Strategy 5
Promote a distinct identity and brand for UI COM
Articulate a unifying identity for UI COM that aligns with our mission, vision, and values and distinguishes UI COM from other medical schools. A distinct identity is the foundation of a strong brand, which will help UI COM attract and retain high-caliber students, staff, and faculty and create strong links to alumni.
Strategy 5 Heading link
-
Target Completion Date: Q1 2022; Progress: 100%
Develop/Agree COM Branding: Engage major stakeholder groups on all campuses to develop a consistent identity and brand (including lock-up) for the COM, COM campuses, and COM departments.
Key Activities
- Create key stakeholder list and involve at relevant stages of discussion
- Finalize college-wide name and campus-specific naming conventions, including accepted abbreviations, spellings, and pronunciations
- Finalize logo/mark-up for college, including approved campus customizations (if applicable)
- Draft internal summary level guidelines (for college community) on name and logo conventions as established above
Subcommittee Membership
Carrie Foust, Susan Grebner, Katie Hession, Al Smith
-
Target Completion Date: Q4 2022; Progress: 75%
Internal Roll-Out of Agreed Branding: Develop branding standards and guidelines and launch internal communications/marketing campaign(s) to gain internal buy-in. [possibly include internal roll-out of faculty practice branding
Key Activities
- Develop a list of all internal communicators/Web personnel in the COM (implementers)
- Develop plan for COM branding standards communications and website
- Determine scope of internal campaign, including timeline for brand assets replacement
- Develop on-boarding process/page for new employees and bi-annual brand-update workshops
- Implement an accountability process (example – COM listserv – emails/flyers must have updated branding in order to be circulated)
- Conduct a review of all web pages for updated branding and consistency
Subcommittee Membership
Tom Wyatt, Hoss Fatemi, Susan Grebner, Katie Hession, Al Smith, Trevonne Thompson, Michael Wesbecher
-
Target Completion Date: Q3 2022; Progress: 25%
Co-branding: Clarify relationships between UI COM and its clinical affiliates to better define cobranding possibilities with clinical partners; Align faculty practice brands with COM, UI Health, and UIC branding.
Key Activities
- Define “primary clinical affiliations” as relevant to the College of Medicine co-branding initiatives
- Compile a list of “primary clinical affiliations” for all campuses (including the nature of the affiliate relationship)
- Conduct peer review with other UIC Colleges for how they model affiliation co-branding practices.
- Conduct peer review of AAMC colleagues on affiliation/branding best practices
- Prioritize affiliation opportunities (and frameworks) with COM Leadership input and discussion
- Create a briefing document that outlines opportunities for more direct affiliate co-branding practices
- Integrate the affiliate standards/documentation into over-arching COM brand standards (and resources)
- Develop a co-branding information campaign
Subcommittee Membership
Michael Wesbecher, Carrie Foust, Susan Grebner, Katie Hession
-
Target Completion Date: Q3 2024; Progress 0%
External Branding/Marketing: Increase awareness and elevate the reputation of UI COM and its faculty practices within the communities it serves. Build local, regional, national, and global awareness of UI COM.
Key Activities
- Develop a list of all external communicators/point people within COM/UIC/System (external implementers)
- Frequently communicate with external implementers of new branding, resources and guidelines.
- Understand UIC/Health Sciences/UI Health Branding Campaigns and leverage potential synergistic opportunities to increase awareness of COM brand
- Survey/Focus group to understand brand position, reputation, and awareness. Develop focus for re-positioning to effectively build perception.
- Brainstorm around developing strategic partnerships
- Structure targeted marketing toward different “customer” groups
Subcommittee Membership
Tom Wyatt, Al Smith, Beth Wrona Murphy
Metrics Heading link
-
Brand awareness survey/focus group scores (internal and external metrics); measure of brand awareness and consistency
DRAFT ONLY
Values
Current Value: 0 Target Value: 0 -
Brand-awareness webspace completion (ease of access/locating for correct guidelines, frequency of usage, etc.)
DRAFT ONLY
Values
Current Value: 0 Target Value: 0 -
Brand/Marketing orientation completion rate (% of staff, faculty, and students at what level, etc.)
DRAFT ONLY
Values
Current Value: 0 Target Value: 0 -
Proper usage of brand in signage/logo/lock-up/merchandise/news and PR/publications at all levels; official name match rate
DRAFT ONLY
Values
Current Value: 0 Target Value: 0 -
Co-branding options finalized and properly used
DRAFT ONLY
Values
Current Value: 0 Target Value: 0 -
External traffic to website
DRAFT ONLY
Values
Current Value:0 Target Value: 0 -
Earned media metric
DRAFT ONLY
Values
Current Value: 0 Target Value: 0 -
Social media engagement
DRAFT ONLY
Values
Current Value: 0 Target Value: 0 -
Interest in MD and other academic programs
DRAFT ONLY
Values
Current Value: 0 Target Value: 0 -
Increase in giving, volunteering and brand engagement
DRAFT ONLY
Values
Current Value: 0 Target Value: 0 -
New patient base
DRAFT ONLY
Values
Current Value: 0 Target Value: 0 -
Alumni involvement: updates to profile
DRAFT ONLY
Values
Current Value: 0 Target Value: 0 -
National rankings
DRAFT ONLY
Values
Current Value: 0 Target Value: 0