Golden Arches. The Nike swoosh. X.
These iconic symbols of well-known companies make us feel a certain way when we see or hear them mentioned. They tap into our emotions, our past or current experiences with them, and perhaps reveal what we one day aspire to have or become.
That immediate reaction is what marketers consider an essential part of an institution’s “brand" — the overall "gut feeling" you have when you heard an institution’s name, see its logo, use its product or interact with the institution in a direct or indirect way.
This year, UHD’s University Relations (UR) is launching an ambitious project: A rebranding of UHD.
Why is this ambitious? Because it’s a major undertaking and process consisting of many elements, personnel, time and information gathering and review. But the “why” of this rebrand it is not hard to understand. In order to stay relevant and successful, all institutions – including universities such as UHD - need to assess and re-evaluate how it is regarded by the people who use it (our students, faculty and staff) or how they can better attract new customers and achieve a higher public regard and viability.
What happens when brands don’t adjust, stay on top of their games and essentially stagnate? Consider the history of Sears. This company, which started as Sears Roebuck in Chicago in 1893, was once the largest retailer in America. At its peak in 2011, there were more than 2,700 Sears stores. As of March 2025, according to CBS News, only eight stores remain. Stiff competition from Walmart, Target and on-line, e-commerce giant Amazon ate away at its dominance. Sears didn’t adjust with the times and filed for bankruptcy in 2018. It is unlikely to return to its former glory.
This is why UHD needs to review and refocus. We need to develop a new tagline (Preliminary data shows that our current tagline – Determined. Dedicated. Downtown. – does not have the resonance and effectiveness we now desire.) Our brand color palette and fonts can be enlivened. Our logo also can be re-examined and possibly rethought, and our overall look and feel on and off campus can be upgraded and expanded.
The first step is to know where we are and where we should go. That’s called a brand and perception survey, and UR is asking for your thoughts on this. Please be sure to participate in the survey by clicking the link below. Your information is needed for demographic info., but your answers won’t be shared with anyone.
After that, we’ll conduct focus groups, take suggestions for new taglines and develop visual updates as part of the rebranding process. Much of it will take place in the spring and summer of 2026. Then, we expect to do a soft launch and testing of the new UHD brand and components by next fall, if all proceeds as planned.
It’s all going to be very exciting. Please join us on this journey to a fresher and better UHD.
Click Here to take the survey now!