This letter was written in response to an article published in the May 1 edition of The Spectrum entitled, “The branding initiative.”
Dear Editor,
Thank you for The Spectrum’s thorough article last week about the university’s recently launched identity and brand strategy initiative. The article did an excellent job in describing the objectives of the initiative, and why this is absolutely the right strategy for UB to pursue at this point in its history.
Our goal from the start has been to ensure this initiative is as inclusive as possible, and the enthusiasm and support from students, faculty, staff and alumni has truly been remarkable. In particular, I was very pleased that 1,167 students from all schools and departments took time from their busy schedules this month to complete a survey about their perceptions of UB. Student feedback is invaluable as together we identify the distinctive strengths of UB and begin telling the world who we are, what we do and why it matters.
By involving all segments of the university community, our goal is to develop an identity and brand strategy that will benefit the entire university in several ways, including strengthening the university’s reputation, building pride in UB and building connections between schools and departments across the institution.
For students, a strengthened university reputation can help build pride in the university around the world and enhance opportunities for internships, jobs and graduate study. As we move forward with the initiative over the next several months, the UB community will be given additional opportunities to collaborate in articulating what makes UB distinctive and what messages most authentically tell the UB story.
For example, our newly launched brand website, www.buffalo.edu/brand, provides a way for you to contact us with your thoughts, opinions and feedback. This website will be updated regularly with news about the initiative’s progress.
I look forward to continued engagement with the university community, and I am very appreciative of the enthusiastic support we have received so far for this important work.
Sincerely,
Nancy Paton
UB Vice President for University Communications
