Brand Case Study: Smith Involvement Fair
The University of Maryland's Smith School of Business had an event each semester, the "Smith Club Showcase," that needed stronger brand recognition. Same event; changed attitudes. The Smith Undergraduate Student Association led a complete event rebrand, increasing event awareness by over 90% of students.
Scope
Why doesn't Smith have its own First Look Fair?
Freshman at the University of Maryland wanted the
business school to have its own version of the
University's the annual club tabling showcase.
"We do!" they replied: The business school already had something similar to the First Look Fair, titled "Smith Club Showcase," but students did not see the parallels. SUSA strategized to change this event's marketing materials to change the perceptions increase student involvement
Challenges
Tried that. Didn't work. In Smith Club Showcase's first years, the advertising team used promotions such as "The First Look Fair of Smith." This created confusion as freshmen could not create a distinction between SUSA's business school event and the annual First Look Fair. As a result, our team could not create marketing materials that were too similar.
Tight deadline. Our team had ideated and executed this total rebrand in under two weeks.
Changing the title
Eliminating "Smith Club Showcase" to highlight involvement
Use of icons
Reflecting the aesthetic
of the "First Look Fair"
Similar Tagline
This event's tagline was similar to "Find Your Thing"
Approach
What are the current market attitudes? I led my project marketing managers in designing a survey that gaged present perceptions on whether or not students believe Smith has its own "First Look Fair." The overwhelming response: "No."
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Let's brainstorm! I facilitated a brainstorming workshop to develop a new title, tagline, signage ideas, and promotional channels to market this "new" event.
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We have to change the title: Our title, "Smith Involvement Fair," was similar enough to First Look Fair that drew psychological connections for students without confusion.
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Let's copy the messaging: Our tagline, "Find Your Niche in Business," alluded to the First Look Fair's tagline, "Find Your Thing."
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First Look Fair used icons, so let's do that: The icons and overall display aesthetic resembled but did not copy the First Look Fair flier. As a result, individuals could tell they were different events when displayed right next to each other.
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Using exclusively digital distribution channels isn't enough! Distribution channels switched from exclusively being online to also using print marketing ​tactics similar to how First Look Fair advertised themselves.
Results
After sending a post-event survey to all freshmen at the University, over 90% of students agreed with the statement, "I feel the Robert H. Smith School of Business has its own version of the University's First Look Fair." Even if students did not personally attend the event, the brand visibility skyrocketed as students could easily identify the event's purpose and its context.
