For Strong Higher Ed Campaign Brands, Answer These Questions

Campaign brands must communicate in few words and images while uplifting, educating, mobilizing, and inspiring donors and communities. They must balance dynamic energy with seriousness, trustworthiness, warmth, urgency, unity, and credibility, while also standing out from other campaigns and the institution’s existing brand. Campaign brands should be true and distinct, reflect institutional ambitions, build confidence in achieving goals, and bring people together around shared purpose. Unlike institutional branding, campaign branding is meant to expire, creating urgency and showing a before-and-after transformation. Campaign branding should invite donors in through meaningful calls to action and open the door to philanthropy by uniting students, faculty, staff, parents, alumni, and unaffiliated supporters around the moment.

"Campaign brands have a lot of explaining to do-literally. In just a few words and images, they have to uplift, educate and mobilize your top donors and help your community see themselves in your vision. They have to strike a tone that is simultaneously dynamic, energizing, serious, trustworthy, heartwarming, urgent, unifying and (dare we say it?) inspiring. And they have to stand out: not only from other campaigns, but also from your institution's own brand and other big initiatives."

"With all that riding on them, it's no wonder campaign brands so often disappear into a sea of sameness. After all, campaign brands have a lot in common with institutional and strategic plan brands. They all need to say something true and distinct about your institution. They need to speak to your ambitions and build confidence that you have what it takes to achieve your goals. And they need to bring people together around a shared purpose."

"In contrast to your institutional brand, a campaign brand is meant to expire. That's what helps build urgency, convincing donors to get on board now. Like your strategic plan, your campaign is meant to convey a from and a to: where you are today and how tomorrow will be different."

"Your institutional brand speaks to your ultimate vision and mission. Your strategic plan shows the road map. But with your campaign, you need to take it one step farther and invite your donors in. Campaign brands are designed to support meaningful calls to action, whether it's asking your top donors for higher levels of support or inspiring young alumni to consider their first gift."

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