Nearly all of Digital Collegium’s member institutions provide some type of brand guidance—logo downloads, color palettes, editorial guidelines and other resources.
This post will look beyond the basics to see how member institutions are making it easier for the campus community to write, design and create marketing materials that are effective, accessible and reinforce the institution’s brand.
Defining your audience and mapping your message
Here are some toolkits that help users identify their target audience and tailor messaging and brand elements accordingly. This audience-based approach helps ensure brand consistency for a variety of goals.
- Dillard University defines three priority audiences — current bleu devils, future bleu devils and beyond bleu devils — and identifies a branding goal, topics and content, and key outreach channels for each audience. Dillard also provides a messaging map to help users put together the components of a message that reinforces the brand. The map comes with four-step instructions to craft an impactful story that’s relevant to your audience.
- Missouri State University lists five distinct audiences, from new students to alumni, with 30-second elevator pitches for each group. These statements serve to tell each audience who Missouri State is and what the school has to offer them. Communicators are encouraged to personalize these statements with their own area’s details and accomplishments. The toolkit also provides general messages that can be used to highlight defining traits to various audiences.
- Sam Houston State University provides a content strategy worksheet that guides communicators through the process of defining their audience, goal, topic and challenges. The worksheet helps users connect their message to the university’s brand pillars, content pillars and personality traits. Elements of the brand are explained in layperson’s terms to help all campus members understand how the components fit together to create cohesion.
- University at Buffalo provides a communication-brief template to help define an audience, identify content priorities and incorporate the appropriate tone and brand attributes.
- University of Missouri-Columbia has tone and style guidelines and sample messages for three defined audiences: prospective students, current community and external audiences. Examples include suggested messaging channel, headline and copy, and how-tos on connecting each message with a brand archetype to guide the theme and tone.
“[Adopting an] audience-based approach helps ensure brand consistency for a variety of goals.”
Voice, tone, language and storytelling
These tips, tricks and tools for writing help communicators connect with their audience and pass a brand “gut check.”
- Dillard University provides headline constructions, best practices for writing, and a voice and tone checklist to ensure written communications are effective and on-brand.
- Missouri State University shares writing tips to help your content get read, with stats on how much (or little) audiences pay attention to. These tips include best practices for structure, design, typeface, sentence length and reading level.
- Sam Houston State University provides impact words and phrases that distinguish its brand, writing style tips and a bank of headlines that can be used as-is or adapted for the writer’s needs.
- University of Missouri-Columbia gives a formula for good storytelling, with examples and before-and-after transformations of branded stories. The school’s brand-writing best practices also include interviewing tips for strong stories.
Graphic elements and templates
These toolkit elements allow designers and non-designers alike to draw from pre-approved visual elements and templates to create their own branded materials.
- Missouri State University provides mix-and-match design elements that can be adapted (within the approved color palette) and combined to create unique designs that reflect the brand. Each element comes with a description of what it evokes and how it can be used to support design goals.
- Texas A&M University – Corpus Christi has a large library of branded templates (editable in Adobe Express) in multiple size options. Non-designers can view video tutorials for step-by-step instructions on adapting the templates for their needs, from adding brand assets to editing text and images.
- University at Buffalo offers a one-stop tools and resources index with templates, graphics, posters, tip sheets and a photo database. Users also have access to free training to ensure their digital materials are accessible.
- University of Missouri-Columbia’s brand toolkit includes software-based resources. Designers can access assets through an Adobe Creative Cloud library, while non-designers can download ready-to-use assets and templates through the university’s PowerPoint Toolkit or Digital Asset Platform. Alternatively, users can browse and download branded templates using their platform of choice. All templates are designed to meet accessibility requirements.
Social Media Resources
These resources help communicators create compelling social posts that advance their message and the brand.
- Arizona State University provides a comprehensive guide to social media, from a “getting started” checklist and guidelines to best practices for content, design and accessibility. Users can access campaign and evergreen social toolkits, social media management tools, training and other resources.
- Missouri State University also provides detailed social media guidelines and best practices, including platform-specific overviews. Social media resources include general and event-specific hashtags, avatars to represent different units across the university and branded gifs.
AI Guidelines
As generative AI tools evolve, institutions are beginning to implement guidelines on the use of AI in communications and design.
- Arizona State University’s Enterprise Brand, Communications and Marketing Guide has some of the most robust AI guidelines of our member institutions. These guidelines serve to protect personal data and university intellectual property and to prevent plagiarism, bias and inaccuracies. The guidelines also protect the integrity of the brand by avoiding tropes, generic or photorealistic images, and alterations to ASU identity marks.
