Canisius College

Situation

Canisius College, a Jesuit institution in Western New York, had a rich tradition of more than 130 years.  Canisius' customer base goes well beyond the student body enrolled at any one time, spanning to include prospective students, parents, business leaders and benefactors.  With that, the college communicated many images to many different audiences. 

Travers Collins & Company was chosen as the marketing communications agency of record primarily due to the recommended strategy of doing a brand assessment prior to any creative development.  It was recommended that Canisius evaluate the strength of their institutional brand as well as strengths of the programs and services they market.

Review of communication pieces found numerous design elements and fragmented messages.  The tagline "Where leaders are made" was in existence but had not been implemented with a logo and had not been embraced by all on campus. 

The primary objective of Travers Collins & Company was to create a sustainable competitive advantage - something that Canisius had no trouble delivering on—as well as consistency in the way the college communicated with the public.

Execution

Internal and external research was conducted to find out current perceptions of Canisius as well as what prospects and influencers were looking for in a college.  Based on the initial research, Travers Collins & Company worked with Canisius to determine overall goals and objectives, including:  to see Canisius perceived as a leading regional institution in the Northeast; improving Canisius' position on the short list among prospects and influencers; and improving the profile of applicants.

The college decision process begins when prospective students are still early in their high school years and lasts for three years.  Over this timeframe, the college has the opportunity to build a relationship with the prospective student.  Brand building is all about building a one-on-one relationship with the customer; in this case, the prospective student.  With the influencers clearly defined in the research phase, branding was needed to drive home how Canisius delivers on these benefits.

A positioning statement and communication platform were established based on the research, goals and objectives.  The promise of the Canisius brand is to prepare students to become leaders in their chosen profession, while instilling in them a high moral integrity and commitment to serving others.  This promise expresses the essence and articulates who Canisius is and what they intend to deliver.

Tying the tagline, "Where leaders are made" into the logo was only the first step in speaking to the leadership theme.  Recommendations for copy and creative guidelines in all of the college's admissions, fundraising, marketing and collateral materials helped to emphasize the message early on in the branding effort. 

Results

The branding campaign produced positive results both on and off campus in the four consecutive years following the campaign's completion.  The annual fund drive that recruits alumni dollars reached a record amount four years in a row.  Family income (one component of the student profile) increased 12.5% over the previous year.  High school averages and SAT scores showed increases as well.  Freshmen enrollment records were broken three times in 5 years.  An aggressive media relations strategy resulted in a 245% increase on the broadcast side.

The benefits of creating and sticking to the implementation process for a strong brand has found many believers across all areas of the campus.  From the key area of student recruitment to the athletic department and on to the graduate divisions, the Canisius brand is now communicating a point of difference that should continue to help the college achieve their objective of becoming one of the top regional institutions in the Northeast.