VCU, with one of the world’s most respected medical colleges as a crown jewel, needed brand architecture help to clarify the relationship of the parts of the organization.

Situation

A combination of public and private assets, Virginia Commonwealth University had a complicated organizational structure with diverse audiences.

The academic campus of VCU, and the well respected Medical College of Virginia (MCV) were living as separate brands and separate campuses. As a result, communications — under budget constraints — were trying too hard to clarify the organizational structure. In addition, audiences often confused VCU and MCV with the competition, particularly the University of Virginia (UVA). The challenge was to leverage the academic and medical assets into one, unified brand, without disrupting internal or external audiences.

Solution

Through a survey of naming practices, CoreBrand determined the term “Medical Center” was the most effective way to position MCV within the existing VCU identity system. With this masterbrand approach, VCU is positioned for long term growth, and the Medical Center is leveraged in the appropriate communications. Any additional layers within the brand architecture, such as Health System, became transparent to external audiences. In addition, the descriptor line, “Today’s Medical College of Virginia” was developed for communications to leverage the heritage of MCV, and to add prestige to the VCU brand.