Our Illinois brand platform is driven by our university mission, core values and principles.
Our platform establishes the foundation for all internal and external communications and marketing. It expresses both who we are and who we aspire to be. It should guide the messages, materials and communications we use to tell the world the Illinois story.
Positioning Statement
“For people who aim to achieve their impossible, the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign is a public research university that is purpose driven. It delivers renowned academic and research programs at scale and unites people through a collaborative community committed to making a positive impact on humanity.”
A positioning statement acts as a rudder for our brand. It is not meant to be a slogan or tagline, nor used word for word in our marketing and communications materials. We use it to guide how we describe our position in higher education to help us reinforce and enhance our audiences’ perception of our brand as they interact with the university.
Everything we present to our stakeholders — stories, advertising, social media posts, messaging — should support this positioning statement.
Brand Promise
Our overarching promise to our stakeholders
“To provide limitless opportunities for anyone driven to pursue their impossible.”
This simple, powerful statement is crafted to resonate with every member of the university community, and it should support a consistent experience for each of our audiences. Everyone who sees our brand promise should feel as if it speaks to them, and the phrasing is aspirational by design. We want this promise to inspire everyone to achieve more than they believed possible before they became engaged with Illinois. And we believe the unparalleled access to the opportunities we provide and the excellence on a massive scale we provide at Illinois sparks a personal drive to make their own positive impact on the world.
Brand Pillars
The core values on which our Illinois brand is built
Our pillars represent our truths to the world around us. They directly, quickly and emphatically communicate our values, culture and purpose. They clarify our competitive advantages and describe what makes us unique.
Innovation
We break boundaries and challenge convention. We develop and deliver ideas that positively impact the world.
Community
We are building a global community that supports one another and works together to serve the greater good.
Momentum
We move forward fearlessly, unafraid to question the past in order to build a brighter future for all.
Discovery
We provide access to countless paths of exploration and support people in pursuit of their passions.
Every time you communicate with any university audience, consider which brand pillars your message will evoke. Your messaging should always bring to your audience’s mind at least one brand pillar.
Illinois is known for being an innovative, collaborative community that is constantly moving forward, offering a rich environment designed for discovery. When our audiences hear or read messages that consistently evoke those concepts, our brand is solidified and strengthened.
Brand Story
A brief statement that brings our Illinois brand to life
It is important that we tell our brand story in a strong, clear and concise manner. The brand pillars and brand promise guide our thinking and help us to create materials and messages that bring our brand story to life in an inspiring and relatable way that represents our university.
We are a community of diverse thinkers. Our goal is to inspire everyone to pursue the innovative and the impossible. We are committed to learning, discovery and engagement so that all can benefit from our findings as we move forward together.
Here, there is no ordinary work. This is a place for those who seek the extraordinary. The people who want to impact lives, communities and even the world: This is the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.