Kelsee Brady, Campus Carrier Staff Writer
In December 2018, Berry College released its new branding campaign, including a new website and new logo. While it received a negative popular push in the beginning, the campus has since become more adjusted to some of the changes.
Nancy Rewis, vice president of marketing and communication, spoke about the initial reaction to the new logo release in December 2018.
“We had a lot of feedback from alumni around the logo or the identity, and so based on that feedback, we pushed out a new identity with the Berry College wordmark associated with the ‘B’ and the shield and it was more in the traditional classic Berry blue.” Rewis said. “I think it was a good learning for us. You have to associate the college with the identity, and you have to build that identity over time.”
Lindsey Taylor, dean of students, said that the public’s reaction did not affect the rollout process.
“It’s not a new process. It was the plan. This has always been part of the process… and I think it’s being well received,” Taylor said.
Most recently, Shannon Biggers, director of creative services, sent out an email regarding the use of the new branding material. The email informed the campus that the old logo should be discontinued by the end of March. However, Biggers acknowledged that the universal adoption of the program may take longer.
“We know that across campus it will take some time. It’s in facilities, and that’s probably the next phase for us is to start looking at facilities branding and offering some assistance in updating to the new market,” Biggers said.
Marketing’s next phase in the rebranding roll out will be less impactful to current students and more focused on prospective students. The marketing department has been implementing several changes to the admissions process, particularly in the realm of advertising materials and on-campus tours.
“I would say the admissions material will be rolling out over the next six months. We are also revamping the admissions tours, which is reimagining our admissions tours to be more in line with our brand pillars,” Rewis said. “In addition to that, we will be rolling out a brand campaign in the Atlanta market towards the end of the summer going into the fall. In terms of admissions events, you’ll begin to see the new branding and marketing and creative rolling out in all campus events as well.”
Concerning Berry’s online presence, Rewis said that the entire website should be completely revamped by the end of April, however, the complete rollout process is nowhere near done. The website is currently undergoing construction. Thus far, various academic programs have been relocated to the new format.
“It’s a rolling release of webpages,” Rewis explained. “We started with 10 program pages and the admissions sections. Now we’re just continuing to roll out all of the academic programs. By the end of April, everything should be complete.”
Beginning this week, the department began conducting marketing workshops.
“We are meeting with a small group of faculty, and we are going to begin conducting marketing workshops, and that is something that we would like to continue to roll out across campus with faculty, staff and even students. If students are interested in participating in workshops, we would be happy to facilitate those,” Biggers said.
The marketing workshops guide the participants through the marketing resources available on the Berry website, such as business cards, stationery and name tags, and helps them communicate the new pillars of the Berry identity to current and prospective students and parents.
The marketing department is looking forward to the continual process of rebranding Berry and putting its best foot forward. According to Rewis, the department hopes to continue to hear feedback from students, alumni and others involved in the Berry community.
“Maybe there’s an opportunity in the future for us to do a follow-up with students, like the workshops we’re doing with faculty and staff,” Rewis said. “We can certainly do something similar with students if they’re interested. I think we’re open to really any and all ideas.”
Over the course of the next few months, the marketing department will continue to release more changes that reflect current market trends.