Creighton University came to Killian & Company with a "double" branding problem, that was adversely affecting both recruitment and fundraising. The recruitment challenge? A very high percentage of Americans can't answer the question "where’s Creighton?" unless they live within two states of Omaha, Nebraska. Despite its academic excellence, loyal alumni, and reasonable tuition, Creighton enrollment had been steady for years, while rivals (e.g., St. Louis, Marquette) had been growing. The second driver for a re-branding effort, the fundraising challenge, was prompted by the need to launch a major effort to support infrastructure improvements, campus expansion, and a new Integrated Science Center.

recruitment mailing • fundraising brochure • TV spot • recruitment ad

Recruitment and fundraising, the two sources of oxygen for any private university, required Creighton to have a stronger, more coherent brand, understood by everyone internally, and (eventually) communicated to key audiences outside. First, we conducted a series of internal Brand Seminars over a three-month period, for and with the top administrators of both the university and the health sciences professional schools. One objective was to help the non-marketers understand branding, brand assets, and brand equity, trying to nudge everyone toward a consensus on strategy before launching either a branding campaign or a fundraising drive. Of special note is the challenge we faced creating consensus between the Medical School faculty and the University faculty: even on a campus that’s remarkably unified, with no physical barriers to separate students from the six professional schools from the undergraduates, some administrators at first tended to emphasize differences over similarities. Our Brand Asset Audit helped identify internal communications needed to offset areas of perceived weakness and to leverage perceived strengths. Later, we conducted qualitative research to probe the perceptions, values, and emotional connections of our two key audiences, donors and potential students. Today's college-bound high schoolers are the most brand-conscious generation in history; it is crucial for every competing university to manage its brand zealously. One practical insight that came out of our research: If you go to a College Night as a recruiter, answering questions from high school students, the answer to "where's Creighton?" must never include the word "Nebraska" or the potential recruits will speed away. "Omaha" is a neutral answer, but the perception of Nebraska on either coast is so profoundly negative that the best answer we crafted was "it's a great school for serious, ambitious students, on a hillside campus a short stroll from downtown Omaha." Eventually, we created re-branded recruitment mailings where every printed return address ends with Omaha 68178. No NE needed, thanks. We supported the mailings in key markets with re-branded TV and radio. Results? In a recession year, Creighton had its best fundraising year ever. And recruitment? The returns on the first major mailing came in more than 50% higher than the previous year. As Danielle Pedersen, Director of Institutional Marketing for Creighton, says, "Killian & Company can take the many different ideas, thoughts and opinions of a complex university and transform the 'noise' into edgy, singular communications that superbly resonates with our target markets. We have the responses and growth to prove it!"

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