Editor,
The University has recently decided to try developing a brand. Their stated goal in doing so wasn’t to change the face of the University, but to boil down the culture of our beautiful campus and community to the essentials of what makes UNM such a unique and special place.
So they hired a branding company called 160over90. A branding company “headquartered in Philadelphia.” Cue scratched record sound. UNM was said in the University’s announcement to be “the heartbeat of New Mexico,” So why are we hiring out to a company that isn’t local?
That’s the first big mistake made in the mission to “brand” UNM. They forgot that we are local. That we pride ourselves on being local and having local vendors. Or maybe they just don’t care, because in the announcement it talks about how intricately connected UNM is to our local community, yet they go straight for an east coast branding company.
And then this branding company— being paid substantially by our tuition and fees and by the government funding UNM receives from the state and the federal governments — gives us a slogan that not only fails to capture what we are about, but also looks like one of the Board of Directors has a cousin who does graphic design (nepotism, anyone?)
Or maybe it’s because UNM has no faith in their own students and professors. I mean, we have Business, Creative Writing, Professional Writing and Communications departments full of brilliant students and professors. We have a huge variety of art students here, too. Why didn’t we design our brand in-house? Or better yet, with all of the local design companies, why didn’t we bolster our own economy and give the job to locals? At least they would be familiar with UNM.
“Individuals Together.” That’s what they came up with. They interviewed 800 students, apparently. And all they came up with was, “Oh, hey, guys, it looks like this university is made up of a bunch of individual people who go to school together.” “You’re right, Steve, what incredible insight! No other university in the nation is made up of individual people who go to school together!”
Never mind the fact that New Mexico is one of the only states in the country that is minority-majority. Never mind the unique Lottery Scholarship program that keeps New Mexico high school graduates in state and in school. Never mind the Air Force Base. Never mind Sandia Laboratory. Never mind the first Hispanic female governor. Never mind our rich history, our bilingual state. Never mind the fact that we are a true melting pot, the kind of state that lives up to the dreams of our nation.
They don’t see our culture and think, “Now that is one DIVERSE university. That is one university where every race, color, creed and orientation has the opportunity to fully succeed. That is one university with a unique, inclusive, open, strong community; ready to stand proud and show us who they are.” Nope, they went with “Individuals Together.” I bet I can come up with something better.[Five minutes pass] “Unity. Diversity. University.” Maybe it isn’t brilliant, but it’s definitely better than the tripe they gave us for the low price of $1,000,000.
Sincerely,
Paige Mowrer
UNM student
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