Charting New Horizons in Branding
Greetings, fellow Mendoza teammates! It is with great excitement that I reintroduce myself to you. I say “reintroduce” because I began my role as Senior Director of Marketing and Brand Strategy in November 2023, just before the birth of my son, William, who joined us in the middle of the winter storm on January 12, 2024. As I am now back from maternity leave – and as a nod to “the Great Wave” – I feel like a sailor returning to familiar shores after a voyage at sea. Let’s hoist the sails and explore uncharted waters together!
Let me first recognize our talented marketing and brand strategy team who are the unsung heroes behind our brand’s voyage. Composed of teammates who specialize in marketing (led by Brian Connelly) and communications (led by Carol Elliott), as well as content development and digital and social media, together our team harnesses creativity, strategic acumen, and tireless dedication to propel Mendoza to new heights. We are committed to shaping narratives, sculpting advertising campaigns, and weaving stories that resonate with key audiences.
Here’s our course for the year ahead:
- Imagination Unleashed - Brace yourselves for marketing and communications campaigns that defy gravity. We’re ready to ignite minds through new messaging, storytelling, and advertising that promote our brand and attract new students. Creativity, my friends, is our compass.
- Brick by Brand Brick - Notre Dame’s iconic Golden Dome was not built in a day. Similarly, we’ll strengthen our Mendoza brand by conducting market research to lay the foundation for new strategies and tactics. We aim to enhance our brand by optimizing creative solutions and targeted messages while exploring new trends.
- Flowing Communications - Our Mendoza communication channels span across the seven seas! From social media, print, email campaigns, stories, videos, and more - reach out to us with your story recommendations and departmental updates!
Already in 2024…
- The marketing and brand strategy team is launching new assets and telling new stories, thanks to the support and collaboration of our amazing faculty and staff and our inspiring students and alumni.
- Advertising for our master’s programs is meeting audiences where they are through paid media as we roll targeted, scroll-stopping messages on Google, LinkedIn, Meta, and more.
- A new edition of our renowned Mendoza Business magazine, reaching more than 25,000 alumni and friends of the College, is in the works and will be published this spring. The cover story presents an in-depth exploration of how our mission-focused research is having a real impact on some of the human community’s most pressing needs, such as recovering from the devastation caused by natural disasters.
- Our team is traveling near and far to capture new content that showcases experiential learning in global settings, including a trip with the Global EMBA crew to Barcelona, Spain, in early March.
- Our Mendoza website has been audited and updated to reflect program value propositions and fresh messaging and graphics, which has led to positive outcomes, including:
- Newly optimized pages.
- Increased organic traffic.
- Reduced bounce and exit rates.
- Improved mobile-friendliness of pages.
- Piloted a new content management system for the soon-to-launch Meyer Business on the Frontlines website.
- Comprehensively revised the site to meet Web Content Accessibility Standards. This included updates to design, including adding contrast ratio for visual impairment and stop/play buttons on video for motion sensitivity and providing users with assistive tools such as screen readers to better navigate the site.
As I settle back into Mendoza Suite 123 (come visit!) and begin planning the work ahead, I am grateful for the opportunity to embark on this grand adventure with all of you. So, fellow sailors, may our hashtags trend, our brand compass remain true, and our Mendoza community legacy ripple through time!
Jen
Jennifer Wade
Sr. Director of Marketing & Brand Strategy