The message the College of Agriculture has begun to use is, "This is the work that makes the world work."
Josh Woods, communications and marketing director for the College of Agriculture, said the students believe they are improving the world.
"What we learned is that the people here are really passionate about what they do, and what they've accomplished is something that is making the world a better place," Woods said.
This is the underlying message that travels alongside the visual rebranding they have recently launched. Along with a new website, the college has designed new recruitment pieces and plans to have a new magazine.
The rebranding process began in March 2013 when Woods started studying a market research analysis of focus groups, interviews and surveys to find out how people perceived the college.
After viewing the results several times, Woods noticed a trend.
"Our challenge is not one of a lack of visibility," Woods said. "We're just misunderstood. People have a pretty accurate perspective of our college, it's just incredibly narrow."
Michelle Bufkin, senior in agricultural communications and ambassador for the College of Agriculture, said she saw how this realization caused the college to focus more on non-traditional farming.
"Everybody thinks farming means standing out in a field," Bufkin said. "It's a lot more than that. It's a lot of research. It's a lot of science-based curriculum."
To convey these aspects, the college looked to stakeholders such as students, alumni and professors.
"Rather than bombarding people with more information of who we are and what we do, we are proactively marketing why we do it," Woods said.
The rebranding ideas underwent several trials through internal and external audiences, receiving a range of perspectives and criticisms to help weed out weaknesses in the concepts.
The college then launched its new message, "The work that makes the world work," in the summer. Then focused shifted to media, with a new website launching in October.
Woods said the challenge is reaching a ranged of audiences with a unified image.
"It doesn't just rebrand an academic institution, it rebrands an entire industry," Woods said. "The world's largest industry."
Mary Catherine Gaston, communication specialist for the College of Agriculture, works mainly with integrating the new brand into news releases, feature stories and social media. She believes the new message has power in its simplicity and authenticity.
"It's such a simple thing to say, 'This is our work,' but it's so powerful in this context, and I love that about our new brand because it is a reflection of our people," Gaston said. "It builds on Auburn University's brand message, 'This is Auburn.' Our message takes that a step further and helps people understand that this is Auburn, and this is what we do."
Woods said their message continues to evolve.
"A brand is a living, breathing thing. It continues to grow," Woods said. "We have a unified voice that ties everything within our college together."
Do you like this story? The Plainsman doesn't accept money from tuition or student fees, and we don't charge a subscription fee. But you can donate to support The Plainsman.
