Brand communication 2019  [02.05.19]

What does the University of Hohenheim stand for? What characterizes its identity? How does it want to be perceived? In recent years, the University has developed answers to these questions together with experts - and with the participation of employees and students from all areas. After all: they are the most important ambassadors of the "Uni Hohenheim" brand. In order to breathe life into the resulting brand concept, each year the University focuses on a different area of its brand core. The focus in 2019 will be on the characteristics "open to the world," "diverse," and "tolerant."

 

A "brand" is the sum of all associations, ideas, and feelings that a certain company, organization, or product evokes among customers or target groups. A clear brand identity is a competitive advantage because it allows more efficient communication, higher recognition value, and easier identification.

"The University of Hohenheim is also in competition with other universities for students, money, personnel, reputation, and image," explained University President Stephan Dabbert. "If we know what we stand for and how we want to be seen, and if we also clearly express this identity in how we present ourselves, we will be more successful in this competition. At the same time, the brand concept is an incentive for us to continually do more over the years to meet the high expectations we have placed on ourselves."

Brand communication is for the University of Hohenheim, but not just a matter for the Media & Marketing Department, emphasized the President: "All University institutions and all University members are brand ambassadors. This is why it was so important to us in the brand-building process to actively involve students, researchers, and administrative staff in workshops in addition to receiving advice from marketing experts and surveying important target groups," he added.

 

Brand Flower & Annual Topics

 

Johanna Lembens-Schiel, Director of Marketing and Events Unit at the University of Hohenheim, recommended taking a look at the "Hohenheim brand flower," which is also presented in more detail in a short video.

"Five petals, each with one or more characteristics, show five areas that are particularly important for the 'Uni Hohenheim' brand. Altogether, the characteristics of the five petals make up the unique identity of the University of Hohenheim," explained Lembens-Schiel.

Some of the petals are also assigned years. They identify focal points for brand communication. In the anniversary year 2018, for example, the focus was on the items 'socially oriented' and 'regional roots.'

"This was reflected, among other things, in numerous anniversary campaigns, e.g. scientists in event formats such as Café Scientifique or On-Site Research brought socially relevant research topics to the regional public. A Hohenheim banner at the Stuttgart City Hall or cooperation with the local bakery Treiber, which sold the Hohenheim anniversary bread, expressed the regional roots of the University of Hohenheim in a particularly vivid way," said Lembens-Schiel. "By the way, the Hohenheim anniversary bread is now a permanent fixture in the Treiber product range. Here we have succeeded in a sustainable transfer of the University's research to the regional consumer".

 

Topic of the Year 2019: Open to the world, diverse, tolerant

 

In 2019, the University of Hohenheim intends to make it particularly clear how and why it stands for the terms "cosmopolitan," "diverse," and "tolerant."

For example, in the coming weeks the University intends to send a signal against widespread Europe-fatigue and actively promote participation in the European elections. The welcome culture on campus is also to be promoted even more specifically, for example with an enlarged welcome program for international students or with an English-language version of the Online Courier. In addition, the message is also to be conveyed visually, for example via the motifs of the Hohenheim wallpapers or communication via Instagram and Facebook.

"All University institutions are invited to support brand communication on the terms 'open to the world,' 'diverse,' and 'tolerant' in 2019," said Johanna Lebens-Schiel. "Examples of this can be found in all areas. Talk about it and help to make these topics even more visible! The Media & Marketing Department is happy to assist, e.g. in selecting images."

 

Special importance for Hohenheim

 

University President Stephan Dabbert explained why the terms "open to the world," "diverse," and "tolerant" are so important for the University of Hohenheim:

"Science without an openness to the world and tolerance of different points of view is hard to imagine. In Hohenheim, however, an open view of the world plays a particularly important role. This is the case because we deal with global phenomena such as food security and climate change, are searching for substitutes for fossil raw materials, or impart cultural competence for economic contacts with China. Nearly one-third of our degree programs have English as the language of instruction - well above the average. In an audit by the German Rectors' Conference, the high proportion of international students and doctoral candidates as well as the number of participants in the ERAMSMUS exchange program also distinguished us as particularly international," said Dabbert.

The term "diversity" is also an integral part of the essence of a university. However, for the University of Hohenheim, diversity means more than the mere coexistence of different disciplines and methods, says Dabbert:

"Our unique, compact campus creates a very special basis for cooperation across disciplinary and faculty boundaries.  This is reflected, for example, in the interdisciplinary focus on bioeconomy and digital transformation, which give the University of Hohenheim a unique profile in Germany.  But also the successful Humboldt reloaded project, which promotes exchange and a look beyond the boundaries of the subject as early as the Bachelor's program, is an excellent example of this special, vibrant culture of university diversity."

Text: Leonhardmair