Designed to attract students, faculty and community support, we turned a university president’s vision of a school that breaks down barriers into a powerful brand.

Situation

After 20 years away from Maryland’s Towson University, Bob Caret returned as president, determined to redefine the role the institution could play beyond the campus borders, from the immediate neighborhood all the way to the state capital. A passionate advocate of the Metropolitan University movement (schools that use the power of their education, research and service to enhance the communities in which they are located), Caret wanted to remake Towson as “Maryland’s Metropolitan University.”

Towson’s communications department called on CoreBrand to turn Caret’s vision into an effective brand that would attract more students from in and out of state, encourage business, non-profit and government organizations to partner with the university and aid overall growth and expansion.

Solution

We talked to leadership, faculty and staff, incoming and current students, recent alumni and long-time trustees about the school’s established and emerging strengths and limitations. We also created message/positioning maps for peer institutions in Maryland, and other Metropolitan Universities around the country.

Our interviews told us that the “Metropolitan” label was fuzzy at best — interpreted variously as meaning urban, suburban, exclusive, middle-class or a commuter school. But our immersion exercises and brand findings painted the picture of a dynamic “outside” school valued for its forward-looking, career-focused curriculum, and experienced, real-world instructors who prepared graduates to hit the ground running.

The brand promise we developed — breaking down the barriers between the campus and the outside world — became the platform for a new tagline and an expansive television advertising and outreach campaign:

Towson University: Thinking Outside.