Images Courtesy of William & Mary
In 1918, 24 women made history when they became the first admitted to William & Mary. Throughout the 2018 academic year, we celebrated this pivotal moment in the university’s history—the 100th anniversary of coeducation—as a time to reflect, to honor and to look toward the future.
With the goal of driving engagement and philanthropy, University Marketing & Advancement Communications underwent a branding effort designed to commemorate the generations of women who have contributed to and shaped the university over the past century. Although developed specifically with this commemoration in mind, we wanted to build a brand that could continue long after 2018, position women’s issues as a primary focus for William & Mary and empower our students and alumnae to share their collective experiences. This brand became William & Mary Women.
Before we could set the standards of William & Mary Women as a new university sub-brand, we needed to start with the messaging and visual components. From the beginning of the creative process, we set two initial goals for the brand: we wanted it to be a unique representation that was relatable to all W&M women; and it needed to align closely with the strong university brand that William & Mary has built over the past 326 years.
As the development of the creative progressed, we tested our initial messaging and design concepts by conducting a series of focus groups with alumnae, donors, students, staff and faculty. We made a concerted effort to touch every corner of the W&M community, and throughout the process we received feedback that directed us to refine the creative and better engage all women. In total, the creation of William & Mary Women marks and messaging took nearly two years to complete.
Above: William & Mary Women logo concepts
Left: William & Mary Women Quick Style Guide
Above and Right: William & Mary Women installation
With the initial building blocks of the brand in place, our next effort was to generate awareness and enthusiasm across the W&M community. Going beyond the basic mark and identity, we created resources such as a brand style guide, graphic assets and mission statements for campus partners. We also established the Society of 1918, a membership-based philanthropic organization that offers alumnae the opportunity to strengthen the influence women have on William & Mary’s future. Commitment to The Society of 1918 has been tremendous and the organization quickly surpassed its initial goal of 100 women. Just over a year into the effort, the Society is 378 members strong and has raised more than $3 million dollars for the Alumnae Initiatives Endowment, which supports programming and resources for William & Mary alumnae.
Another critical aspect for the success of this campaign was a strategic campus roll-out to create engagement with the brand throughout our institution. One of the first opportunities was during the inaugural William & Mary Women’s Weekend, a three-day event in September 2018 with panel discussions, keynote speakers, performances and activities designed to connect and celebrate women in the William & Mary community. As a part of this effort, we created a themed installation for the student center that illustrated the brand and celebrated the roles women have played throughout the university’s history. Components of the installation included four eight-foot banner flags, environmental wall graphics, vinyl tabletops applications and a 13-foot Plexiglas photo collage that showcased some of the most unique and empowering images of W&M students over the past century. We also created the opportunity to interact directly with the installation through custom-designed weaving frames. Weekend attendees were encouraged to take a section of ribbon and write down the name of a woman that had a great impact on his or her life, then weave it into the display.
We also promoted the brand throughout the Weekend through items and giveaways. From branded chocolates and temporary tattoos to necklaces and cheese boards, the William & Mary Women mark was used in unique and creative ways. Most impactful was a useful and fun alumnae-inspired coloring journal with a variety of original William & Mary-related artwork illustrated by our senior graphic designer. When all was said and done, more than 470 alumnae returned to campus to attend events throughout William & Mary Women’s Weekend, and their feedback was overwhelmingly positive.
The final push of the branding effort in 2018 was a cover story in the fall issue of the William & Mary Alumni Magazine. The objective was to celebrate the accomplishments and history of women at the university through photographs of the tangible objects left behind in the library’s special collections archive. With the help of university librarians, our team conducted extensive research, then grouped and photographed the artifacts. We wove the photographs together with the copy to tell a cohesive story that touched on a wide variety of women’s organizations, milestones and personal experiences.
Building William & Mary’s newest sub-brand will be an ongoing effort. Students, faculty and alumnae across the William & Mary community have enthusiastically embraced the brand, and we are looking forward to building on this initial success in the future.
Left and Top: Society of 1918 mailer
Left and Bottom: Coloring book
Below: Fall 2018 issue of William & Mary Alumni Magazine