By the numbers
58M+
cumulative impressions
160%
of attendance goal reached in person
860%
more attendees joined via livestream
Client background
The University of Houston System holds one of the oldest public art collections in the United States. It ranks among the most significant. The collection could compete with any major university’s in scope and quality. Almost no one knew it existed.
The challenge
Awareness of the collection was near zero. Wayfinding across campuses was poor, so visitors couldn’t locate the art they came to see. The university had no brand strategy tying the collection together. External communications were essentially absent. The University of Houston System engaged CKP to lead research and build a branding program that could fix all three problems at once, across a multi-campus collection.
The CKP approach
CKP started with research. That research shaped every recommendation for the relaunch. The team built a new brand identity, including a name, graphics, and positioning. CKP produced concept and design presentations to bring that identity to campus leadership. Photography and multimedia assets gave the brand material to run on.
CKP developed an earned media strategy to carry the relaunch into the press. The team built a marketing and advertising strategy alongside it, then executed a content marketing plan tied to the launch. Media relations work centered on a single relaunch event, designed to introduce the new brand to Houston in one night.
What we delivered
- Branding: new brand identity, name, graphics, positioning, and supporting materials
- Strategic Planning: earned media strategy and recommendations
- Advertising: marketing and advertising strategy and execution
- Content Marketing: strategy and execution
- Media Relations: execution of the relaunch media campaign
Results
The rebrand succeeded on its own terms. The public relations results made the case just as clearly. The one-night relaunch event generated 83 media placements and more than 58 million cumulative impressions. Publicity value topped $241,000. In-person attendance hit 160% of the university’s original goal.
The University of Houston opened the event to livestream viewers. That decision brought in 860% more attendees than the in-person count alone. It became the best-attended event in the Public Art program’s 50-year history. It cemented the new brand identity from its first public appearance.
