Background
As UC Berkeley prepared for its most ambitious fundraising campaign, the University grappled with the familiar fundraising challenge of creating a "culture of giving and gratitude" within the Cal community. Understanding this dynamic was key to defining the role of philanthropy at a public university. University Relations engaged Addis Creson to develop a theme for the campaign that would bring a fresh perspective to academic branding that perpetually repeats the same tired aphorisms ("greatness, excellence, future"). Our challenge was to use the campaign to better position the university in the minds of all its disparate stakeholders and to motivate new donors and engage current donors to renew their support.
Solution
In dozens of interviews with individuals and groups (more than 100 people in all), we mined for the true meaning of UC Berkeley. This process led us to an unexpected conclusion: to pigeonhole the university into a single position was to miss the anti-brand hero that is UC Berkeley. Its reach and diversity is so vast that it cannot (and should not) be distilled down to a convenient marketing pitch.
But the epiphany was the insight that students graduate from this large institution with not only an exceptional education but also with a such a strong sense of self-reliance that they credit themselves rather than the University for their success. This led to our recommendation to create a platform where everyone touched by UC Berkeley can tell a story of its importance to them. Our very simple framework to gather these stories is "Thanks to Berkeley..." where respondents finish the sentence sharing their experience of how Berkeley transforms their lives and the world around them.
Results
All stakeholders immediately embraced the "Thanks to Berkeley..." campaign theme. The unanimity delighted the Chancellor Robert Birgeneau and provided the foundation for marketing The Campaign for Berkeley. The university's communications and marketing team then built the creative for a marketing campaign around the "Thanks to Berkeley..." theme. A keystone of the effort is the PhotoBooth Project where hundreds of black-and-white portraits of UC Berkeley's diverse community are displayed with accompanying stories. The September 2008 kickoff generated tremendous buzz, successfully kicking off the public phase of the campaign.
Internal & External Research
Competitive Audit
Category Analysis
Stakeholder Interviews
Brand Platform
Brand Story
Launch Ideas
