Status Report of Rutgers Comprehensive Communications ...

Positioning Platform
A brand value proposition, grounded in the university’s mission and based on demonstrable
facts, was articulated as the foundation for all future communications:
Unique in its history, diversity, quality, and scale, Rutgers serves as
New Jersey’s premier educational and research asset and generator
of solutions for the world.
This proposition, along with supporting messaging, guides communications to specific
groups. The brand value proposition also provided the basis for the campaign’s tagline:
Jersey Roots, Global Reach.
Messaging
FIVE MESSAGE ANTHEMS
The program includes “message anthems” that arm Rutgers ambassadors with clear,
consistent, effective messages. Communications are based on these five key messages.
Rutgers is one of the nation’s leading research universities with an international
reputation for excellence.
Rutgers is a unique resource for New Jersey. It is the only state institution with the
combined quality, scale, and range of resources to educate the next generation of
leaders and provide effective solutions to the challenges faced by individuals, government,
and industries across the state.
Rutgers is deeply rooted in New Jersey, a densely populated, diverse, and complex
state that is a microcosm of 21st-century America. As such, it is in a position to be
at the vanguard of world issues in such areas as health care, alternative energy,
transportation, telecommunications, and homeland security.
Rutgers is a major economic engine for New Jersey and the nation, providing the
well-educated workforce and innovative research on which progress depends.
Rutgers has a long tradition in New Jersey, beginning with its founding in 1766, 10
years before the signing of the Declaration of Independence. Rutgers is the nation’s
eighth oldest institution of higher learning. The university’s passionate and committed
faculty and staff build on this rich history to teach, serve, and inspire each new
generation of students.
PROVIDING THE MESSAGE TO ADVOCATES
It was evident that people associated with the university are the best advocates for Rutgers.
The Comprehensive Communications Program led to the development of a number of new
endeavors to help people tell the Rutgers story.
A website, Speaking on Behalf of Rutgers, that provides key institutional messages,
budget facts and figures, and the university’s position on important current issues.
The website includes resources for general use, such as a PowerPoint “Introduction
to Rutgers,” as well as the university’s television spots.
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