Keeley Butler
Contributing Writer
Murray State’s new brand identity “We are Racers.” which cost the University approximately $150,000, was publicly celebrated on Wednesday, Feb. 26.
“We are Racers.” was developed by the Office of Branding, Marketing and Communication and the marketing consulting firm Stamats Communications, Inc. The collaboration included an audit of the University’s brand, an assessment of its brand in the marketplace, strategies for improving school recruitment efforts and an assessment of academic program opportunities which analyzed enrollment growth.
To ensure the new message is open to interpretation, Shawn Touney, executive director of marketing and communication, said the Office of Branding, Marketing and Communication utilized focus groups, campus forums, open houses, internal and external meetings, concept testing and discussions.
Because his office approached this transition thoroughly, Touney said he feels confident the new brand will be well-received by Murray State. He also said the new message centers on the word “Racers” as it is a single word that has many different meanings to many different people.
Touney said “We are Racers.” is meant to sum up many of the great attributes of Murray State, including a family-like campus atmosphere, personal and professional growth opportunities for our students, supportive faculty and staff who are committed to student success, high-quality, career-defining academic programs, outside-the-classroom experiences and a larger, global Racer family.
The University’s collaboration with Stamats has slowly been implemented into the University’s branding, marketing and communication over the past few months.
“We have a 30-second commercial spot,” said Emily White, design specialist for the Office of Branding, Marketing and Communication. “We are starting to put signage out, and it will be on social media. As time passes, we are going to try to build it up more.”
White said the new brand is flexible, so it can be altered to accommodate publications and may be framed to unify individual colleges and departments. A brand tool-kit is available to the public on Murray State’s website and it provides all elements of “We are Racers” as well as instructions for incorporating the brand into individual circumstances.
Some students feel the new brand identity is a better fit than the previous one, “Opportunity Afforded.”
Sophomore Kaya White was among many students who stopped for the brand celebration. Kaya said the new message is more appropriate.
“Well, it’s not really affordable to go here, so I understand why they wanted to change it,” Kaya said. “I don’t feel like there is a lot of initiative going into the ‘affordable’ part.”
On April 26, 2019, the Kentucky Council on Postsecondary Education approved an increase in tuition and fees for undergraduate students of Murray State. In the fall 2019 semester, those students experienced a one percent increase in those costs.
While some students find “We are Racers.” to better fit the University’s brand, others simply find the change to be refreshing.
Freshman Tara Payne was walking through the Curris Center when the celebration caught her eye. Payne said the brand change was exciting, interesting and promoted a culture of community.
“The Racer is our mascot, and this is just a more exciting slogan,” Payne said.
The Office of Branding, Marketing and Communication knew they wanted the idea of “Racers” to be the foundation of the new brand. With unifying the University as their core goal, employees including Touney will be working diligently to promote it.
“We are excited to celebrate this with our campus and greater community. In a way, that is exactly how a brand should be—inclusive and shared,” Touney said.
