Texas A&M University Mays Business School
A brand within a brand
RESEARCH & DISCOVERY
SURVEYS & FOCUS GROUPS
CONTENT STRATEGY AND DEVELOPMENT
CONCEPT AND DESIGN
BRAND PLATFORM
MBA CAMPAIGN
We began this project with extensive research and analysis - understanding the competitive landscape and peer schools, the particular former student network known as Aggie Nation, and the Texas A&M brand, which is well established. Our challenge was to create a brand platform for Mays that connected and extended the Texas A&M brand; to find those elements that were shared between the School and the University but refracted through the Mays lens.
"You have Texas A&M...a strong brand, but how do you express our culture because no matter what, our brand incorporates some of that Texas A&M tradition in our branding. Even though we're a little bit separate from it, it's still there, so how do we express that?"
MBA PROGRAM FACULTY MEMBER
Finding the brand within the brand
To fully understand the Mays brand and its relationship to the larger university, we began with extensive research and analysis:
Focus groups, brand platform workshops, and interviews with School program directors and leadership.
Analyze the competitive landscape and peer schools inside Texas, the region, and nationally, and understand the particular influence of Texas A&M's brand on prospective students.
Understand the challenge presented by School's location on its different graduate programs.
Experience the power of Aggie Nation: one of the most loyal alumni associations in higher education is a strong influence on prospective students.
Our insights shaped our approach to the development of the brand platform: leverage A&M's well known brand pillars of hard work, respect for tradition, loyalty, and service to others to craft a platform that distinguishes Mays from its peers.
ELEVATE GRADUATE PROGRAMS
Early research and understanding revealed the primary audience for the School’s website is MBA degree program seekers, so our content strategy prioritized these prospective students and their needs. The home page and program landing pages were organized to not only provide specific information to prospective students, but but encouraged conversion through strategically placed Apply and Request Info buttons.
BRANDING THE MAYS MBA
We were asked by Mays to collaborate with them on a marketing campaign for their 2016/17 MBA Programs, across digital, social, and outdoor advertising.
We kicked off the project with a day-long workshop to define goals and objectives, understand our audiences, review program campaign history, and rapidly iterate and prototype concepts.
During the website redesign, our research revealed an issue that was now an impediment: brand awareness for the Mays Business School in the crowded Texas market was very low.
Our workshopping revealed a opportunity to reframe Mays' graduate programs: move forward to build awareness for Mays and "Mays MBA."
Along with the School's brand elements, we built the campaign around student stories and brand themes specific to Full-Time, Executive, and Professional MBA programs.
Our creative brought themes and brand elements to the top of the message hierarchy, and is beginning to show results - inquiries, applications, and awareness are all up over previous years.