College Branding
The image of the College can be drawn from its mission statement, which speaks of important values of service “to others in our region and the larger world” and our belief that excellence comes from a challenging educational process in a caring environment.
College communications should promote the College image expressed by the mission statement and drawn from the type of students, staff and faculty who are a part of this institution. The College’s image is supported by a branding statement and key messages that draw upon the College’s distinctiveness. These messages are intended to both draw and retain students and build a base of loyal alumni and other supporters.
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The Importance of Visual Identity to the College’s Branding
The elements of graphic identity adopted for use by the College represent an effort to create a unified look for the College’s admissions, advancement, marketing and promotional materials. By defining the framework upon which designs are created, the College presents a more professional and consistent image, resulting in a stronger Emory & Henry brand.
Every communication, print or electronic, sent out by the College departments or offices reflects the quality of this institution. To maintain a consistent, high-quality image, the Communications Office has produced this manual to ensure adherence to specific communications guidelines. You have a responsibility to follow these guidelines.
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College Communications Policy
The communications policy is a set of graphic, editorial, and procedural standards for the College’s recruitment, advancement and marketing efforts. Authorized by the College president and Executive Council, the policy was developed to ensure the quality and consistency of the College’s efforts to market its programs.
The Rationale Behind the Communications Policy
The success of each part of the College contributes to the reputation of the whole institution, and the reputation of the College affects the success and reputation of each department or office. It is in everyone’s best interest that our promotional efforts across campus present a consistent, high-quality image. This policy will help to create an accurate perception of the exciting realities that exist here.
The Directive of the Trustees
The Emory & Henry College Board of Trustees has determined that the name “Emory & Henry College,” the words Emory & Henry used in the context of the College, the abbreviation E&H, the College seal, institutional logos, the College athletics logo and other authorized College symbols shall not be used for an official or quasi-official, noncommercial promotional purpose by any group or organization for any activity on or off campus without the approval of the Board of Trustees. The trustees delegate to the Marketing and Communications Office the authority to make these approvals and to establish the appropriate guidelines and procedures to support this policy.
Simply Put
The communications policy ensures that all the College’s print and electronic publications and advertising share a common look. This means that all pieces use a common typeface(s), treat the College word mark and supporting logos similarly, and use text and design elements in a similar manner. This does not mean that all pieces are identical, only that they share visual elements that identify them as coming from Emory & Henry College.
The communications policy also requires a common editorial style. As an institution of higher learning, we have a responsibility to use language correctly and consistently and to use it well. All College publications and advertising will adhere to The Associated Press (AP) Style Manual and the College communications policy.
This communications policy applies to everyone; adherence is expected and required of all departments and offices.
The communications policy applies to all external communications. The College’s external audience is anyone other than current faculty, staff and enrolled students. This includes members of the community who attend events and functions of the College, on and off campus, alumni, prospective and current donors, prospective students, parents of prospective or enrolled students, any community members or organizations cosponsoring or working in conjunction with Emory & Henry on projects or events, anyone invited to attend workshops, lectures, forums held on campus or sponsored by the College and held off-campus.
The types of media included in this policy are publications (posters, flyers, brochures, booklets, programs, etc.), news releases, advertisements, promotional items, signage for any College event whether on-campus or off, e-mail newsletters, and the website.
All communications directed to an external audience must be approved by the designated person(s) in the MarComm Office. Questions about these guidelines should be directed to Haley Arni, Manager of Communications, harni@ehc.edu.
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General Guidelines
College Institutional Logos
The College logo is a highly significant part of the institutional image and marketing strategy. If used wisely and frequently it can be an effective way of enhancing the College’s name recognition. The MarComm Office requires that the logo appear on all publications meant for external audiences and encourages use on campus publications.
The official College marks are available from the EDIC and will be provided electronically. The Emory & Henry institutional and athletic logos are the only marks approved for use by the College community. These marks supersede and replace all other logos or marks used by individual departments or programs. No other marks or logos may be used to represent the College and it programs.
- See Appendix III - Graphic Identity Standards Manual for examples of the College logos and descriptions of usage.
- Electronic versions of the logos may be obtained by contacting the EDIC. You will be furnished with the type of logo and file appropriate to your need.
- College logos are not to be re-created or modified in any way other than proportional sizing.
- The College’s logo must appear on all publications, on the College website, including applicable sub-domains such as departmental sites, as well as on email newsletters and other electronic applications.
- The College seal is reserved for use in the most official applications, dealing with functions of the Office of the President and/or the Board of Trustees. It may also be used on select promotional items. As with other official College marks, use of the seal must be approved by the EDIC.
Athletic Logo
The athletic logos may be used in conjunction with the College logo on publications and web applications relating to the College athletic program. The athletic logos are strictly for use of the Department of Athletics and are not to be used as a substitute for the College logo in any other institutional communications. Digital versions of these logos are available from the EDIC or from the Director of Athletic Communications, located in the King Center.
The primary logo and the primary lettermark are considered the default logos and should appear on all athletic-related external communications and items. The athletic logo is to be used as a graphic and should be kept proportionate if it needs to be enlarged or reduced. Clip art resembling the “Wasp” may not be used for any representation of the College. Correct usage is Wasps (capita W, lowercase asps)—never all caps; “The Wasps football team is terrific.” See Appendix III - Graphic Identity Standards Manual.
Student Organization Logo Use
Student Government-approved organizations may use the institutional logo, as described in the graphic identity standards, to brand T-shirts, websites and other merchandise for their club or organization. Their SGA-approved organization name should be used. Other graphics may be used to illustrate the purpose or mission of the club or organization, but elements of the College institutional or athletic logos may not be used within those graphics.
College Name
- When writing the name of the College, the ampersand is always used: Emory & Henry College.
- When writing “E&H”, leave no spaces between the ampersand and the E and the H.
- When Emory & Henry is written out in the title of a publication it is strongly recommended that it be typed in Goudy. This rule does not apply when Emory & Henry is written out in text or in headlines.
- The word “College,” when referring to Emory & Henry, is always capitalized.
- The abbreviation E&H may be used as an adjective such as “the E&H Concert Choir,” but not as a noun as in “E&H is a great place to be.”
- The abbreviation “EHC” is not to be used as a replacement for E&H or as an abbreviation for Emory & Henry College.
In all publications (print and electronic) intended for external audiences, the College logo must appear prominently. Additionally, for newsletters sent to these audiences, the name of the College must appear somewhere in the banner, which is the area on the top front page of the newsletter. The preferred type font for the College name is Goudy. For brochures, the name must appear on the first panel. It is highly recommended that the logo also appear in these places.
College Seal
Any collateral, documents or piece of merchandise that displays the seal is stating that this material has been officially sanctioned by Emory & Henry College. Because the seal functions as the official signature of the university, it must NOT be altered in any way. The seal is reserved for use by the President’s office, formal and official documents such as diplomas, legal and official records, programs for formal academic ceremonies, and any other legal agreements binding the university. It does not go on signage, marketing materials, merchandise, etc.
Official E&H Colors
In establishing the identity of Emory & Henry College, color is paramount. By creating and using the official colors in a consistent manner, our identity is strengthened. See Appendix III - Graphic Identity Standards Manual.
Contact Information
Information which will lead readers to the proper contact person(s) must appear in all publications; telephone number, email address and postal or physical address when appropriate. The College website address, www.ehc.edu, or the URL for the specific program which is the subject of the publication, must appear prominently on all publications.
Quality Guidelines and Procedures
The quality of the marketing material (including letters) distributed to external audiences is very important. It communicates the quality image of the College, whether through graphics, language, tone or photography. With that in mind, please remember the following guidelines:
- External audiences are defined as anyone other than staff, faculty or current students. Examples are: prospective students, parents of both prospective and current students, current and prospective donors, alumni, the business community, elected officials and government agencies, vendors and academic colleagues/organizations, and other members of the general public. Any communication targeting any of these groups must be reviewed and approved by the Vice President for External Affairs.
- Use official College letterhead, not photocopies, for correspondence.
- Enclosures such as bulk letters, brochures and flyers must go through the normal channels for writing and/or editorial and production assistance from the EDIC. Examples of Exempt Publications: Scholarly papers; instructional material; general correspondence; work processing forms for internal use, and tickets for cultural and athletic events.
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Styles
(see a more comprehensive Style Guide, Appendix II)
Publications will be edited for conciseness of message, consistency, grammatical style and ease of reading. The AP Stylebook is used as the guide in the use of punctuation, grammar, etc., and is the foundation to a consistent writing style in all publications. A copy of this manual is available as a resource in the MarComm Office. Below are a few style elements that must be observed in writing copy for Emory & Henry publications. Some of these may vary from rules in the AP manual. Questions concerning style should be addressed to the EDIC.
Abbreviations
- States are abbreviated in AP style. Use postal abbreviations only when writing a complete address that includes street number, city, state and zip code. For example: In AP style, Virginia is abbreviated Va., not VA, which is the postal abbreviation.
- Months are abbreviated when used with a specific day of the month. For example: Aug. 24. Months with five letters or fewer are always spelled out. For example: March 9, 2020. When using a month with a year and without a specific date, the month is always spelled out and no comma is placed between the month and the year. For example: January 2020.
Punctuation
- Use commas to separate elements in a series, but do not put a comma before the conjunction in a simple series: The flag is red, white and blue. He would nominate Tom, Dick or Harry. Put a comma before the concluding conjunction in a series, however, if an integral element of the series requires a conjunction: I had orange juice, toast, and ham and eggs for breakfast. Use a comma also before the concluding conjunction in a complex series of phrases: The main points to consider are whether the athletes are skillful enough to compete, whether they have the stamina to endure the training, and whether they have the proper mental attitude.
- When a sentence ends in a quote, all punctuation ends inside the quotation marks. For example: Helen said, “Emory & Henry is the greatest college in the country!”
- In writing Emory & Henry, the ampersand is always used. Do not substitute “and” for the ampersand.
- Times are written as follows: 5 p.m., 3:30 a.m. Never use “o’clock” unless in a direct quote. Never use the double zero in expressing a time; write for example: 5 p.m. Always lowercase a.m. and p.m.
Titles
- Titles of newspapers, magazines, plays and books are italicized. Titles of articles, poetry, movies, and chapters within books are put in quotation marks.
- Individuals’ titles are lowercase unless when appearing before the name. Correct usage: Executive Director Jane Doe; Jane Doe, executive director.
Usage
- As recommended by the international Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP), fundraising is always spelled as one word. • Although it is correct to say, “Smith was graduated from an institution,” AP style suggests that you write, “Smith graduated from…”
- The term “freshman” should be replaced with the phrase “first-year student.” Sophomores, juniors and seniors are to be referred to by these designations or as upperclass students (not upperclassmen).
Numbers
- Numbers one through nine are always spelled out, except when used in dates or to define age: April 5; She is 3 years old.
- Numbers 10 and above are always written numerically