Brand personality, voice and tone

Put simply, our college’s brand may be defined as what comes to mind when you think about Augustana. Our brand is what the college stands for. 

A strong brand is one that may be consistently recognized across an institution’s primary audiences, and articulated well by those in the college community. A strong brand helps create positive impressions that align well with the college’s personality, mission and strategic goals. 

Brand voice

Augustana’s brand voice or tone can be thought of as the cumulative voice of the people who comprise our Augustana community, including current students, faculty and staff, community partners and alumni.

Our brand voice/tone also reflects Augustana’s brand personality, which we can summarize as: 

1. welcoming, supportive, caring, affirming
2. curious, investigative, open to new discovery
3. collaborative, creative, intelligent, innovative

(Learn more about our brand personality in the brand archetypes section below.)

Members of the Augustana community often communicate using a tone that combines any of these aspects of our brand personality, depending on the message’s purpose and the audience(s) it serves. 

Our audiences

Communicating using the voice of our brand is especially important with our primary audiences:

1. Prospective students and families
2. Alumni and donors
3. Reputation influencers: Quad Cities community and higher ed leaders

These audiences receive priority attention from staff in Augustana’s Office of Communication and Marketing.

When we communicate with each other across campus, from campus newsletters, to invitations, to announcements, we also have a responsibility to carry Augustana’s brand in the voice and tone we use. This becomes especially true when we remember that we are the ones who fulfill and reflect our college mission and the work of our strategic plans.

Secondary audiences include:

1. Current students and their families
2. All employees of the college
3. External partners
4. The Augustana College Board of Trustees

Members of the college community outside the Office of Communication & Marketing often handle messaging for secondary audiences, sometimes equipped with tips and resources from the C&M staff.

Brand archetypes

Augustana’s brand personality is strongly established within three of these archetypes. Do you know which?

Note: Brand archetype colors are not to be confused with a school’s colors, such as blue and gold. 

Conveying brand personality

In both voice and tone, we want to convey these characteristics of our personality.

As we communicate about Augustana, we never want to come across as “beige.” We want to use language that expresses our distinctive brand personality, clearly and memorably, for all audiences.

Here are examples of how to move from beige messaging to purple, green and yellow/orange messaging.

BEIGE: We received a record $15 million in research awards this year.

PURPLE: This year’s $15 million in research awards is a new record, and it’s an open invitation: join us in the good work needed for a better world.

GREEN: When you ask better questions, you get better results—like our record-setting $15 million in research awards this year. 

ORANGE: This year we brought in a record-setting $15 million in research awards, equipping our faculty and students to imagine new solutions, and collaborate to get there.

YELLOW: At Augustana, we have a history of making uncommon connections to solve new problems. This year, to advance our innovative work we brought in a record $15 million in research awards. Genius.

Boilerplate

A boilerplate is a standardized summary that can be used to describe Augustana in publications, media releases and other communications.

About Augustana College

Augustana College is a private, liberal arts institution founded in 1860, located in Rock Island, Ill., in the Quad Cities (pop. 475,000). Augustana offers 100+ majors and related academic programs leading to the B.A. in the humanities, fine arts, social sciences and STEM fields; an ABET-accredited B.S. in engineering; and pre-professional programs from medicine to law. Nationally recognized for innovation, Augustana is affiliated with Trinity College of Nursing & Health Sciences, expanding healthcare education and leadership in the region. In the Quad Cities, Augustana students benefit from hands-on, career-building learning experiences; apply their talents and expertise to community needs; and enjoy the vibrant culture along the Mississippi River.