CHALLENGE/
York County Community College (YCCC) is the youngest of seven community colleges in the Maine Community College System. The school opened its doors in 1995, and due to its relative youth and a significant number of leadership changes, has struggled to find a distinct identity and gain their desired recognition as a destination of choice for college students in their market. Their new President began his tenure in early 2020 and immediately sought a full-service agency that could create a resonating brand for YCCC and deliver affiliated campaigns and solutions that could drive engagement and enrollments. After vetting several agencies, YCCC chose The Pink Collective to redefine their brand, elevate their image and increase enrollments.
SOLUTION/
Through our Discovery process, we were able to identify their most resonating value propositions as a viable and desirable Higher Education institution in their region. Supplemented with additional market research, the Pink team was able to evaluate competitors and evaluate how the college was perceived by a variety of stakeholders in their region. Through an extensive process of due diligence which included surveys, interviews and focus groups, we constructed a brand story that led us to a rebranding campaign highlighted by the impact statement: Find the Fearless You. The statement and affiliated campaign development were designed to reflect the realities of the student journey juxtaposed with the real time realities of Covid-19. The campaign encouraged prospective students to ignore perceived limitations and excuses for not moving forward with their higher education, and instead choose YCCC where they could take advantage of campus resources, programs and student support to make college and a future career possible. Find the Fearless You also served as an internal call to action for the staff and faculty at YCCC. They did not have to be the youngest, less recognized sibling of their Maine sister schools. They were in fact a boldly effective institution of higher learning, with an evolved image and brand that reflected the fearlessness and confidence of their new leadership. With the Higher Education experience and enrollment solutions of the Pink team, the campaign was enhanced by providing YCCC with Admissions support, digital media execution, and graphic design to bring both the campaign a new school mascot to life.
Client
- York County Community College
Services
- Visual Identity
- Website
- Brand Strategy
- Campaign Development
- Digital Marketing
- Admissions Support
- Marketing/Admissions Management Technology