The UO is getting ready to start telling the world just how good its academic and research endeavors really are.

Following months of research exploring the heart of what the university represents, a new integrated communications initiative to tell the UO story is about to get under way. Faculty, staff and students will get a chance to learn about the process that went into the development of the effort, as well as a chance to view some of the material, at a pair of town hall meetings Jan. 6.

The events, at 3 p.m. and 5 p.m. in the Ford Alumni Center ballroom, will give the campus community a chance to see elements of the new branding campaign and discuss it with project leaders. The year-long effort delved deep into the university’s culture of experimentation, innovation and collaboration to find the unique ways it creates and explores — as well as how it brings new knowledge and new ways of thinking to the state, nation and world.

Tim Clevenger, the UO’s associate vice president for communications, marketing and brand management, said it’s important to note that the branding investment wasn’t about finding a catchy slogan or forcing the university into a preconceived mold for the sake of advertising. Months were spent talking to faculty, staff and alumni to understand what lies at the core of the university and develop brand elements that reflect its unique place and remarkable people as well as its effervescence and occasional whimsy.

“This is all about telling the UO story in ways that highlight not only the amazing work we do here but also the many ways we go about doing it and the many ways it helps improve the lives of others,” Clevenger said.  “It goes to the heart of what makes us the place that we are and telling that story to the rest of the world.”

The university worked with the agency 160over90 on the initiative, which is funded through a private gift. The campaign will begin rolling out the campaign later this month and into January, including the debut of a redesigned UO home page on Dec. 29 and a new commercial to be shown during the Rose Bowl game Jan. 1.

The initiative is planned as the start of a four-year effort.

—By Greg Bolt, Public Affairs Communications