Interview with RIT's Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer John Trierweiler in Poslovni Dnevnik:

I Believe That Together We Can Be - Rather, We Are- On To Something Amazing!

In late March, we had a pleasure to welcome several colleagues from Rochester, including RIT's Marketing and Communication Leadership: John Trierweiler, Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer; Bob Finnerty, Associate Vice President of University Communications; and Kin Sejpal, Associate Vice President Marketing Strategy and Creative Services, on both of our campuses.

The team continues to provide opportunities for increased efficiency and effectiveness in marketing and communications efforts of all global campuses, and the visit was an amazing opportunity to meet the team members in person, and more importantly, dig deeper into the branding trends as well as challenges when it comes to marketing and communication in higher education. During the visit, Trierweiler also gave an interview to Poslovni dnevnik, a prominent business media brand in Croatia, and spoke about RIT's rebranding process, one of the biggest and most significant undertakings conducted in 2018.

The article is available at this link, and the translation is provided below:

John Trierweiler, Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer Of American University RIT, Speaks About the Rebranding of the Educational Institution and the Importance Of RIT Croatia

The Strong Brand Architecture Speaks About the Values ​​You Promote

Author: Sergej Novosel Vučković

RIT Croatia is an international campus of the Rochester Institute of Technology, from the state of New York in the USA. Formerly the American College of Management and Technology (ACMT), RIT Croatia was founded in 1997 in Dubrovnik, with RIT being chosen as the partner in its founding. RIT Croatia became the first and only private higher education institution in Croatia whose students, after completing their undergraduate studies, obtain two diplomas - American and Croatian.

The institution takes pride in programs focused on developing practical knowledge and career preparation, as an excellent foundation to getting the students ready for the job market. On the campuses in Zagreb and Dubrovnik, they can attend university programs in Menadžment u turizmu, hotelijerstvu i uslužnim djelatnostima (Hospitality and Tourism Management), Međunarodno poslovanje (International Business), and Informacijske tehnologije (Web and Mobile Computing).

Just recently, John Trierweiler, Vice President and CMO at the parent university RIT from America, visited Croatia, and had explained how the university, which consists of 11 institutions with a total of 19,000 students, all in one place, has conducted its rebranding process.

As an institution, you carried out a rebranding, what did it include?

Our rebranding was a complete, holistic reassessment and reimagining of the Rochester Institute of Technology's (RIT) brand positioning, expression, and creative platform in the national and global marketplace. As such, this covered identifying and articulating RIT's key value proposition and brand essence - including a detailed messaging map and supporting reasons to believe; entire visual and verbal identity system, including logo and identity architecture; university website and digital presence; on-campus signage and merchandise; as well as our marketing campaigns and recruitment materials across the main and global campuses.

Why did you need to create a new visual identity?

Upon my arrival at RIT, I noticed that our visual identity was confusing and discordant, at best. For example, on our New York campus alone we presented ourselves as a cacophony with over 300 logos and over 2,000 websites to navigate the university experience. It was as if we were a "business park" of unrelated businesses that only by sheer coincidence happened to be located together on the same campus. A strong and integrated visual identity system and brand architecture was needed to connect with our audiences, helping them to see who we are and how the different units relate to each other and to the masterbrand, and to our diverse target audiences.

How can an educational institution be rebranded at all, are there any differences in relation to the rebranding of a company?

I have been involved in rebranding and repositioning efforts across multiple industries, including consumer packaged goods, telecommunications, and higher education. In all cases, it is crucial to identify and then share what is differentiating and distinctive about the company or organization. A well-defined, clear, and compelling brand is required to drive demand creation and perception of quality and value. One of the more unique aspects of the education sector is that it includes a sizable population of passionate alumni, who will often describe their time at university as the most meaningful and transformative experience of their lives. As such, this constituency must be an important part of any rebranding effort. Another difference is the sheer number of stakeholders and audiences involved and engaged in higher education (e.g., students, faculty, staff, alumni, high school counselors, parents, employers, government and community partners, etc.).

What do you communicate as the main values ​​of RIT?

Through extensive research, we were able to determine what is better, different, and special about RIT. We identified six elements that reflect the vision and values of RIT, along with how they work in concert together. At RIT, we…

1. Combine Creativity and Innovation;

2. Operate at the Intersection of Technology, the Arts, and Design;

3. Do/apply through Co-op and Experiential Learning;

4. Offer cutting edge programs that meet the needs of the New Economy;

5. Are an Accepting/Welcoming Community;

6. And as a result, we Bring about Positive Change - within ourselves and the world around us.

In describing the institution's personality we identified these six common traits:

1. Active

2. Imaginative

3. Open-minded

4. Future-focused

5. Unusual

6. Compassionate

How can a brand be adapted, localized to, for example, RIT Croatia?

Our international campuses, including in Zagreb and Dubrovnik, have been tremendous and collaborative partners throughout the entire rebranding process. We worked closely with our campuses in North America, Europe, the Middle East, and Asia to ensure the brand reflected and resonated what is true and meaningful for each campus community. With RIT Croatia, the curricular and co-curricular opportunities match up particularly well as they prepare students for meaningful careers, for the New Economy, and for careers that have not even been invented yet! Moreover, they get an American education in a welcoming and close-knit community of faculty and staff that provide personal attention to students' professional - and personal - aspirations.

What are the obligations of RIT Croatia in this?

I wouldn't describe it as obligations, I would say rather we are providing opportunities for increased efficiency and effectiveness in marketing and communications efforts. I have been highly impressed with how the overall brand elements have flourished and blossomed to speak directly and in the most relevant way to our audiences and partners in Croatia, the region, and Europe. We often learn and gain as much - or more - from the creativity and innovation emanating from our global campuses as we are providing from New York. One of our recognizable messages is "We're always on to something amazing". I believe that together we can be - rather, weare - on to something amazing!