Why Branding is Important

As The University of Alabama competes for students, funding and donations, the strength of our marketing communications is increasingly important. One of the basic components of a strong, institutional marketing-communications effort is a unified graphic identity.

To keep UA at the forefront of 21st-century higher education and to maintain a strong and positive image, it’s important to have defined and unified brand standards to which the Alabama family conforms. Forbes magazine’s Jerry McLaughlin defines “branding” as “everything the public thinks it knows about your name brand offering — both factual and emotional. Your brand name exists objectively; people can see it. It’s fixed. But your brand exists only in someone’s mind.” The University of Alabama is more than a logo or a word mark; it is everything one thinks about the brand. And brand standards uphold, enhance and positively project The University of Alabama name and reputation.

The University of Alabama brand, in that sense, is a compilation of everything we say and do, what we broadcast to the world, and the connections we form with our constituents, including prospective and current students, faculty and staff, parents, alumni, friends and stakeholders.

UA is a dynamic institution made up of many parts, each one working to accomplish its own individual goals in an effort to further the broader University of Alabama mission of both unique and exemplary educational opportunities and developing exceptional and successful alumni. While our athletic brand is widely recognized in the world of collegiate sports, UA as a whole is comprised of many more departments, institutions, groups and constituencies. Promoting consistency for the University brand has a dual purpose: It unifies the UA family, setting us all on a shared path of helping the Capstone achieve excellence, and ensures people everywhere associate the Alabama name with strength and distinction.

If you have any questions regarding brand guidelines, please email brandapproval@ua.edu.