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.

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

Current Value: 0 Target Value: 0

Brand-awareness webspace completion (ease of access/locating for correct guidelines, frequency of usage, etc.)

DRAFT ONLY

Current Value: 0 Target Value: 0

Brand/Marketing orientation completion rate (% of staff, faculty, and students at what level, etc.)

DRAFT ONLY

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

Current Value: 0 Target Value: 0

Co-branding options finalized and properly used

DRAFT ONLY

Current Value: 0 Target Value: 0

External traffic to website

DRAFT ONLY

Current Value:0 Target Value: 0

Earned media metric

DRAFT ONLY

Current Value: 0 Target Value: 0

Social media engagement

DRAFT ONLY

Current Value: 0 Target Value: 0

Interest in MD and other academic programs

DRAFT ONLY

Current Value: 0 Target Value: 0

Increase in giving, volunteering and brand engagement

DRAFT ONLY

Current Value: 0 Target Value: 0

New patient base

DRAFT ONLY

Current Value: 0 Target Value: 0

Alumni involvement: updates to profile

DRAFT ONLY

Current Value: 0 Target Value: 0

National rankings

DRAFT ONLY

Current Value: 0 Target Value: 0