Brand Platform

It is essential to define ourselves as a university if we are to communicate our story to the world. This brand platform is a reflection of what we do well at Wingate: Taking students from a variety of backgrounds and helping them find their place in the world.

Positioning Statement

To students who strive to make things better for themselves, their community and the world around them, Wingate University is a laboratory of difference-making, where students’ enthusiasm for learning intersects with the knowledge and experience of our faculty and the needs of our local community to make an impact for the common good.

What we do:

As a lab of difference-making, Wingate University empowers students to explore and refine their talents and make an impact on the wider world

How we do it:

By aligning talent, resources and expertise with student learning opportunities

Why we do it:

To lift up our communities, wherever our graduates land

---

Creative platform

A lab of difference-making

This is the essence of a Wingate University education.

As a lab of difference-making, we help students discover their strengths, talents and passions: strengths that help them win, both on and off the field; talents they can use to serve others in meaningful and exciting ways so that they graduate with prospects and purpose; and passions they nurture throughout life.

Yes, the University is composed of classrooms, concert halls, athletic facilities, academic-support resources and, well, labs, but the Lab of Difference-Making is less a physical place than a state of mind. It’s a way of approaching life, of solving problems, of making decisions that help you make a difference. It’s a toolkit for changing the world, long after you’ve earned your degree. Wingate is a laboratory of difference-making, where students become difference-makers.

---

Foundation

The lab of difference-making is effective because we support, engage and prepare out students:

Support

• We provide a safe place for students to explore their passions and interests.
• We provide extra help for first-generation students.
• We offer a nurturing environment (small class sizes and invested, caring faculty).

Engage

• Required internships help students refine their career goals and learn in a real-world environment.
• W’International and other study-abroad opportunities open doors and broaden perspectives.
• Service learning from their first year gives students insight on how to collaborate for the common good.
• Success in athletics illustrates the benefit of collaboration and persistence.

Prepare

• We serve as a powerful lever to help students climb the economic ladder.
• We exceed the graduation rate that would be expected of a school inhabiting our demographic tier.
• We guide students toward rewarding careers, many in service-minded fields.
• Liberal arts focus with an emphasis on critical thinking helps create bold graduates who think for themselves.

---

Brand personality

Welcoming / Collaborative / Authentic / Compassionate / Relevant / Experimental / Results- and service-oriented

Our brand personality consists of the attributes that are ascribed to the University as a whole. Think of it as if Wingate University were a friend or acquaintance. How would you describe that person?

When we consider our brand’s personality, we think about the Wingate archetype: the Bulldog. Wingate Bulldogs collaborate, are authentic and compassionate, stay relevant, like to experiment, and are results- and service-oriented. They welcome a challenge, don’t mind getting their hands dirty, and look out for others. In short, Wingate Bulldogs are difference-makers.

We aim to get these attributes across in our brand messaging. They inform the stories we choose to tell, the pictures we post on Instagram, the look and feel of events on campus. More than that, they inform how the University is run: the courses, majors and programs we offer, how we teach them, and the influence they have on the students who ultimately leave through the Gate and go out into the world.

---

Tone

Inclusive / Inspirational / Active / Optimistic / Simply put

Wingate's brand personality is expressed in our tone. And the tone and personality of the Wingate brand come through in all of our social media posts, our magazine stories, the videos we make to promote the University, mailers to prospective students and donors, the look and feel of the website, even our news stories. Bulldogs are active and optimistic and come from all walks of life. We communicate their stories clearly, hoping to inspire.

All of these traits will not come through in everything we produce, but they are a good list to choose from, whether we’re writing an admissions e-mail (inspirational, optimistic), creating a Save the Date card (simply put), putting together a post for Instagram (inclusive, active) or creating a video for the web (all of the above).

When developing materials that promote the University, use words and phrases that reinforce the appropriate tone:

Inclusive – expand / welcoming / open / understanding / embracing / value

Inspirational – explore / believe / excellence / challenge / opportunity / mission

Active – experiment / spirit / vital / diligent / engaged / energy

Optimistic – expect / hope / future / promise / vision / upbeat

Simply put – This one is less about the words used and more about the clarity and brevity of the message. Be concise and avoid confusion. No need for padding. Don’t beat a dead horse. Try to avoid repetition. Don’t be redundant. No one likes someone who runs on and on and on …

And speaking of “simply put”: Try to avoid jargon and buzzwords. Academia is like any industry – it has its own shorthand. 90 percent of the materials we create are ultimately seen and heard by people not affiliated with the University. We need to strive to communicate clearly with the families and students who aren’t used to our jargon, buzzwords and acronyms.