1. Rebranding General Education at ISU

2. General Education General Education at Illinois State lays the foundation for the undergraduate experience. It provides the knowledge and skills that prepare for a major as well as a lifetime that may well include several different career paths.

3. How it all began.... 2013 State of the University Address Tom Lamonica and James Munz o 4 marketing undergraduate students Elise Cowan Nick Maggiore Nicole Poggensee Ryne Watson o 4 communication undergraduate students Bridget Anders Bobby Bobbitt JoeyLauren Jiracek Jessica Perri

4. Initial Meetings December 2013 – April 2014 Shared personal perspectives Researched students’ perspectives and other general education programs Established objectives for campaign Looked at popular rebranding campaigns to gain better understanding of process

5. Client Recommendations Met with Dr. Rosenthal Established group objectives o New name o New slogan o Rebranding/marketing ideas o Create a buzz about General Education Program Target Audience o Current students o Prospective students Research o Focus groups o Meet with admissions and recruitment staff o No surveys

6. Admissions Counselors Recommendations Nathan Barger and Patrick Walsh Students Inquiries: o Most prospective students are unfamiliar with the General Education Program o Typically ask questions pertaining to AP credits and minimum requirements Nathan’s Response: o Importance of organizational and leadership skills gained from General Education courses Our takeaways: o Help show students the variety of experience gained from courses o Emphasizing the value of the program

7. Admission Ambassadors Focus Group Their outlook on General Education o Variety, easy, boring, repetitive, tedious, unnecessary, irrelevant Experiences o No relationship with professors o Big lecture halls o Enjoyed sophomore year classes more o Good exposure, but not challenging

8. Admission Ambassadors Focus Group (cont.) Questions perspective students ask them o How is the general education program? o What will they be like? o Usually parents ask more questions Suggestions o Preview Video o Better explanation of the program o Incorporate general education courses with major courses

9. Student Focus Group Attendees included: freshmen and junior students Their outlook on General Education: o Required, basic, waste of time, become well-rounded o Knew about program, but not much else Experiences: o Good relationship with communication and english professor o Social anxiety with participation in lecture halls Suggestions: o Video with interviews o Tailor to interests and major

10. Namestorming Session Attendees included: Carol Jalowiec, Steve Barcus, and team Purpose to guide us in a direction, not to actually choose a name Spent an hour brainstorming different name ideas o Three timed rounds o Narrowed down ideas after each round

11. Meetings After the Storm Further brainstormed names and slogans Discussed and chose pairings Picked final two names and slogans Began designs for the layouts

12. And now we present to you...

15. Options Moving Forward Continue research and testing Choose a brand Commission a campaign to roll out the brand with the new Gen Ed program coming on-line in Fall 2014

16. Thank You Questions? Comments? Suggestions?