Division of University Advancement
Resources
Brand
The Quick Version:
Branding is simply your relationship with your audience.
“A brand is much more than a name, logo, colors, tagline, or symbol . . . A brand is a promise to deliver a specific set of features, benefits, and services consistently to your buyers.” ~Philip Kotler, 2003, Northwestern Kellogg Graduate School of Management
Simply put, branding is the relationship that an organization has with its various audiences. A graphic identity is the visual expression of that brand; a logo being at the heart of that identity. What a university stands for, and aspires to be, is the core for creating a strong and meaningful brand.
UCCS Brand Promise – what we promise to provide to our core audiences and the platform from which all marketing flows.
UCCS promises to create and support an environment for students, faculty and staff to focus on individual development, engage with communities and innovate for the future.
Using our brand attributes:
It's not just using the same talking points over and over again; it's creatively and intelligently using the brand attributes to build a targeted message.
UCCS Brand Attributes – These are the things that make us unique. They are the words we rally around when creating new materials and the ideas that guide how we talk about and visually portray ouselves. Our brand attributes are:
Active
Celebrate
Aspire
Diverse
The UCCS Brand
What does this mean for UCCS? We must realize our brand is the sum of all perceptions about UCCS. Perceptions built through communication, relationships and awareness. It’s not only what we say about UCCS: it is what people think of UCCS based on their experiences. To build a strong brand we must always ask: “Are our words, actions, and graphic depictions in line with our brand promise?” And, “Will this initiative reinforce or challenge our desired brand perceptions?”
A quick reminder about the name of our campus
The Quick Version:
The official name of the campus is the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs. It can also be called UCCS. Do NOT call it "CU the Springs" or add any hyphens or commas.
The official campus name is University of Colorado at Colorado Springs. First usage in communications is to be the official campus name. Subsequent references may be UCCS.
Incorrect Usage
Examples of incorrect references are: "CU the Springs" or "CUCS". Do not use commas or hyphens. For example, "the University of Colorado, Colorado Springs", "University of Colorado-Colorado Springs" and "UC-CS" should not be used.