Rebranding Initiative

Introduction

In 2022-23, University of Detroit Mercy (UDM) developed plans to initiate a three-phase marketing research and rebranding process to replace the Build a Boundless Future brand with a more emotive and connective brand that all UDM stakeholders will use with pride and that will allow each stakeholder to see themselves and their story in it.

This process entails an innovative strategy that does not follow the traditional mode of branding and research higher education institutions historically leaned on for the past 30 years or more. Generally, this old method of research and branding adheres to a cookie-cutter approach that consists of the following:

  1. Hire marketing research and branding firm.
  2. Identify stakeholder participants from alumni, staff, faculty, current students and prospective students.
  3. Benchmark other similar institutions.
  4. Engage in marketing research.
  5. Formulate new brand slogans.
  6. Test with university stakeholders.
  7. Introduce final slogan based on stakeholder voting and plan for launch.

During 2015-16, UDM engaged in a marketing research and rebranding effort with BD&E, based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The goal was to develop and introduce a compelling new brand in conjunction with the launch of a new website. However, the brand recommended by the firm was poorly conceived and failed to resonate with UDM stakeholders. In addition, the website redesign was not fully completed before the launch date despite expert recommendations by MarCom to wait until all content and taxonomy efforts were completed.

Based on a SWOT analysis, these two issues were the result of timing constraints imposed by the leadership at that time; incomplete/poorly run focus groups by the selected marketing firm; and poorly conceived and structured brand analysis and test groups. In the eight years since the Build A Boundless Future brand was launched, all UDM stakeholders report a lack of connection or pride in the brand, which often begs this question: What does the brand even mean?

This situation also speaks to the history of the institution following the merger with Mercy College of Detroit in 1990. Prior to 1990, the University was known as University of Detroit. Many University of Detroit alumni have long identified their alma mater as the University of Detroit or U of D, even after the consolidation and name change.

Mercy College of Detroit alumni also felt frustrated and slighted as they perceived Mercy College as “rescuing” U of D from financial straits. Although this consolidation was an important milestone in the institution’s history, the study, development and rollout of a new brand in 2015-16 that encapsulates the values, impact and importance of two highly respected institutions was short-sighted and improperly developed, thus contributing to a lack of identity for the University, which is still felt by its stakeholders today.

While no one element or actor is to blame for the inconclusive research effort undertaken by BD&E in 2015-16, some participants report that the selected firm did not have a full understanding of the Southeast Michigan region and the city of Detroit, Mercy College and U of D, or the history of the neighborhood in which we operate.

Additionally, Detroit’s resurgence since it declared bankruptcy in 2013 was not closely examined, nor was its connection to prospective students. Sadly, the agency took a cookie-cutter approach, which has resulted in a brand incapable of market penetration and unable to generate any concrete connection to alumni, faculty, staff, students, parents and the community at large. This has led to an identity crisis of sorts, as the institution struggles to understand and develop a clear sense of itself as one of the leading institutions of higher education in the state of Michigan and Midwest.

Despite efforts by the Marketing & Communications Department (MarCom), Enrollment Management and other offices to craft serviceable “bridge brands” (The World Needs Titans, Titans Are Boundless, etc.) in recent years and with some success, UDM leadership recognizes that a new, more emotionally connective core brand must be developed with input from all stakeholders if Detroit Mercy wishes to gain national prominence.

This historical context, combined with recent successes of UDM in securing major project and programmatic support, donor contributions and recognition for an array of initiatives, demands a unique approach that takes into consideration our institutional history, biases, diverse experiences and stakeholder input when working toward a new brand. As UDM approaches the institution’s 150th anniversary in 2027, there is every hope that the University will unveil a new brand that everyone can take pride in while celebrating the institutional birthday at the same time.

Three-Phase Research Process

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    Phase 1: Elevate, AJCU Research & The Wall Street Journal Insights Report

    Elevate

    In 2023, MarCom, in concert with Enrollment Management and Admissions, established a partnership and conducted in-depth research studies with Elevate, a national marketing research firm.

