Telling Our Story
It takes strategy to tell an effective story that celebrates our impact, elevates our strengths, captures our personality, and defines what the world can expect from us. Simply put, it’s the blueprint for building our brand.
Everything we say and everything we do as a brand is built on this brand strategy. It’s how we tell the world: Here is who we are, why we exist, and why it matters. Every element of the strategy results from focused decisions to establish the positioning for our brand and a platform for our big idea. This is where it all starts.
AUDIENCES
Who are we talking to?
POSITIONING
What do we want people to remember about UF?
MESSAGING
What do we say and why does it matter?
PERSONALITY
How do we look, sound and feel?
Audiences
We must understand and prioritize who we’re speaking to establish goals for each audience and effectively engage them with the brand. While all of these messaging recommendations should be considered, we prioritize different key ideas when communicating with each segment.
Internal Audiences
- Current students
- Parents of current students
- Faculty
- Staff
- Alumni
- University leadership
- Donors
- University and higher ed ambassadors
- Friends and fans of the university
- University communicators
Key Objectives
Inspire
Ensure that internal stakeholders know what the evolved brand means to them, their programs or units, and the value they add to bringing the brand story to life.
Equip
Brand training will go a long way toward a successful rollout – as will access to branded assets, templates, toolkits, and support.
External Audiences
- Journalists/media
- Lawmakers/legislators
- Higher ed influencers
- Higher ed peers
- Prospective students and families
- Industry partners
Key Objectives
Inspire
Ensure that internal stakeholders know what the evolved brand means to them, their programs or units, and the value they add to bringing the brand story to life.
Equip
Brand training will go a long way toward a successful rollout – as will access to branded assets, templates, toolkits, and support.
Priority Messages
Current Students, Faculty and Staff
- The ways that UF’s values, the differentiating aspects of our culture, and the lived experience on campus connect to the brand expression
- Clarity about UF’s vision for the future and how they have a prominent and integral role in getting us there
- Information about the ways their units can express their individuality within an aligned UF story
- Ways they can share their ideas and accomplishments, promoting pride
Alumni and Friends
- Exciting updates about UF’s impact on the world
- The idea is that they have an integral role in UF’s rise to prominence
- How the university is building on our historic strengths
- Clear goals for how they can support the university as a whole
- Ways they can share their own stories that showcase the exemplary experience at UF
Prospective Students and Influencers
- UF’s momentum and continual rise in excellence
- How UF will help them develop expertise in their interest areas
- Ways that UF makes tomorrow better than today
- The culture of organic collaboration and connection
- Outcome stories
- How UF uses or location to enhance the student experience
- The value of a UF degree
- How UF educates the best and brightest from all backgrounds
Higher Education, Media, Lawmakers, Industry
- The wide array of opportunities available for partnership and engagement
- Ways that UF research is moving the world forward
- The impact of the university across industries and around the world
- UF’s commitment to providing a world-class education to students of all backgrounds
- Stories that highlight remarkable achievements by UF graduates
- UF’s goals for further ascension and global impact
It’s also important to keep in mind the ways that messages overlap within each group.
| EXTERNAL AUDIENCES Journalists/media Lawmakers/legislators Higher ed influencers Higher ed peers Prospective students and families Industry partners |
| Overlapping Messages Excellence Focus on the Future Research Collaboration for Impact Outcome Stories The Value They Bring UF’s Vision (and their role) Invitations to Share Their Own Stories |
| INTERNAL AUDIENCES Current students Parents of current students Faculty Staff Alumni University leadership Donors University and higher ed ambassadors Friends and fans of the university University communicators |
Positioning
Positioning is how we want to be thought of in the minds of our most important audiences. It’s not how we express ourselves externally; it’s about what we want people to remember about the University of Florida when they walk away.
DRIVEN BY THE
JOY OF DISCOVERY,
AND FUELED BY THE
COLLISION OF IDEAS,
UF ACCELERATES
FUTURE SOLUTIONS
TO GENERATE MOMENTUM THAT
MOVES THE WORLD
FORWARD.
Messaging
The message map prioritizes the most important messages for telling our story and illustrates the relationship between attributes and benefits. It organizes our key messages into a hierarchy to ensure that our communications are clear, consistent, and compelling.
Our story always connects to the center of the map: the core value proposition. Based on the needs of the target audience and the specific message we need to deliver, we can then determine an appropriate secondary message and a set of proof points.
Personality
Personality humanizes the brand and shapes the overall tone of our communications. It helps bring our materials to life with greater resonance and emotional strength.
Note: You don’t always have to use them all — choose the most relevant traits for your target audience. These can be dialed up or down, depending on the goals of the piece you’re creating.
We Are Original
We communicate how we do things in a unique way that’s all our own. At the University of Florida, we create our path forward.
We Are Inclusive
Each of us brings something distinctive to the university. Our brand gives a voice to every member of our community.
We Are Bold
We communicate this by showing our fierce, competitive spirit. We fight hard in everything we do.
We Are Empathetic
Our voice showcases the human heart and deep compassion that make us who we are. People are the core of our brand and the reason for all our work.
We Are Imaginative
We show the innovation that drives everything that we do. We are unafraid to dream big and pursue massive, world-changing ideas.
We Are Vibrant
There’s a joyful spirit of discovery that runs through all of us. We do this stuff because we love it.