University hush-hush about rebranding initiative

Efforts to help boost Southeast Missouri State University's position in the academic marketplace are progressing, but officials are not offering details yet.

Southeast board of regents president Doyle Privett said an update is on the board's agenda for Dec. 18 and 19. Privett said he hadn't seen very much about the rebranding so far.

The university hired Ologie, a Columbus, Ohio, firm to conduct market research and brand analysis at an estimated cost of $193,000. The work is meant to offer a more focused approach to attracting students to Southeast, Jeff Harmon, executive director of University Communications and Marketing, said in an email.

Asked what the university is leaning toward in terms of how Southeast will be portrayed in the marketplace, Harmon said he couldn't answer that just yet.

"We love the direction, but we are not ready to discuss it, as the messages are going to be refined quite a bit over the next couple of months," Harmon wrote.

Currently, he said, Southeast is perceived as a "very special place."

"And we plan to tell the Southeast story in a very compelling and exciting way," Harmon said.

Ologie visited the university in September and conducted focus groups with a variety of people, including faculty, staff, students, board members, alumni and community members. They also contacted alumni in St. Louis.

"They took the information gathered during their three days here and began to identify the key attributes that make Southeast a special place," Harmon said. "They then developed an initial message map (a tool that we will use to consistently convey our message to any audience), initial messaging concepts, and several new university logo options to consider."

In early November, Ologie representatives visited the campus to present their initial findings and concepts.

"The meetings went very well, and Ologie obtained the feedback they needed to move the process forward. In December, they will return to campus with more refined concepts," Harmon said.

Ologie began a communications audit of Southeast in June.

"This process is a review of all of our marketing and communications materials, formal admissions documents, website content and much more. They also examined similar information from other institutions in the region," Harmon said.

rcampbell@semissourian.com

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