Category Archives: EMU Branding

Once again, I am overlooked

Posted on April 29, 2012 by | 20 Comments

Marty TRUEMUAs Heritage Newspapers reported, “New campaign at Eastern Michigan University features faculty excellence.”  To quote the press release/article:

The Office of Marketing for Eastern Michigan University has launched its second phase of TRUEMU. The campaign focuses on faculty excellence.

“This phase of our campaign is designed to focus on our faculty all-stars,” said Ted Coutilish, vice president for marketing and promotions, “to showcase their individuality and really, really show the university through different perspectives.”

I’m happy to see this fine picture of my friend and colleague.  Still, I’m disappointed that my own contribution to the TRUEMU campaign hasn’t been turned into a light post banner.

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Posted in College Fun, EMU Branding, Faculty Life, In the media...

EMU’s “top ten” improvements

Posted on February 19, 2012 by | 36 Comments

I came across this via my Google news feed, but it’s also here on the EMU page:  “Top 10 improvements over the past 10 years at Eastern Michigan University include beautification of campus, new Student Center, safety and security, according to campus poll.”  According to the press release:

Working with the Division of Communications, the Institutional Accreditation Team asked members of the campus community to vote on what they thought the top 10 improvements are over the past 10 years. More than 300 responses were received in the online poll.

That’s a methodology that makes me wonder, but okay.  What’s the top 10, you ask?  In no particular order:

  • EMU Student Center
  • Ethos Week-College of Business
  • Improved IT
  • Campus Beautification
  • Online Business Services
  • Need-base Financial Aid
  • Academic Projects Center
  • University Marketing and Branding
  • Service EMU
  • Campus Safety and Security

It’s kind of a curious list to me.  Some of this stuff I know almost nothing about, some of this stuff I would agree are significant (I would probably put the student center on a list like this), and some of these are things that, well, I don’t agree with.  And then there are other things that aren’t on the list that are probably pretty significant changes.

Anyway, what would folks out there put on a top 10 or so list?

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Posted in EMU Branding, In the media...

EMU makes “Military Friendly” Schools list

Posted on November 10, 2011 by | Leave a comment

Sure, this is a PR story that was sent to me by Geoff “Geoff” Larcom, but as Veteran’s day approaches, it seems a story worth sharing.  According to GI Jobs magazine EMU is ranked as a “military friendly” university.  Here’s a quote from the press release:

Eastern Michigan University has been named one of the country’s top “military friendly” schools by GI Jobs magazine for 2012. The magazine’s list recognizes the 15 percent of universities and colleges that best serve veterans nationwide. The full list is at http://www.militaryfriendlyschools.com/mfsList.aspx

“Our student veterans have earned our thanks and gratitude for serving our country,” said Bernice Lindke, vice president for student affairs and enrollment management at EMU.  ”I am glad that Eastern Michigan University is able to recognize their service by providing them with a welcoming and supportive environment.”

Criteria for making the list included efforts to recruit and retain military and veteran students, financial commitment to veterans and academic accreditation.

For what it’s worth, I have some colleagues in my field– both ex-military and both teaching at military academies now– who put together a special issue of a journal called Kairos about “Rhetoric, Technology, and the Military.”  Some folks here might be interested in checking that out.

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Posted in Academics, EMU Branding, Student Life

Proof that we should have been the Emus a long time ago

Posted on October 26, 2011 by | 4 Comments

A loyal EMUTalk.org reader sent me this first page of an interesting little article the other day, something I think of as a bit of a “smoking gun” in the never-ending discussion about EMU’s mascot.  From way back in April 1991 (I think) comes at least part of the column “Call them the Emus of EMU” by then Ann Arbor News sports editor/now EMU PR/media guy Geoff Larcom.  That link will open a PDF of the clipping.

I am assuming this is referring to some kind of survey/poll conducted by Larcom et al around the name change.  It doesn’t look like there was a whole lot of voters here, but the mascot winner back then by a landslide was the Emu.  Which again makes me wonder: how the heck did we end up as eagles?

Incidentally, second place was “the Hurons,” though not necessarily after the American Indian tribe.  A quote:

[John Bulmer] prefers that name ["The Hurons"]: “1. In honor of the lovely river of that name that flows by the campus; 2. In honor of the Huron valley, in which EMU is located; and 3. It’s a practical name that comes from the name of the main street that runs from I-94 and downtown Ypsilanti to the lovely EMU campus.”

Oh, if EMU had only listened to Larcom and his readers so long ago….

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Posted in College Fun, EMU Branding, EMU Images, In the media...

My own parody/contribution to the TRUEMU campaign

Posted on August 12, 2011 by | 6 Comments

Just a chance to play around with some imaging software.  And kidding, of course….

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Posted in EMU Branding, EMU Images

Let the critiques in the form of ironic parodies begin

Posted on August 10, 2011 by | 14 Comments

This in today from Geoff Larcom (with my favorite part in bold italics):

To EMU students,  faculty and staff:

Eastern Michigan University will unveil its a new messaging campaign at 11 a.m. tomorrow (Thursday, Aug. 11) on the stage in the Student Center food court area.

The first 100 people to attend will receive a free T-shirt promoting the new campaign theme.

The campaign will soon be visible on billboards, online and print ads, campus posters, and television and radio commercials, as part of an integrated effort to unite the university’s student recruitment, image and athletics messaging under a single theme. The new materials feature EMU students and faculty and are from their point of view.

The development of the campaign was led by EMU’s Marketing Department in the Division of Communications. The student-driven process included the review of 11 initial concepts. The concepts were presented in discussion groups and displayed over a three-week period at the EMU Student Center Admissions Office, where current and prospective students and their families had the opportunity to review, make comments and select favorites.

