We were given the tremendous opportunity to collaborate with the External Affairs Department of The Wharton School on the creation of their alumni outreach campaign. We were given the challenging task of developing a rich, emotionally engaging brand for the campaign that would be uniquely Wharton while working within the context of the University of Pennsylvania’s existing branding system. To add another layer of complexity the campaign was scheduled to run over multiple years and we were asked to limit any imagery that would date the campaign. That meant finding a solution that did not depend on images of students and faculty to emotionally engage alumni to support the school in a down economy.

PROCESS

We decided to focus our attention on Jon M. Huntsman Hall, the one constant in the life of every student attending Wharton. Huntsman Hall is a stunning, architecturally significant tower shaped building soaring above Walnut Street in the heart of Penn’s campus. It is the physical and emotional center of Wharton. We asked ourselves, how can we leverage the alumni’s shared experience at Huntsman Hall to build an emotional connection.

We started by spending several days on campus creating a thorough photo study of Huntsman Hall. We hung out where the students hung out, quietly sat in study areas and watched the ebb and flow of students throughout the school day and into the evening. It was interesting to see how the students used the space and the obvious connection and pride they had with their school.

We found that the architects of Huntsman Hall had carefully selected many complimentary building materials and colors throughout the building. Their use of sandstone, patinated copper, brick, etched glass, and stainless steel became the foundation for our brand build. We used this library to create our own design language, color palette and typography for the campaign that would emotionally resonate with alumni to bring back fond memories of the time they spent at Wharton.

CRAFT

Before we were able to start building the campaign we had to create a deep portfolio of architectural photography to help support our message. We spent three days with, photographer, Russell Underwood, shooting the rooms and hallways of Huntsman Hall. Although it is very difficult to capture the feeling you get walking into a space like this, we were able to get some stunning shots that would convey the pride of ownership we wanted to tap into.

Working with the External Affairs department we were able to create an integrated Campaign for Wharton spanning print, web, direct mail and advertising. We were able to clearly convey the schools many economic goals and the Alumni responded. The campaign was successfully used over several year and helped Wharton consistently reach their annual endowment goals.

Our methods and research to develop the campaign were so well received that our presentation was passed along to the Dean of the School and Wharton’s board of Directors.

EXECUTION

The following is a list of work we have completed for the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania:

• Identity type lock-up
• Website
• Photography library
• Print ads
• Campaign book
• Newsletter
• Print collateral
• Banner ads
• Photography library

CONTACT

If you have a project you would like to discuss, a questions about our services or would just like to chat about branding, please don’t hesitate to get in touch. We would love to hear from you.