    As a national firm dedicated to client success, Elevate seeks truth through their research efforts as they work to provide clients opportunity for the kind of growth that has a ripple effect.

    The first study Elevate undertook for UDM was from November to December 2022. Participants were students who were accepted at UDM but did not enroll. A total of 405 students completed the survey. The study consisted of a short, quantitative survey coupled with a series of one-hour interviews with select students. In the spring of 2023, Enrollment Management and MarCom presented the results of this research to the President’s Council (PC) and University Leadership Council (ULC).

    Additionally, Enrollment Management and MarCom have worked to consistently apply concepts and recommendations from this study into the recruitment and marketing plans for the institution. We hope other members of the University community will take some time to review this information by visiting Elevate Study 1. Individuals seeking more information are welcome to contact the Marketing & Communications Department via email at marcom@udmercy.edu or erwingj@udmercy.edu.

    The second study undertaken by Elevate was conducted in January 2024. The goal of this study was to understand the critical drivers students and parents use in choosing a higher education institution. Additionally, UDM was interested in finding out which elements resonate with prospective students and parents. This study also included measurement of UDM branding assets currently in place and identifying those values of parents and students that align with UDM, the city of Detroit and desires of prospective students and parents. The survey also included a national study of parents of recent freshman and soon to be higher education students (ages 15 and over). MarCom and Enrollment Management shared results with the PC and ULC. Please take some time to review the results: Elevate Study 2.

    AJCU

    In the fall of 2023, Gary J. Erwin, AVP of Marketing & Communications, served as a committee member for the rebranding work undertaken by the Association of Jesuit Colleges & Universities for 2023-24. Following review of several proposals from national research firms, committee members recommended the selection of YES/Lipman Hearn to engage in an in-depth marketing research study and messaging project to help reposition the association and member schools. The focus of this project was to examine the values of Jesuit universities and colleges. The goal was to determine which values resonate with prospective students and develop new branding and messaging to connect with future students and their parents.  The final messaging approved by AJCU presidents in October 2024 and the association will be implemented in UDM marketing and is available here for review: AJCU new branding final messaging

    The Wall Street Journal/College Pulse Insights Report 2024 & 2025

    In the fall of 2023, UDM learned that the institution was ranked No. 52 in the nation by The Wall Street Journal/College Pulse national rankings. As a result, the institution received an in-depth examination study conducted by The WSJ/College Pulse that provides details concerning the reasons UDM ranked so highly. To inform this ranking, one of the largest-ever independent surveys of verified college students in the U.S. was conducted via College Pulse. In total, 60,953 students and recent alumni were surveyed online between January and May 2023. The data was weighted to the profile of the population of each college. For the student outcome, publicly available data was analyzed to measure the salary impact versus similar colleges, graduation rates versus similar colleges and price-to-earnings premium for a four-year degree. This allowed us to calculate the return on investment of obtaining a degree at a specific college and then comparing this return to the performance of similar colleges.

    The WSJ/College Pulse study included an opportunity for UDM to benchmark against four other institutions to provide a comparative analysis of how UDM did in contrast to Loyola University Chicago, Marquette University, Creighton University and University of Dayton. This analysis provides another important layer of information and suggests new ways that UDM can market the institution to prospective students and their parents. To review the WSJ/College Pulse analysis, please visit WSJ/College Pulse Insights Report 2024.

    Recently, UDM ranked No. 43 in The Wall Street Journal/Statista College Rankings for 2025, breaking the top 50 in the U.S. for the first time. In total, 112,084 students and alumni were surveyed. More than 1,500 colleges throughout the U.S. met eligibility criteria. In addition, the top 500 colleges in the country were awarded this year. For the 2025 rankings, UDM benchmarked against Loyola Maryland, Creighton University, Marquette and Loyola Chicago. To review the latest WSJ/Statista analysis, please visit WSJ/Statista Insights Report 2025.

    Research Analysis Summary, Key Words & Phrases

    Summaries of marketing research analysis, key words and phrases from prospective students, parents, community members, alumni and other UDM stakeholders are available in a shared folder here. This information highlights critical attributes UDM is currently layering into marketing and recruiting efforts today.

