UWG’s Bold Step into the Spotlight

People at the University of West Georgia know why they love the place.

Now it’s time to spread that love to a larger audience.

“This is important for the future growth of the university,” said Jami Bower, assistant vice president of University Communications and Marketing. “It’s critical that we establish an identity.”

UWG needs to be recognizable in the marketplace to attract talented students, faculty and staff, she said.

“Our goal is to grow enrollment, raise our regional profile and communicate who we are and what we represent,” Bower said. This will help the university build lifelong learners and contributors.

Bower has been busy the past several weeks introducing the campaign to the campus community, which has responded well to what it has seen.

“I think students, particularly, have looked for something to rally around and have a pride point,” Bower said.

The “Go West” brand expression has given them that, she said.

“As a brand message, Go West tells you not just where we are, but who we are – a forward-looking, future-oriented institution,” Bower said.

Last Saturday’s football game saw the soft launch of the campaign, with Wolfie showing off the new T-shirt design. Cheerleaders tossed shirts into the crowd.

The campaign launches officially on Nov. 1, with the unveiling of a micro site (gowestgeorgia.com). The site lets users sign up for preview day on Nov. 14 and links to the main UWG site.

There will also be billboards, television, radio and digital media ads, as well as messaging on cinema screens in the metro Atlanta market.

The campaign builds on UWG’s strengths based on data collected this past spring from students, faculty, alumni and community members.

UCM worked with the Department of Sociology and Criminology’s Survey Research Center to find out what people thought of the university.

The good news was that many who came to UWG valued the school because of what they found here: engaged professors; mentoring; solid programs; respect for independent thinking; and diversity.

For many students UWG was “the right fit,” neither too big, nor too small, Bower said.

Perhaps the most interesting finding: UWG is not bound by tradition.

“That opened up the foundation of a point of difference for us,” Bower said. “We could start crafting our identity with a message that was authentic to us but really differentiated us from our competitors.”

Branding is more than a logo, a tagline or even a campaign.

It’s the perception that a consumer has of a product, a service, a place or an institution.

“We have the opportunity to shape that perception,” Bower said.

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