How strategic brand guardianship and agency oversight refreshed school-wide marketing assets following an institutional rename
University of Virginia – School of Education and Human Development
Overview
This initiative focused on directing the multi-channel brand transition and marketing asset overhaul following an enterprise renaming from the legacy Curry School of Education to the School of Education and Human Development (EHD). We replaced fragmented legacy materials with a modernized collateral ecosystem, ensuring visual and messaging alignment across digital and traditional touchpoints.
Objectives
- Modernize School-Wide Marketing Assets: Update and refresh the entire suite of print, digital, and enablement materials to reflect the new institutional identity.
- Establish Cross-Functional Consensus: Engage key academic, administrative, and student stakeholders to build alignment.
- Protect Brand Equity: Ensure all sub-brands, degree tracks, and marketing collateral adhered to new visual and messaging standards.
- Optimize External Agency Delivery: Direct external design and production partners to rapidly update school-wide print, digital, and recruitment enablement assets.
Approach
We audited existing marketing assets across all touchpoints to build a collateral migration roadmap. To ground the identity refresh in data and stakeholder sentiment, we conducted qualitative focus groups across key audiences. Using these insights, we established clear brand guardianship standards to govern the updated visual and messaging architecture. To execute the refresh at scale, we:
- Built Comprehensive Brand Guidelines: Developed unified messaging frameworks and visual standards tailored for digital, print, and environmental applications.
- Directed External Agency Partners: Oversaw agency development of redesigned enablement toolkits, advertising creative, and multi-channel marketing materials.
- Canva Templates: Transitioned all enablement templates into Canva so faculty and staff across the School had the ability to develop on-brand assets whenever they needed them.
Results and Impact
- Seamless Collateral Deployment: Successfully modernized and deployed updated brand materials across all channels.
- Unified Enterprise Governance: Established centralized brand standards that aligned internal academic departments and protected long-term equity.
- Efficient Asset Scalability: Equipped internal teams with standardized enablement toolkits, streamlining future asset creation and reducing creative turnaround times.
