Ross University School of Veterinary Medicine Brand Refresh

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INTRO & GOAL

Ross University School of Veterinary Medicine (RUSVM) suffered from brand drift characterized primarily by a lack of visual and messaging continuity across touch points—negatively impacting brand awareness. Observed challenges included:

• Inconsistent use of color palettes, typography, and imagery hindered brand awareness and recall
• Changeable messaging was not in the market long enough or consistently to positively impact memorability
• Undifferentiated messaging did not own a unique position in the minds of prospective students and influencers

In this state, the school essentially had to reintroduce itself at every prospective student interaction — limiting the ability to mature messaging and the brand.

STRATEGY & PROCESS

With no plans to merge the schools, the newly-created marketing team was, in partnership with their external agency partners, tasked with addressing the issue of cannibalization of advertising budget through branding and digital marketing strategy.

SOLUTION & OUTCOME

Refreshed and repositioned the two medical schools — visual systems first, followed by the value proposition and messaging alignment—to successfully recruit new students without cannibalizing the marketing budget. Specifically:

• Identified the shared mindset of Ross Vet prospective students and alumni
• Established brand standards including visual systems, brand voice, and photography standards
• Aligned brand visuals across all online and offline touchpoints
• Crafted a brand voice and reasons to believe that resonated and stood for something in the minds of key audiences
• Leveraged differentiated messaging consistently across channels

These efforts contributed to consistent, year-over-year prospective student inquiries growth along with a concurrent increase in perception and reputation metrics.