    Additional Research Materials

    In addition to the materials that will play important roles in the three-phase marketing research strategy, the MarCom department has also archived the following marketing research studies, reports, data and analysis used by Enrollment Management and MarCom when marketing UDM.

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    Phase 2: GreenHouse::Innovation Strategy Sessions

    Based on the merger of two institutions to form UDM in 1990, the University has suffered from what many alumni, friends, faculty, staff and students describe as a kind of “identity crisis.” While there are many factors that contribute to such a characterization, overcoming this identity crisis represents a significant challenge for UDM that requires a new and innovative way to break free. Such an approach requires everyone with a stake in UDM to look in the mirror and come to terms with difficult questions about the organization, its programs, departments and colleges, the biases regarding the institution held by all stakeholders and their own individual perceptions toward the University.

    GreenHouse::Innovation works to help connect organizations with thought leaders focused on social innovation to identify and tackle the hardest problems and design new models, frameworks and strategies for measurable change. The organization provides a portfolio of services ranging from innovation workshops, strategy design, innovation labs and customized experiences tailored to unique objectives. Members of the GreenHouse network are well equipped to have the “un-have-able” conversation; to challenge biases and overturn assumptions to help an organization see the true conditions of the problems it faces.

    GreenHouse believes the biggest breakthroughs and the most inspiring insights happen when great minds from diverse backgrounds come together to solve pressing challenges. GreenHouse utilizes a process called ​Innovation Dynamics™, a norms-busting approach to problem modeling​ ​​which helps organizations break free of cognitive patterns​, biases and long-held perceptions​ that​ ​resist and undermine​ true​ innovation​.​​

    Designed Thinking, which helps organizations break free of cognitive patterns that resist and undermine innovation and works from the ground up in an organization.

    In January 2024, UDM held an introductory strategy session conducted by GreenHouse with members of the University Leadership Council. The purpose of this session was to:

    • Identify norms holding in place beliefs, biases, opinions and the perceptions that inform them
    • Obtain a deeper understanding of conditions that must be created -- and norms that must be dismantled -- to change mindsets and behaviors
    • Identify actions (“work that you can really use”) that can be taken immediately and ​that befit a major league school charting a new future starting with rethinking community engagement
    • Work in the short term/enhance in the long term with an eye to owning community engagement as one of the possible pillars of UDM’s new brand and being a model for other urban universities that want to leverage the hidden or unrealized value of respective communities in fundamentally different ways through new frameworks of collaboration and cooperation

    The benefits of this and strategy sessions that follow include:

    • Creation of a new north star for UDM -- not just a university, but a hub of social innovation that is convening the most important conversations -- and doing the most important work -- related to understanding the present and future of universities -- why we build them, for whom do we build them and how do we build them- - and where every graduate is considered a social innovator armed with an education that will provide a life of “money AND meaning” 
    • New levels of confidence and clarity for marketing/communications, for advertising, for publicity
    • Creation of new paths to engagement/impact among donors, potential faculty, prospective students, alums, local and national businesses, new actors altogether

    Based on this introductory strategy session, GreenHouse with the help of deans, students and executive leadership identified that UDM "thinks" it suffers from a loss of “mojo” due to the following:

    • Loss of popular athletics programs
    • Merger with “Mercy”
    • Adoption of defensive attitude/longing for the good ol' days

    Additionally, many faculty, staff and perhaps even students often perceive the institution from a deficit mindset that includes:

    • Loss of confidence/pride
    • Sense of insecurity/​always wondering about what the other schools are doing
    • “Culture of poverty”​/playing “not to lose” with few to little resources

    Within this framework, however, the group discovered that many hidden opportunities exist for UDM that are obscured by the mutual expectations (norms) related to how groups of actors believe they are supposed to see UDM.

    This session served as a launch pad for leadership to begin thinking in new ways about UDM now and what it can be in the future. Additionally, this session introduced the new approach we hope to use to help uncover UDM’s true identity based on the view of participants in these sessions. To view the complete analysis of this Jan.18, 2024, session, please visit UDM Outputs Opportunities, Jan. 18, 2024, session Outputs Final.

