Overview

The George Washington University wanted to make its Summer Session offerings more visible, particularly in light of its rich and varied offerings. Up until 1998, there had been no unified branding; each group - from on-campus for-credit courses, special on-campus institutes, to summer pre-college and study abroad offerings - had its own look, its own message. The Page Group was retained in 1998 to create a unified summer branding, and to promote the Summer Session overall for the 1999 season.

The new 1999 branding incorporated a youth-oriented visual theme that highlighted the cultural and recreational opportunities available in the Washington, DC area. The catalog featured call-outs with dates of cultural events taking place that summer in DC. International programs were branded as "Summer Away-GW's got you booked". The initiative worked well. GW developed a recognizable presence among the community of premier university summer session offerings nationwide.

Challenge

GW and Page determined that this youth-oriented branding would enjoy a three-year life-span. By 2000, the playful, recreational theme was no longer deemed desirable. A new brand needed to be developed - one that was more serious in nature, and that positioned GW's summer sessions among those at the highest level of academic excellence.

Strategy

This case study addresses the task of re-branding GW's Summer Session to reflect its new positioning. Toward this end, The Page Group employed fine horticultural drawings, integrated with classic letter styles to portray "excellence" as the branding. When our President, Sarna Marcus, delivered an educational presentation on "Launching an Effective Summer Brand" at the 2006 UCEA Regional Conference, she was asked a few salient questions to which we will respond in the case study.

Does Branding mean everything must look the same? How can I promote my graduate study-abroad intensives as separate entities?

All summer session offerings should look like they came from the same institution; like they are part of a family of programs. This is accomplished through the creation of an "umbrella brand," that requires a common design treatment, visual theme, message, colors, and type be applied across the board.

At the same time, it is imperative that you be able to promote each group of offerings on its own merits - highlighting its distinctive features and benefits. Your Summer branding must allow for "secondary branding" or you will run the risk of losing registrants to entire programs.

In branding GW University's summer programs, we merged the concepts of excellence with summer warmth and growth; the central image of a sunflower was the centerpiece of the branding, accompanied by architectonic details in an historic style.

The international programs received a secondary branding, with a round compass, drawn in the same style and taking the place of the round sunflower, echoing the design treatment of the core materials. On the website and print materials alike, the Summer Abroad section also included a map illustration created by the same artist. So, while these programs were distinct from on-campus summer courses, they were presented as part and parcel of GW's extensive summer offerings. Both goals were accomplished.

Similarly, Distance Learning was its own distinct set of offerings. For this, the illustrator developed a floral visual that integrated a globe at its center. Each time Distance Learning programs were promoted - in postcard mailings, in catalogs, in ads, or online - this image, along with its accompanying typographic configuration was displayed.

In a short time, recognition grew for GW's new summer brand. Response was good; prestige was enhanced.

How can I afford the funds to develop a branding for my summer offerings? It would break my budget.

While much of the work of branding is done up-front, any summer branding should have a three- to five-year life. Thus, if you plan on amortizing the expense of the creative development over time, the actual cost per year becomes surprisingly affordable.

Won't the branding keep me from creating excitement over the new offerings each year? The issue of refreshing the brand each year is critical, since each new set of summer offerings is distinct from the prior year. The marketing components must excite attention and signal new offerings. In the case of GW Summer, we refashioned the botanical illustrations and accompanying graphic style each year as follows:

• The launch of the new brand in 2001 comprised the original Excellence theme accompanied by a hand-rendered historic typestyle developed by the illustrator.


• The adaptation of the brand the following year showed a simplified graphic treatment of the illustration and color scheme accompanied by a more direct graphical treatment and new theme: "Experience GW Summer and Bloom."


• The third and final year, we developed a sunrise color scheme that was accentuated in a flash animation on the website. The same illustrations remained with the addition of an illustration of GW's landmark tempietto structure.

Most institutions of higher learning invest to a greater degree in summer, as compared to the per-unit investment in the fall and spring. Your institution may very well use a variety of advertising methods to communicate to students the benefits of your programs. As marketing professionals, it's our job to make the investment count.