Universities in SE Michigan have dramatically increased efforts to attract prospective students in recent years. This campaign reflects Eastern’s commitment to spreading the word about our outstanding students, faculty, staff, programs and campus in order to continue build on our positive momentum and growth.

The new campaign theme supports “Education First,” which is Eastern’s overall brand promise.

OMG.

It’s bad enough that we have to think of a university’s “brand” the same way that we think of a brand of toothpaste or automobile or fast food product.  The idea that we’re going to somehow unite “Education First” with “First and Ten” is rather rich, and I’m quite impressed with marketing’s efforts to spring for 100 t-shirts, too.

We’ll see how this evolves, but is anyone out there up for a counter/protest campaign?  Maybe one that highlights employees who were fired and/or thrown under the bus in the recent effort at holding down expenses yet again?  I mean, there’s no reason why what sounds like a fake social media marketing campaign has to stay completely fake, right?

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Posted in EMU Branding, EMU Events, Staff Life

“EMU sees growth in number of students, credit hours”

Posted on January 30, 2011 by | 2 Comments

From annarbor.com comes “Eastern Michigan University sees growth in number of students, credit hours.” Here’s a long quote which for me highlights both the good news, the fuzzy news, and the potentially bad news:

EMU enrollment has grown by nearly 7 percent over the last two years, Martin said.

That includes a 2.74 percent growth in the number of students enrolled for the winter semester, compared to the same semester last year. The university has 22,159 students enrolled as of the middle of January.

There’s also been a nearly 2 percent increase in the number of credit hours students are taking compared to the same time last year.

Martin credits that growth to the school’s “zero, zero, zero” campaign, which included no increase in tuition, fees or room and board for this school year.

However, the growth is short of the 3.4 percent growth in credit hours EMU projected it would have in its budget for this year.

For me, the good news is clear:  EMU is growing, and I think that’s a good thing.  I’m all for it.

But the fuzzy news is the 0/0/0% campaign.  President Martin (and all the other suits, of course) credit this move for raising enrollment, but as far as I can tell, they have no evidence to this.  I mean, has anyone even done something as basic as a survey where they ask newly enrolled students about the part the 0/0/0% campaign played in their decision to come to EMU?

Maybe it’s a factor, but maybe not.  I think as likely a cause for the increase in enrollment is the bad economy and the generally good press that EMU has received over the last couple years that has nothing to do with 0/0/0%– the first popular and seemingly sane permanent president the university has had in at least a decade, no murders or other extreme campus problems, forward-looking building projects, no faculty strike, etc. etc.

The bad news?  Well, two bits of bad news, it seems to me.  First, even if we give the 0/0/0% move the bulk of the credit for increasing enrollment at EMU, it didn’t work as planned because for the books to balance as the administration wanted, we needed an increase of 3.4% in enrollment this year.  Second, no one is expecting anything but tuition and fee increases next year; so, if that happens, doesn’t it seem likely that EMU might see some fall in enrollment?

Actually, that might be the way to retroactively get an answer to the question of the success of 0/0/0%:  if EMU raises tuition and fees next year and we see more than a 2.7% increase in enrollment, then isn’t as likely/more likely to argue that those increases were the cause?

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Posted in Administrator Life, EMU Branding, In the media..., Student Life

EMU 0/0/0 makes McPaper

Posted on May 25, 2010 by | Leave a comment

It’s not much of a story, quite frankly, but exposure in USA Today is always a good thing:  “Public colleges, universities grapple with tuition hikes.”  The comments on this piece don’t exactly speak highly for themselves….

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Posted in EMU Branding, In the media...

“Yes, there IS a FREE lunch:” All-Campus Picnic May 20

Posted on May 12, 2010 by | Leave a comment

I meant to post this a couple days ago, but I guess I forgot; plenty of time to plan ahead though.  From Geoffrey “Geoff” Larcom comes this announcement/invitation to be in an ad for the 0-0-0 campaign:

Free food, fun and 0-0-0: Faculty, staff, students invited to “Yes, There IS a FREE Lunch,” All-Campus Picnic

“Yes, There IS a FREE Lunch,” but that’s not the only reason to stop by the Student Center on Thursday, May 20. Celebrate Eastern Michigan’s 0-0-0 percent freeze on tuition and fees, room and board at an all-campus picnic hosted by President Susan Martin at the Student Center patio from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Everyone who attends will have the chance to participate in a photo and video shoot for a new Eastern TV commercial at 12:30 p.m. beside the patio. We’re not going to give the whole plan away, but we need a large number of people, and some of the spot will be filmed from the roof of the Student Center! There will be a free, commemorative gift for every attendee, as well as free hot dogs, chips and soft drinks, along with games and a D.J.
See you there!
(Rain date is Monday, May 24, same time.)

I will be out of town actually; I guess I won’t be in a commercial and/or receive a “free, commemorative gift,” which I am assuming is PR-speak for “t-shirt.”

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Posted in College Fun, EMU Branding, EMU Events

In the “there’s no such thing as bad publicity” department

Posted on March 2, 2010 by | 6 Comments

An alert EMUTalk.org reader emailed me today about an article in the New York Times, “Digital Billboards, Diversions Drivers Can’t Escape,” which, as the headline suggests, is about these new digital billboards and if they are (or aren’t) dangerous.  But by coincidence (I presume), this article features prominently an EMU “Explore Eastern” ad on an electronic billboard on I-75:

Explore EMU Billboard

Go figure. It’s news in Michigan because the state legislature is considering a moratorium on the building of new digital billboards in the state.

Frankly, I think the “dangers” of these billboards are over-stated, certainly compared to texting while driving, but that’s perhaps another discussion….

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Posted in EMU Branding, In the media..., State Government