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University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
Strategic Communications and Marketing
Brand Guidelines

Implementing On-Brand Writing in Departmental Newsletters

Importance

This training is essential to ensure all departmental newsletters reflect a cohesive and powerful representation of the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. Aligning with the university’s brand standards helps maintain a consistent message, amplifies the university’s voice and strengthens its overall identity.

Target Audience 

  • Writers/Content creators
  • Designers
  • Marketing staff

Definitions and Brand Guidance

  • Name: The first and second reference name of the institution is used to present the university consistently.
  • Brand Pillars: Core values such as innovation, community, momentum and discovery guide all communications.
  • Tone: The style in which communications are delivered, balancing confidence with an approachable demeanor.

How-to/Instructions

Step 1: Define your communications goals

  • Before drafting your email, consider your audience and the purpose of your message. Defining your goals ahead of time will help you draft your message and evaluate its success.

Step 2: Utilize correct naming conventions

  • Always use “University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign” for first mentions.
  • For subsequent references, use “Illinois,” “U. of I.” or “the Urbana campus” as appropriate.

Step 3: Highlight brand pillars

  • Use content that embodies the pillars of innovation, community, momentum and discovery. For example, elevate stories that showcase groundbreaking research, community involvement and societal impact.

Step 4: Implement on-brand personality and tone

  • Maintain a confident, engaging and inclusive voice. Ensure the tone reflects an optimistic, helpful approach.
  • Avoid overly complex language and focus on readability. Jargon and acronyms should be avoided where possible; keep it clear and inspiring.
  • Be sure to include headings, bulleted lists and paragraph breaks to optimize readability. Emails should be easy to read on desktop and mobile devices. Consider your own interactions with emails and aim to communicate the most important information.
  • Create a compelling subject line to encourage interaction and readership. Focus on strong, active verbs and clarity.

Step 5: Visual and design consistency

  • Use official logos, colors and graphic elements in line with university guidelines.
  • Adhere to design standards to present a cohesive look across all communications.

Step 6: Final review and edits

  • Review the content with relevant stakeholders before distribution.
  • Confirm alignment with the brand’s visual and written standards. Ensure consistency in naming, messaging and visuals.

Step 7: Evaluate email performance and metrics

After your email has sent, run a report on your communication’s performance based on the following factors:

  • Audience: Total emails sent
  • Opens: Full opens, desktop opens, mobile opens, not opened
  • Clicks: Number of people who clicked a link, clicks per person, total clicks

The ways you utilize these metrics will depend on the goals you set for your communication. For example, if the purpose of your email was to drive traffic to a webpage, you might define success by link clicks. It is important to review your metrics to see if your communication is meeting its intended goals.

Tips and Tricks

  • Keep it simple: Avoid jargon to make content accessible to a broader audience.
  • Create a feedback loop: Regularly gather feedback to refine future newsletters and ensure alignment with brand standards.

Additional Resources

Messaging workshops – How and why to move away from using UIUC. Harnessing brand consistency: Editorial guidelines.

Messaging trainings – Utilizing the Illinois brand personality, tone and voice. Examples of brand writing in different communications.

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