Mississippi University for Women kicked off the early stages of its re-branding campaign Wednesday with the first of a series of interactive discussions.
Six dialogue sessions are planned this month between small groups of stakeholders, around 25 per session, invited to meet on campus with idgroup USA, a Pensacola, Fla.-based consulting firm that specializes in aligning corporate vision, identity and branding for colleges and other organizations.
During the four-hour meetings, they will discuss everything from public perception and identity to missions, mottos, logos, mascots, the University seal and other elements used in marketing and recruitment.
Since his arrival nine months ago, MUW President Dr. Jim Borsig has touted student recruitment, retention and graduation as his highest priorities.
Part of that goal includes streamlining the W’s brand identity, making certain it presents a consistent and comprehensive image that is in line with what stakeholders envision for the future. Input is being sought from a select cross-section comprised of faculty, students, staff, alumni, local leaders and the community.
Borsig said in a press statement Wednesday that he feels the dialogue sessions are an important way to hear all voices as the next chapter unfolds for MUW.
“I have been encouraged by the level of excellence, commitment and collegiality I’ve found at The W in my nine months here, and I have great optimism that this institution has an opportunity to step onto a bigger stage,” Borsig said. “The W began as a radical idea as a pathway to opportunity for an under-served population. One central question is how do we remain a pathway to opportunity in the 21st century?”
It is a question colleges nationwide are facing, especially as social media, text messages and email continue to edge out print materials as the primary, even preferred, means of marketing.
Once the dialogue sessions have concluded and feedback has been compiled, a campus team will then work closely with idgroup USA to develop strategies for a tightly-focused branding campaign designed to meet the university’s needs and carry it into the next decade.
Borsig’s alma mater, the University of Southern Mississippi in Hattiesburg, used idgroup USA for its re-branding, but there was another reason the firm was chosen — the senior creative director at the firm, Gail Spruill Shaw, is an MUW alumna. She and the firm’s founder, Mona Amodeo, will lead the process.
“We want to tell the MUW story to the world,” Borsig said. “This process will give us an opportunity to write that story together.”
Carmen K. Sisson is the former news editor at The Dispatch.
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