements of the university's past. AU's longstanding tradition of ringing bells became the centerpiece of the new academic mark, and after incorporating traces of historic Augusta architecture, the new logo was born: a bell tower shaped like an A inside a U-shaped shield. The university also rolled out an institutional seal that pays homage to both of AU's legacy schools.

It led the community through a transparent transition. In an effort to forge the personal connection between AU and its constituents, the marketing and communications team provided the community with updates and information through a rebranding website. The team shared research results and continued to gather feedback from the community. Leeper even provided her direct phone number on email updates for anyone with questions.

"We strove for transparency and accountability throughout the process to help restore our constituents' trust and confidence," Leeper writes. "We read and considered every comment. We also included a master calendar of our work, issued progress reports as milestone dates approached and shared information about delays or schedule changes with stakeholders."

AU's revitalization has been successful. Now, alumni are giving more; donorship has nearly tripled since 2016; fundraising campaigns have brought in more than $1 million and undergraduate enrollment has increased.

"Community and history are enduring and essential elements of our new identity," writes Leeper. "Our decision to focus on relationships and to be transparent and inclusive while envisioning a new future for AU is helping us forge strong bonds that will yield meaningful results for years to come."

This article is from the February 2018 BriefCASE issue.