Print & Web Communications for Education
Communications Audit & Recruiting Campaign
University of Louisiana-Monroe
University of Louisiana-Monroe (formerly Northeast Louisiana University) is a state-supported institution with more than 7,000 students, located near Louisiana’s borders with Mississippi and Arkansas. The school is known for the excellence of its offerings in health care, and its tuition is a bargain for both in-state and out-of-state students.
However, the school had recently faced grave challenges. Under the guidance of a new president, ULM was mapping a new path for institutional success.
Administrators came to Zehno for advice on re-branding the school and improving communications with university audiences — particularly potential students. It was crucial that all audiences perceive the strengths of the "new" University of Louisiana-Monroe instead of reinforcement of the recent weaknesses.
Zehno conducted a series of interviews, competitive research and creative brainstorming to help ULM clarify the elements of its brand and develop an effective logo and communications strategy.
The resulting analysis pinpointed the distinctive and beautiful bayou that runs through the middle of the campus as the essence of the university’s physical brand, and incorporated it into copy and visuals. We also created guidelines for a consistent, coherent visual identity to be implemented by the staff across ULM’s publications and Web sites — an important element of branding that had been completely lacking.
As an immediate follow-up project, ULM asked Zehno to develop a dual-purpose brochure that would serve as an overall image piece and prospective student viewbook. Leading with the tagline “New Perspectives,” the 16-page brochure uses color-saturated photos, key facts and marketing messages that are clear and memorable. All are delivered in a bold graphic style that allows a student (or parent) to effortlessly flip through and get the main messages.
The bold style continued through a set of search pieces and a billboard presenting the same message of the “new” ULM.
A year after the book’s debut, ULM welcomed a freshman class 25% larger than the previous year. Average ACT scores of the incoming class reached a new all-time high.
Among other results, according to admissions staff: “It gave us a whole new image — a quality look and a new design. It had a big impact locally. Students who had given up on us as not being a “cool” place to go think that now maybe things are really different.”
As the positive numbers rolled in, ULM returned to Zehno to transform the dual-use brochure into an admissions-focused viewbook for the next year’s recruiting class.
Added a member of the ULM marketing staff: “The great task before us was to restore the image of a university emerging from financial storms and declining enrollment. Zehno’s staff, nimble and creative, helped us craft an image for recruitment that matched the character of the university — fast-changing and forward-thinking.”