Data is important and it was at the heart of every step of this rebranding. These projects would not have been possible without the Bronco community, so it was important to show the critical role that students, faculty, staff and alumni played in developing these initiatives.

In partnership with Whitman Insights (WINS), UMC conducted a two-phase research process using qualitative and quantitative methods. Simply put, the goal of this research was to identify what Santa Clara does well and what information is important to the people who matter.

The first phase established baseline measures of reputation among key audiences, identifying perceived strengths and weaknesses as well as Santa Clara’s place in the higher education landscape. UMC conducted 10 campus focus groups, 42 interviews with key stakeholders, and a survey with responses from 2,142 undergraduate and graduate students, faculty, staff, alumni, as well as potential students and parents.

What has the UMC learned?

First, Santa Clara is starting from a great place. The Bronco community as well as prospective students and families hold SCU in high regard, with four areas emerging as key elements:

• Jesuit education: Jesuit principles remain the beating heart of SCU. These values ​​guide how the University approaches education, from the teacher-scholar model to the interdisciplinary curriculum. The Jesuit tradition is indeed very much alive.
• Positive impact: Santa Clara champions solutions for a world in need. Its stakeholders pride themselves on the institution’s unwillingness to sacrifice community and ethics in the name of profit. Santa Clara is committed to making the right choices, no matter how difficult they may be.
• Location: Being based in California and having a beautiful campus makes for a fun, sunny experience, reflecting the optimism of the Broncos. Additionally, being in the heart of Silicon Valley presents tremendous opportunities for students and alumni.
• Lifetime Community: The Bronco community creates bonds for life; a byproduct of an 11:1 student-to-faculty ratio, no-bad-door policies, supportive faculty, and a thriving student body that mobilizes through sports, clubs, and causes.

Notably, most of the test groups thought Santa Clara was heading in the right direction — and at a rate more than double that of their opinion of higher education in general.

With this good news, there were still areas for improvement. Although the majority of the Santa Clara community and prospective students generally felt that the school was becoming more diverse, it was possible to highlight diversity in terms of sexual orientation, socioeconomic status, and disability.

Using these and other insights, Decoded developed a series of different brand positioning options, including the “What the World Needs” manifesto, powerful facts, and storytelling executions for awareness campaigns and registration.

During Phase 2, WINS and UMC tested these options with different audiences and demographics through surveys and focus groups. A total of 2,127 undergraduate and graduate students, faculty, staff, alumni, prospective students and parents responded to these surveys.

In addition to refining the “What the World Needs” brand platform and enrollment campaign concepts, UMC learned that Santa Clara alumni’s stories of skill and real-world impact have achieved high results with all audiences. Meanwhile, prospective students have expressed some confusion about the connection between Santa Clara values ​​and Jesuit education – an idea that offers the opportunity to bring Jesuit ideals to life through the stories of alumni living the mission of the University through their work.

Finally, a list of 33 facts about Santa Clara was tested to see which were considered the most or least impactful. The best performing power facts, some of which are listed below, will be an integral part of strategic communication of important differentiators.