UM spending $200K to develop brand

President Royce Engstrom gave a homework assignment to attendees of Tuesday's University Council meeting: Think about the strengths of the University of Montana. What does the school mean to you?

These answers will help the University define its brand. The plan is to spend around $200,000 to hire an outside consulting firm to work with administrators, faculty and students over the next year to develop a cohesive marketing strategy, said Beth Hammock, vice president for strategic communication and marketing at the UM Foundation. She added that this should help recruit new students and faculty, increase alumni engagement and attract more philanthropic and legislative support.

Hammock said individual departments currently tend to have their own marketing messages. She gave the example of the UM Foundation, which has a different logo than the University.

"We support the University of Montana, so perhaps we should have the same look and feel," she said.

Engstrom has appointed a committee of 20 people headed by Hammock and Provost Perry Brown to oversee the hiring of an outside firm to take on the project. Proposals are due Monday; then the committee will evaluate the firm's plans and reach a decision by Nov. 23.

"We are going to weigh the proposed bids on their cost and the overall quality of the people who are wanting to do the work for us," Hammock said.

The task of developing a brand should be completed by June 30. Hammock said UM will also seek the advice of other universities, such as Oregon State University and the University of Texis at Austin, which have recently gone through a similar process.

amy.sisk@umontana.edu