Marketing and Communication

Scope

All university units.

Back to top

Policy Statement

The following provisions apply to marketing and communication (M&C) activities at Indiana University:

1. University-Level
   
   • University-level M&C activities are solely the responsibility of IU Communications and its staff. Such activities include the broad marketing of the university and university communications.
   • These activities should take place in the context of the university M&C strategy, the development of which is also a responsibility of IU Communications in conjunction with relevant stakeholders.
   • IU Communications is also responsible for providing chargeable Marketing services throughout the university, through its full-service internal marketing agency. It is preferred that units should utilize these services to drive effectiveness and efficiencies and to ensure a consistent and coherent brand identity across the university.
2. Campus-Level
   • Campus-level M&C activities and strategy must take place in the context of the overall university M&C strategy and adhere to the themes and principles of this strategy.
   • M&C strategies for individual campuses should be developed but they must be seen as supplements to the main university M&C strategy.
   • IU Communications and its staff are solely responsible for campus-level M&C activities and strategy development at IUB and IUPUI, in consultation with the Provost or Chancellor.
   • Regional campuses may need their own staff for M&C activities and strategy development to achieve their campus goals, but should consult with IU Communications when recruiting and hiring such staff. They should also utilize IU Communications services wherever possible and rigorously avoid the duplication of these services. Regional campus chancellors are responsible for ensuring this happens.
3. School-Level
   • School-level M&C activities must take place in the context of the overall university M&C strategy, and where relevant campus M&C strategies, and adhere to their themes and principles.
   • Individual schools should have M&C strategies but these must be seen as supplements to the main university M&C strategy and where relevant, the campus M&C strategy (or “strategies” for core schools).
   • Under RCM, schools may have their own staff for M&C activities and strategy development, but should consult with IU Communications when recruiting and hiring such staff. They should utilize IU Communications services wherever possible and rigorously avoid the duplication of these services. Deans are responsible for ensuring this happens.
4. Other Academic Units
   • M&C activities at the level of academic units must take place in the context of the overall university, and where relevant, campus or school M&C strategies, and adhere to their themes and principles.
   • M&C strategies for individual units may be developed but they must be seen as supplements to the main university M&C strategy and where relevant, the campus or school M&C strategies.
   • Academic units may have their own staff for M&C activities and strategy development (for example where this is funded through an external grant), but they should utilize IU Communications services wherever possible and rigorously avoid the duplication of these services. Deans and units heads are responsible for ensuring this happens.
5. Non-Academic Units
   • M&C activities at the level of non-academic non-revenue generating units that report to the provost or a vice president should take place only where there is a clear need for these activities. They must also take place in the context of the overall university, and where relevant, campus, school or academic unit M&C strategies, and adhere to their themes and principles.
   • M&C strategies for non-academic units may be developed but they must be seen as supplements to the main university M&C strategy, and where relevant, campus, school or academic strategies.
   • Non-academic units must evaluate the option of “contracting” with IU Communications for all their Marketing needs. Where they have justifiable needs for their own staff for M&C activities and strategy development, they should consult with IU Communications when recruiting and hiring such staff. They should nevertheless still utilize IU Communications services wherever possible and rigorously avoid the duplication of these services. The provost and vice presidents are responsible for ensuring this happens.
6. Brand Guidelines and the Indiana University Logo
   • All marketing and communications – print and digital – must follow Indiana University brand guidelines to enable the university community to tell the IU story in a consistent, compelling, and authentic way.  
   • Per university brand guidelines, there is only one Indiana University logo: the IU trident.  As the foundational element of the university’s visual identity, the iconic trident is the unifying symbol that represents all campuses, schools, and units and should appear on all materials.  
   • Individual unit logos for any entity of the university – including centers and institutes – are generally not permitted.  (A limited number of exceptions exist for units that are funded outside of the university, are part of a multi-institution partnership, or whose primary target audience consists of other colleges and universities. Any exceptions must be approved by IU Marketing leadership.) Separate and unfamiliar logos do not serve the interests of the unit or the university, add to the complexity of communications, and can confuse audiences.  Individual units must use the IU logo to represent their unit – through Marketing Lockups and Official Signatures – to leverage the collective strength of a unified brand. 
7. Marketing Budget Deliverables
   • Starting in 2014, the Office of the Vice President and Chief Financial Officer and IU Communications partnered to establish a Marketing budgeting process. The process has significantly improved Marketing spend tracking across the university. The process also informs strategic planning and helps drive longer term Marketing effectiveness and efficiencies for the university.
   • Marketing budget deliverables are for Marketing only, not combined for M&C and other activities.
   • For IU budgeting and tracking, Marketing will be defined as any owned or paid media where:
     • IU is strategically targeting an "external" audience (i.e. prospective students, alumni),
     • IU controls 100% of the message development, and
     • IU controls 100% of the media placement
   • Units must submit
     • IU Strategic Marketing Plan Template (provides a consistent way to capture key strategic objectives and initiatives for upcoming year)
     • Marketing Budget Worksheet (requests budgeting by Marketing vehicle category and breakout of non-working vs. working spend)
     • Marketing Headcount Worksheet (attempts to identify all employees with Marketing responsibilities – minimum 25% of time focused on Marketing)
8. Consultants
   • Units should consult with IU Communications regarding proposals to engage M&C consultants.
   • Where there is a clear need for a unit to engage an M&C consultant, where possible a consultant already engaged in university or campus level M&C activity should be engaged.

Back to top

Reason for Policy

IU’s marketing and communications (M&C) activities are essential for the recruitment of excellent and qualified students as well as superb faculty and staff, attracting external funding, informing alumni of the university’s successes and achievements to help build and expand philanthropic support, and to inform the citizens and legislators of the state of the outstanding progress IU continues to make as the State’s flagship public university serving Indiana. These activities should be derived from a robust and dynamic university M&C strategy.

Indiana University is one of the State’s largest enterprises with enormous diversity in the units that comprise it and the heterogeneous nature of the various missions it pursues. This necessitates a hybrid structure for M&C activities at IU. These comprise a centralized core and closely coordinated activities that are associated with units at the different administrative levels of the university. However there is always the risk in a hybrid structure of conflicting or inappropriate messages, wasteful duplication and unnecessary expenditures. This policy will govern this structure and provide mechanisms for carefully controlling and monitoring costs.

Back to top

History

This policy was established in 2012 and updated in November 2013 to reflect the shift of responsibility from the Office of Public Affairs and Government Relations to IU Communications.

Policy number updated June 2014 from PAGR to COMM.

Policy number updated March 2015 to reflect responsibility of the Office of the Vice President for Engagement.

Updated April 2015 with changes to the requirements for marketing budget deliverables.

This policy was revised in 2017.

Previous Versions:

Effective Dates: 04/13/2015 - 08/07/2017

Back to top