Branding a college or university campus requires a delicate balance. Too much intrusion on the setting can look tacky. But if there’s too little, the campus can be difficult for newcomers to navigate and forgettable for prospective students who might be visiting many schools.
When Concordia College alum Joshua Lysne took over four years ago as the associate vice president for communications and chief marketing officer at the Minnesota college, he was pleased to see that the campus had remained much as he remembered it: stately brick buildings surrounded by tall trees and set amid understated landscaping. But as an experienced marketer, he couldn’t help noticing what was missing: Concordia’s identity.
“It was ‘Minnesota modest,’” he says. “Beautiful scenery and facilities, but not well branded."
Lysne immediately saw two opportunities — portable backdrops for events, and images on a skyway that passed over a high-traffic road. He reached out to St. Paul-based The Vomela Companies, known for transforming ideas into memorable brand experiences.
Read the full-length story in the Chronicle for Higher Education:
