Building Brand Equity for the University of Florida

The University of Florida, which is well-known as an Athletic powerhouse, actually is also a highly regarded research university.  It is a public learning institution that is at the forefront of Research and Development across multiple disciplines. Based on their academic excellence and active faculty, UF generates over $700 Million in research funding annually. 

In an effort to continue to grow the business associated with research and development, the University of Florida sought to raise the awareness and impact of their efforts on the communities that benefited from the research. Moreover, the business objective was to build brand equity and awareness to drive rankings in publications, and create enhanced perceptions amongst alum and prospective students.  

Our team built and executed a multi-channel media plan that was designed to communicate and influence two unique audiences, titled “Gator Good”. The first audience included alum and prospective students, known as “Ambassadors”, and the secondincluded influencers, such as academic leaders and researchers, known as “Peers”. A multi-layered media strategy was built using multiple forms of creative for each audience that spread-across multiple markets.  A blend of brand-driven platforms including digital video and social media, native advertising as well as endemic ads designed to speak specifically to university executives. In one segment of the 20 channel program, our team integrated UF’s creative specific to their concussive research program into the Will Smith movie ‘Concussion’ via in-cinema advertising.