University Communications

Messaging Strategy

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Messaging Strategy

We are many stories, but one Brown. A strong messaging strategy helps contribute to a consistent and shared identity across the institution. The Brown University Messaging Strategy celebrates that every school, department, program and member of our community contributes to the excellence that is Brown, and it helps deliver proof of that excellence through a shared approach to telling the Brown story.

Brown staff members charged with engaging in communications, marketing, events and outreach for their programs or for Brown are encouraged to contact the Office of University Communications to obtain a copy of the Brown University Messaging Strategy, which is a detailed toolkit for the University’s marketing and communications professionals.

Brown’s Messaging Strategy provides a communications and engagement framework to advance the individual distinctiveness of departments, programs and offices within the context of a cohesive narrative of who we are, what we value and what sets Brown apart as a leading institution committed to academic excellence.

When people experience communications from Brown, we want to ensure they recognize them as part of the Brown story. We know that a strong, unified institutional identity helps people quickly recognize the Brown they care about, trust and believe in, and the people and organizations associated with the University that matter to them most.

Messaging Tools

Through a set of messaging tools, the Brown University Messaging Strategy demonstrates that Brown is confident and clear in its academic mission and how it fulfills that mission. The strategy cultivates a sense of familiarity and trust among Brown’s many communities, stakeholders and audiences who come to recognize and understand what Brown stands for.

These tools include Brown’s Core Institutional Values, Framing Features of the Brown Experience and Messaging Anchors.

Brown’s Core Institutional Values

As outlined in the Statement of University Values and Voice, four core institutional values establish Brown’s aspirations as an institution, the standards that guide decisions made on behalf of Brown and the obligations that members of this community are fulfilling in pursuit of the University’s mission.

Framing Features of the Brown Experience

These framing features demonstrate what sets Brown apart from its peers:

  • Educational innovation — Brown is committed to advancing academic excellence through an innovative, student-centered model of learning.
  • Collaboration — Brown is known for embracing collaboration to address opportunities, challenges and areas of inquiry ripe for discovery and innovation, whether inside the classroom, in the lab or as part of the campus experience.
  • Impact — Brown’s students, faculty and staff are uncommonly driven by the idea that their work will have an impact in the world.

Messaging Anchors

The use of certain phrases and vocabulary serve to build a recognizable voice for Brown. These messaging anchors focus on four key areas:

  • intellectual independence;
  • distinctive learning experiences — including the undergraduate Open Curriculum, student-centered learning in Brown’s graduate and professional programs, and common attributes among Brown students (i.e., what sets a Brown student apart);
  • teaching and research in service to communities, the nation and the world; and
  • Brown’s role as a leading research university.

Guide for Frequent Messaging Themes

Many of the University’s strategic priorities figure prominently in communications and marketing materials developed by offices across campus. The Messaging Strategy includes a guide to core messaging for some of the most frequent themes (e.g., how to talk about Brown’s athletics programs, financial aid, specific schools and programs, and more).