    Following the successful conclusion of the first strategy session with ULC, GreenHouse convened the following additional sessions to obtain input and perceptions of UDM from other key stakeholders:

    • June 2024: a two-day strategy session with Student Government Leaders. These student leaders are now part of the UDM Rebranding initiative student advisory group.
    • July 2024: GreenHouse principals met with Credo to discuss how the rebranding work will tie into the University’s new five-year strategic plan, which will be unveiled to the UDM community soon.
    • August 5-7: a three-day community strategy session with neighbors from the surrounding communities. These sessions took place at the Live6 Alliance Homebase and included the president, board of trustee members, community leaders and residents, and area business owners. From these sessions, UDM is working toward new opportunities to reinvigorate the university’s partnership with neighbors and the neighborhood and develop additional ways to connect, sustain and enhance our future relationship on deeper and more meaningful levels. See 2024 updates on reinvigorated UDM community connections below for more details.  
    • August 7: a half-day session with members of Marketing & Communications as well as other individuals who perform these duties for colleges and offices.

    As part of the deliverables for this project, GreenHouse will deliver a short-form documentary film that features our community strategy sessions and interviews with community members to help cement findings and inform future initiatives. UDM will unveil this video at an upcoming event on campus as we begin our work to solicit important input from faculty, staff, students and alumni in the coming months. (Look for messages from MarCom inviting our internal community to join in future strategy sessions soon.)

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    Phase 3: Help from National Marketing Firm on New Brand & Testing

    Phase 3 of the marketing research and rebranding process will involve UDM working closely with our alumni advisors to obtain the assistance of a nationally known marketing and branding agency. The goal is to identify a leading branding with significant success that can synthesize research, stakeholder input, GreenHouse analysis and UDM’s “bridge” marketing efforts the past few years into several possible new brands for review and consideration by UDM.

    In addition, the expectation is for this firm to develop a process of stakeholder review comprised of the following activities and deliverables:

    1. Focus groups with all UDM stakeholders to measure their reaction, emotional connection and overall perceptions of potential brands. This includes leading evaluative, open-ended discussions on these potential brands with stakeholders to drive out additional perspectives to help refine potential brands.
    2. Refine potential new brands and narrow to the top two brands.
    3. Present final two brands for UDM consideration and lead discussions with UDM stakeholders toward adoption of the final brand.
    4. Provide input and counsel on new brand launch tactical strategy and communications in conjunction with the UDM Marketing & Communications Department.
    5. Prepare a comprehensive branding and report that includes references to relevant data, insights and information from stakeholder focus groups and interviews. This report will serve as the benchmark for future marketing efforts and subsequent research. 
    6. An executive summary of the comprehensive report will be used to finalize the new brand.  
    7. A PowerPoint presentation summarizing key findings, methodology used to help develop the brand concept and rationale behind the positioning of the new brand.

     Stakeholder groups important to this process include, but are not limited to, the following:

    • Faculty
    • Staff
    • Alumni
    • BOT members
    • Corporate partners, foundations, community organizations
    • Current students
    • Prospects
    • Parents—Prospects and Students
    • Community/neighborhood members, business owners, residents
    • Donors

Next Steps: September-December 2024

  1. Updates communicated via Campus Connection internal digital newsletter with updates shared weekly and as they develop.
  2. Following completion of 1, MarCom will develop a PowerPoint presentation for updates made to deans, offices and departments. MarCom will then reach out to departments/colleges/offices to request a brief opportunity to share with their teams. This is a high-level overview of no more than 10 minutes.
  3. Greenhouse and MarCom to begin developing plans for unveiling of documentary in October/November at UDM in convocation-type meeting with college and university leaders to denote upcoming strategy sessions between then and June 2025. These would potentially include faculty, staff, students, leaders, community members and trustees. GreenHouse ​is working with MarCom to design this experience for the fall.
  4. Establish the next series of strategy sessions with UDM faculty, staff, students, leaders, neighbors and neighboring businesses to obtain input into UDM identity.
  5. Work toward development and positioning in media about innovative approach UDM is taking toward a refreshed brand, one vastly different than what other institutions of higher education typically take; position the president as thought-leader on this effort; contemplate various messaging platforms to help with this effort; align with recent enrollment growth, new entrepreneurship initiatives; recent grants and framed-in terms of increased donor participation due to this approach. Further, demonstrate how this is a new model for higher education that involves new tactics to change the world’s perception of UDM and ties to our increased enrollment. This may involve creation of three to five pillars of key messaging that can tie directly to our new five-year strategic plan and represent a significant component of strategic marketing associated with the new plan.

