Bragging Right
Dating back to 1892, the Block “I” has come to represent all of the University. (Image by Michelle Hassel/U of I StratCom) To all those marketing skeptics out there: Yo! Illinois may not always have been a brand. But the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign has always been a meme.
From the mid-1860s when the state’s first public institution of higher education was fostered in an ungainly, donated building known as “The Elephant” and the words “Illinois Industrial University” replaced “Farmers and Mechanics” on the institutional seal; to the 1911 appearance in China of a campus modeled on the Quad; to 2013, as Astro Illini Mike Hopkins, ’92 ENG, beamed down pix of our misty, water-swirled Earth from the International Space Station, Illinois is everywhere—past, present and future, locally, regionally, globally and, yes, in outer space.
When halfback Red Grange made that immortal 95-yard run for a touchdown in 1924, it’s like laser beams of orange and blue (the University’s colors since 1894, BTW) shot ahead of him down the field into a century of stupendous achievement and growth, including his own bronze statue at the entrance to Memorial Stadium.
Athletics and alumni have long carried the colors and borne the symbols that signal Illinois. (Not to mention singing the songs and wearing the T-shirts.) Dating back to 1892, the Block “I” evinces an authority (including its impossible-to-overlook, alphabetically endowed egotism) that began with football games and has come to represent all of the University, a symbol recognizable and enduring as Illinois itself. Like our Alma Mater (always beloved but fading greenly into oxidation until restored a decade ago to her original aura of gorgeous bronze). Like our Hallene Gateway, our Quad (of course!), our Illini Grove, our Union, our many landmarks, buildings and artworks, classic and contemporary, old and not so old.
Through the lens of abundant elegance, it’s easy to see the University as a storied entity. But in the vast, dispersed, heady, multibillion-dollar enterprise that hums along at Illinois today, there has been much that could, frankly, stand a look in the mirror and a bit of tidying.
“When I came here it was very, very clear that this is one of the most amazing places in all of higher education,” says Robert Jones, who became chancellor in 2016. “But the University didn’t seem to be able to seamlessly articulate the qualities and the values that shaped it for 157 years and counting.
Primary Illinois mark
“The University of Illinois was too modest to even talk about itself,” Jones observes. “And I found the website almost impossible to navigate.” He tapped long-time U of I communications officer Robin Kaler, ’83 MEDIA, MS ’92 MEDIA, MBA ’04, to establish a small branding and marketing office that would install a fresh, unified, well-referenced presence for the institution.
Kaler had already spent a great deal of time on a quest for the essence of Illinois and ways to consolidate and burnish the University’s image. “When I started in this job many years ago, there were over 900 logos in use,” she recalls. “Some of them had a ‘Block I’ or some sort of reference to the University of Illinois. Some did not.” There were also “multiple color palettes and multiple ways to refer to ourselves.” Such variations only burgeoned with the rise of cyberspace and websites, now the front lines of contact for educational institutions, amidst a multiverse of other entities.
One issue has been that most shorthand names for the University—UI and UIUC—are prone to conflation with those of other institutions, notably the University of Illinois Chicago (aka UIC, and also part of the University of Illinois System). “We had all these names and we tested them, and we found that the name Illinois had the most brand equity—for obvious reasons, right?” Kaler says. “That’s been our name. If you look back in the archives, you can find examples from the late 1800s and early 1900s of the University’s nickname being Illinois.” In 2008, efforts got underway to systematically replace “uiuc” with “illinois”—most conspicuously in the University’s URL.
Under Jones, the marketing and branding effort began with the installation of a six-foot, orange Block “I” at Terminal 3 at O’Hare Airport and grew into a detailed, unified brand platform that is being officially introduced this fall. In the process, Kaler sought the advice of administrators and communications officers in colleges, departments and units across campus.
Illini pride at Chicago’s O’Hare airport (top, left), and around campus. (Images courtesy of U of I StratCom)
What she heard was, “People don’t know who we are because we’ve been telling this sort of mishmash of a story about ourselves. We need to be much more strategic and focused in [telling] people who we are and what we do and our promises to them.” From those conversations, along with input from marketing and creative firms, she and her team composed a “brand promise,” personal in scope and over the top in aspiration:
To provide limitless opportunities for anyone driven to pursue their impossible
Four “brand pillars” support this starry dome of vaulted dreams—innovation, community, momentum and discovery. The achievements and experiences of the greater community of the University of Illinois embody these four forces. Example: the professor modeling virtual “heart twins” to fight heart failure (innovation). Example: the alumnus who leads the National Civil Rights Museum in Memphis, Tenn. (community). Example: the students who uncovered rare Incan artifacts on a summer field trip to Peru (discovery). Example: the elementary education major who became an Olympic track star while still a student (momentum). These are just four stories from the previous issue of this magazine (Illinois Alumni, Summer ’24)—four in a wave of thousands celebrated over more than a century of UIAA publications. And those thousands are just drops in the ocean of lives transformed by the University of Illinois. No one will ever tell more than a nano-fraction of these tales. But they are real and transformative. And they comprise what Illinois is and what its brand strives to honor.
