Phase One: A cross-campus brand planning team, representing major constituent groups, was assembled.

Phase Two: The planning team reviewed existing research, answered brand questions and defined the nature of the university brand.

Phase Three: The creative team developed a creative brief and messaging strategies as well as visual style direction.

Phase Four: The planning team is communicating the brand to the university community and the public at large.

Phase One – Establishing Project Teams

The planning team consisted of members of Public Affairs, Development and College of Communication, its Center for Brand Research, faculty and students. Led by the Center for Brand Research, this core group met weekly to plan, review and discuss direction of the project. Other teams were established to handle various parts of the project, including a research team, a creative team, a Web development team and brand “advocates,” enthusiastic supporters who were responsible for developing the material and informing the university community about the brand.

Phase Two – Discovery and Research

Once the team was assembled, the group was ready to articulate the vision, mission and values of the university. Notes from previous pre-branding discussions, presidential speeches and initiative reports, a public phone survey, an online alumni survey and the Commission of 125 report that outlined recommendations for how the university should move forward on a tactical level were collected and reviewed.

Highlights from the Commission of 125 report and goals set by Dr. Larry R. Faulkner guided the team. Faulkner’s vision was that of a university that would be competitive with the best universities in the nation. His report focused on:

• The quality of programs and the university as a technology leader.
• Stronger relationships with external groups such as the public school system, citizens of the nation and businesses in the private sector, particularly in nanotechnology and biomedical engineering.
• The university as a financial asset to the state, generating annual business activity of up to $5.7 billion, contributing up to $45 million to the Texas economy through its student population and $1.4 billion in research and out-of-state funding.
• The fact that strong academic leadership in departments and research centers is a hallmark of the nation's finest universities.
• The goal of recruiting superior scholars and researchers who were proven leaders, giving them the authority and resources with which to lead and holding them accountable for the outcome.

The final recommendation of 16 made by the commission stated that the university’s communications efforts must convey the value of higher education to society. In addition, the university should clarify its key strengths and distinctive character and devise ways to communicate them more coherently and consistently to its constituencies at all levels.

The team also reviewed a wide spectrum of research, including statewide and national surveys, comparative studies and focus groups with faculty, students and staff. They synthesized these findings into a brand strategy they passed to the creative team.

Phase Three – Creative Development

The creative team played with ideas of Austin’s unique culture, the university’s strengths and an honest reflection of the experience of being on campus. They knew the message needed to differentiate the university from its peers and, most important, inspire the staff, students and faculty.

In fall 2004, the creative team presented the line “What starts here changes the world.” This line captured the importance of the work being done on campus and the university’s position as a force for positive change around the globe.

Phase Four – Introducing the Brand

One of the first venues for showing off the brand was through the NCAA television spots, which premiered in fall 2004. Austin advertising firm GSD&M helped articulate the idea of What Starts Here… in a series of 30- second halftime spots. The next phase of the project was to share the new brand messaging with the university community. The team decided a “soft launch” approach that allowed the brand to be discovered instead of imposed would be best. The brand needed to be owned by the university community, supported, endorsed and used by members of the community.

To get the message out to the wider community, this Web site was developed to serve as an overview of the entire branding process. as well as offer a toolkit for communicators on campus to understand the positioning and help them integrate the ideas into their own communications.