Successful brands connect solidly with an organization’s mission and vision thereby ensuring that communications are authentic and true. Accordingly, the core concept of the JMU brand — our brand essence — directly expresses our strategic vision to be the national model for the engaged university.

As established by Gallup research, the direct benefit of a college experience as highly engaged as the Madison Experience is that graduates go on to lead lives of purpose and meaning. This is the promise we make to students and their families. So all branded communications should seek to compellingly portray the essence of this promise.

Our vision is to be the national model for the engaged university: engaged with ideas and the world. This vision signifies the foundation of our brand: Intellect + Action.

When Intellect engages with Action around our mission of preparing students to be enlightened citizens who lead meaningful lives, it catalyzes the essence of our brand: Being the Change. Being the Change is the rallying cry at the heart of the JMU educational experience and the common bond among our students, alumni, faculty and all members of our exceptional community.

If you had only the time it takes to ride in an elevator to tell someone why JMU is unique and superior, say something like this:

"JMU does very well in the rankings: for example, the Wall Street Journal ranked JMU as the nation’s “most recommended university.” But the ranking that matters the most is from Gallup. According to Gallup research, JMU alumni live purposeful and meaningful lives at a significantly higher rate than their peers who graduated from the highest ranked schools in the country. And people living purposeful lives lead society toward a better future. That’s Being the Change."

While we want to project a consistent set of university personality traits in our communications, we also want to employ different tones of voice to cultivate and strengthen our relationships with our various audiences.

JMU’s personality guides our tone of voice and authentically reflects our core values. Our personality traits also signify how we consistently behave in our relationships with students, alumni, donors and other audiences.

Puncturing the awareness and capturing the interest of prospective students is the number one objective of the JMU brand. Speaking to these hopeful members of our community in a tone that matches their aspirations for themselves is essential.

Our successful and growing base of alumni and friends is evidence of JMU’s importance. Their involvement is essential to the university’s success, and communications aimed at elevating their school pride and maintaining their interest ought to be delivered in a tone that inspires them to action.

To succeed in achieving our vision to be the national model for the engaged university, current students must believe that fully engaging in the Madison Experience is worth their time. Departments from all across campus can succeed in attracting students to their programming by communicating in a tone of voice that tunes into and elevates their aspirations.

JMU possesses a distinct set of organizational features that set us apart from other schools. In the aggregate, these features are what make JMU unique and they ought to drive messaging to external audiences. Compellingly depicting them in communications is how we can differentiate JMU from other universities, especially in communications targeting prospective students and their families. They also are important and real manifestations of our vision and strategic direction to depict in communications targeting all audiences.

With our brand essence forming their foundation, message drivers build a sturdy scaffolding and platform from which our brand expressions are sourced. When we proclaim from this platform that the institution is fully dedicated to inspiring its community to Being the Change, we can do so confidently and authentically.