Sending a Strong Message: MHC to Roll Out New Identity Program

While it is well known that people grapple with issues surrounding identity at different times during their lives—most prominently during adolescence and middle age—the clarification of identity is less often discussed in relation to institutions. Nevertheless, answering the questions “Who (or what) am I?” and “In what direction should I develop?” can be as much an act of self-actualization for an institution as it is for an individual.

Five years ago, Mount Holyoke began a strategic planning process with the goal of defining its mission, purposes, and goals. With the publication of The Plan for Mount Holyoke 2003 in 1997, the College articulated its mission—“educating a diverse community of women at the highest level of academic excellence and fostering the alliance of liberal arts education with purposeful engagement in the world”—and a set of goals consistent with that mission. After approaching or reaching many of these goals over the past four years, the institution has been reshaped in significant ways (establishing the Weissman Center, implementing curricular innovation, developing expanded facilities, for example), and the College is now developing vehicles to convey just who Mount Holyoke is.

The primary vehicle is a new integrated communications initiative that has already engaged hundreds of people and will soon involve all College departments, as well as volunteers and supporters. Spearheading this effort is Patricia VandenBerg, executive director of communications and strategic initiatives. “One can argue that the College's image is as vital to its long-term well-being as its endowment,” she says. “Our reputation either predisposes people to affiliate with the College or not. Our ability to attract students, faculty, staff, supporters, and donors depends on whether they are aware of and recognize Mount Holyoke's distinctive strengths.”

To select the core institutional messages that would serve as the foundation of the integrated communications initiative, VandenBerg; Jane Brown, vice president for enrollment and College relations; and Sujeong Shin, the Office of Communications' creative director, immersed themselves in research. Quite a bit of research had been done on the College during the strategic planning process for the Plan for 2003, and studies that drew on directions favored and supported by alumnae, parents, and prospective students existed as well. In addition, the team took into account demographics and national and international trends—everything from political and economic concerns to the roles played by leading liberal arts colleges today. They examined the positioning of the College's competitors in the education marketplace and considered the niche that MHC should occupy based on its strengths and what important constituencies value. In addition, VandenBerg spoke at length, and in many venues, with trustees, faculty, students, alumnae, and staff about the College's strengths and weaknesses—and those characteristics that distinguish Mount Holyoke from its competitors. Based on research and these conversations, a set of key themes and messages emerged. After sharing their work with the College's major constituencies and incorporating feedback, they began work on a document called “Describing Mount Holyoke.”

Says VandenBerg, “This document describes the College and its strengths in ways that our audiences value and understand. It will serve as a resource to all of us—including volunteers and supporters—as we present the College to the world. The document is not a script, but should serve as a framework for developing publications, speeches, Web sites, correspondence, and newsletters, or when talking to groups or individuals. Individuals will be able to use the themes in any combination they choose, customizing them and their supporting evidence based on the specific audience being addressed. By starting from the same framework, our many messengers for the College will reinforce each other. Consistency is key to effective institutional communication,” VandenBerg noted. “By using consistent positive themes and messages based on research, the MHC community will build and reinforce a strong positive image for the College.”

“Describing Mount Holyoke” includes five major themes, as well as a body of supporting evidence for each one. The themes are: Mount Holyoke is one of the nation's finest liberal arts colleges; Mount Holyoke is a place where important connections are made; Mount Holyoke is a global community; Mount Holyoke is technologically advanced; Mount Holyoke is distinguished in developing women leaders. In combination, these themes describe an institution uniquely positioned to graduate independent critical thinkers, who speak and write powerfully, who are technologically savvy, and who are distinguished by their ability to lead in a complex, pluralistic world. The group characterized the College's personality as “academically rigorous; open and friendly; globally aware; and socially conscious.” The idea that the College is both venerable and state-of-the-art has also come to the fore.

Another important aspect of an institution's image is its visual identity. Ideally, MHC should have a logo that is immediately recognizable to the public—one that they associate with the quality and value of the institution. To this end, VandenBerg formed an identity team, made up of faculty, students, staff, alumnae, and graphic designers from the Office of Communications and the local area, to develop a new visual identity for the College. The group met in May and June of last year and concentrated on logo development. The goal was to develop a symbol that was distinctive, could be used effectively in a range of applications, and reinforced the messages of the College. After much dialogue and deliberation, five designs were selected for “testing” with a wide range of constituencies that included more than 200 people.

Alumnae, parents, prospective and current students, faculty, staff, and members of the general public were asked what each symbol communicated to them about MHC. Based on their feedback, the logos were fine-tuned, and by late in the fall semester, two emerged as strong choices. Another round of testing with more than 150 people in January resulted in a recommendation to President Creighton and her senior staff.

The new logo will be a fundamental part of the College's identity system. In the next phase of the marketing plan, the Office of Communications will produce a visual identity style guide that will be distributed to the community in May. The guide will be a tool to help create a distinctive, consistent image that reflects the College's reputation as a prestigious liberal arts college for women. Information on formal and informal logo usage, typefaces, and colors and templates for stationery, business cards, and other materials will be included.

VandenBerg stresses that a logo is a precise image that adds value to an organization only if it is used consistently and repeatedly. So valuable an asset must be handled with care; the College will register and license the new logo, a step that gives Mount Holyoke federal, state, and common law protections governing its use. The key themes and messages with supporting evidence, as well as the new visual identity style guide will be completed and made available to the MHC community late this spring.