The marketing team has shared the framework of promise and pillars at Brand Ambassador workshops held throughout the University over the last six months. Meeting with UIAA Board members, administrators, communicators and other stakeholders, “we learned a lot,” says marketing team member Katie Watson, ’18 LAS, MS ’22 IS. “There are the professional colleges like law and engineering that compete in the rankings with other professional colleges. The art school competes with other art schools that are small and nimble and quickly respond to market trends. Consider the breadth and depth of the University, from the Fire Services Institute to the art museum. The platform has to work for all of our units.”
Official Illinois marks include: ATHLETICS SHIELD: Limited to athletics applications, the primary Block I logo is at the center of the badge encased by two facing Fs that symbolize the fight that Illini embody when they take the field of play. Limited to athletics applications, the primary Block I logo is at the center of the badge encased by two facing Fs that symbolize the fight that Illini embody when they take the field of play. UNIVERSITY SEAL: The University Seal is to be used for academic, legal and formal University business purposes.
With aspirations and strengths as the framework, language and imagery are the implements for the Illinois branding effort. A brand-guidelines website houses rules and tools for creating a unified presence across all University communication outlets, from websites and social media to hard copy and video. Resources range from scalable variations of the Block “I” to precise PMS colors used in printing (1655 for orange, 2767 for blue). There’s even a pronunciation guide with vocals on audio. Who knew about that hard “g” in Foellinger Auditorium’s moniker?
Colleges and units across the University are working to adopt the brand platform—updating everything from websites to letterhead and telling stories that demonstrate the brand values. The marketing team stands ready to support, adapt and retrofit as needed. “We’re really focused on making sure that, as the English say, there’s a level playing field,” says marketing team member Rashmi Tenneti. “Everyone has the same platform to stand on. Whether you are a well-resourced unit or a unit that needs our support, we’re going to make sure you get to the finish line.”
A year-and-a-half from now, the fresh face of Illinois is expected to repose at every interval and juncture of the University’s presence both online and offline: impressive, beautiful and welcoming as it has always been. And a great deal better kept than ever.
“I have as much obligation to tell the story of the University as I have to educate students and to bring in the research and innovation that saves lives and creates a better quality of living,” Jones concludes. “We’ve got a responsibility to alumni in particular. They deserve it. They’re the ones who paid tuition and fees to get an education in this place—an education that’s helped shape the narrative of excellence that we call the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.”
Wanted: Brand Ambassadors
How alumni can help promote Illinois
This won’t be heavy lifting. This will be like wandering through a pleasant cloud, where flashing orange and blue shapes reveal, again and again, the presence of the University of Illinois. This will be easy and fun. This will be the work of Illinois Brand Ambassadors, supporters from throughout the University community, especially our loyal alumni.
With some 600,000 living graduates and 10 times that many stories, Illinois turns up everywhere, all the time. Faculty and alumni appear daily in national and international news stories that range across today’s academic, business, cultural and political scenes. Discoveries and achievements made possible by the institution are deeply embedded in daily life—transistors, touch screens, web browsers, LEDs, curb cuts, the Tesla, sweet corn. There’s the profound personal influence of having learned and played in a beautiful place where many have found romantic partners, made enduring friendships and launched professional lives. And not to overlook the delight of the serendipitous. “You went to Illinois? Me too!” “I-L-L!” “I-N-I!!”
“I think one of the University’s most important external audiences is our alumni base,” says Christy Moss, MS ’17 IS, UIAA vice president of membership and marketing. “I would really encourage Illini to reflect on the brand promise and pillars, to see where they find these happening in their lives as they connect with their Alma Mater.”
Some ways to become a brand ambassador:
• Looking for and finding the University of Illinois everywhere
• Telling the University’s stories
• Telling your own Illinois story and the story of your family
• For club members, making use of club resources available online, which include naming guidelines, logo templates and downloadable photographs suitable for social media. Check out brand.illinois.edu/applying-the-brand/alumni
If you’re a member of the Alumni Association, great! If not, please consider joining. Go, Illinois!—M.T.
