Buckle up! This one's a doozy.
Client: Texas A&M University System Chancellor
Role: Magician
January 25 - Thursday A.M.
After five months of planning, the RELLIS Campus launched with its original logo picture up top. The three bars were part of the style guidelines and acted as a motif. The digital assets were completed for distribution, and the paid media awareness campaign was launched.
January 25 - Thursday P.M.
We returned from the media event, and my supervisor mentioned the Chancellor wanted to change the logo. I laughed thinking it was a joke. Then my laugh trailed and I asked if he was serious.
January 31
The RELLIS logo was relaunched and the paid media resumed with updated assets.
Reasoning
The Chancellor believed the RELLIS logo would be better with Texas A&M University representation.
Plan of Action / tactics
- Closed my office door and threw something. (I forgot what it was.)
- Paused active digital campaigns
- Conceptualized alternatives
- Coordinated with agency to fast track new marks
- Presented alternatives
- Coordinated with agency to prioritize and update all assets, including website
- Resume campaigns
- Took a mental health day
results
We knew having A&M in the RELLIS logo would cause brand and service confusion. There was a silver lining to the brand confusion - it sparks dialogue and provides an opportunity to educate and reposition RELLIS as a separate brand.
For the CORPORATE and RESEARCH audience, this brand confusion and education opportunity were less stressful to promote in words and from the frontline representatives. This side benefited from the brand confusion.
For the DEGREE-SEEKING STUDENTS, the brand confusion was disappointing, and the education opportunity sometimes retained interest. The recruiters had a large workload already, so requiring them to squash misconceptions and educate within every conversation was laborious.
- New communication and brand awareness methods were needed to curtail the energy and time recruiters were spending on the brand confusion