2024 Updates on Reinvigorated UDM Community Connections

  1. August: UDM held a meeting with Fr. Tim Hipskind (director of Community Engaged Learning), Dan Pitera (Dean of SACD), Chelsea Manning (program manager of TENN), Gary Erwin and Ron Bernas (MarCom), Kristin Johnston (director of ODEI), and Fr. Charles Oduke (VP of Mission Integration) to address the following:
    • GreenHouse community roundtables, sustainable engagement efforts and importance and connection to a new UDM brand.
    • Centralization/clearing house of community partnership work via udmercy.edu/community.
    • Creating better communications paths for our neighbors, internal community (Campus Connection community newsletter options, community webpage and updates, and work with Lauren Hood and Jeremy Lewis).
    • Opportunities for connection with community: pop-up food opportunities; tours of campus; discounts for UDM faculty, staff and students at establishments on the Avenue.
    • Need for budget and ways to support efforts in FY24-25. 
    • Establishing regular meetings of this group to discuss the reality of neighbor perceptions, realistic short- and long-term tactical opportunities, etc. 
    • MarCom updated the front-page of a website developed for the community at udmercy.edu/community.
    • MarCom established a community edition of Campus Connection, which is emailed to the individuals who engaged in the Live6 community strategy sessions in August. UDM has added and removed names from the list of people who receive it.
    • Gary Erwin and Kristin Johnston recently met with Jeremy Lewis about ways he and his neighbors might be able to help. Both will keep Jeremy involved through communications.
  2. September: Gary Erwin met with Lauren Hood for lunch and discussed the creation of an internal Community Coalition Group to help manage community partnerships and outreach, given how many connections various staff and employees have with community stakeholders. A MarCom staff member is currently drafting a concept brief of this based on notes provided to them.
  3. September: Livernois Proposed Property Development Discussion with President Taylor and UDM senior executives, members of the Detroit Economic Growth Corporation and Livernois Development organization, among others, who discussed new apartments in the area and development of mixed-use space on the Avenue that may be of interest to UDM students for living quarters.
  4. October: SACD hosted a drive-in theatre night on McNichols for neighbors on Oct. 19. More than 70 families from the community attended this first-ever event. UDM plans to host these drive-in theatre nights in the future as well.
  5. November: TENN is hosting its annual community meal for folks in the neighborhood on Nov. 8 from 5-7 p.m. In years past, TENN has been a little limited in numbers they could invite due to cost. This year, MarCom is supporting the event with a donation to help expand the event’s reach. MarCom also plans to continue this support into the future.
  6. Ongoing: Development of short-term tactical list to help enhance and build on UDM-neighborhood community connections.

Conclusion

At the present time, UDM continues to layer Elevate research results, AJCU research, The Wall Street Journal Insights Reports and work conducted by GreenHouse::Innovation strategy sessions into current marketing and recruitment strategies and tactics to help drive prospective students and their families to UDM. MarCom is also working to develop positioning opportunities within the local, state and national media with senior leadership to develop an ongoing narrative regarding the UDM rebranding effort to gain attention regarding the institution’s unique approach. MarCom and UDM leadership will also set up strategy sessions in the near future with invitations to stakeholders to participate in providing input on our institutional identity. This includes the unveiling of a documentary video that covers the community strategy sessions and interviews with neighbors, board of trustee members, UDM employees and others regarding the process to date and their hope for the future of a new UDM brand and identity.

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