• by Larissa Faw , January 12, 2015

The University of Oregon is currently riding a wave of increased publicity and attention, thanks to the football team, which competes in Monday's College Football National Championship Game against Ohio State.

Now, branding agency 160over90 is using this attention to launch a four-year branding initiative to increase the school's overall awareness and enrollment. This is the first time the University of Oregon has launched an integrated marketing-communications initiative of this scale.

Dubbed ‘We If,’ the brand campaign will employ a mix of traditional, social and guerrilla tactics to highlight UO's storied history of experimentation, innovation and collaboration. "We tell the complete UO story from the fields to the classrooms and are defining, articulating and differentiating its brand within the higher education landscape," says Tammo Walter, chief creative officer, principal, 160over90.

"The University of Oregon is well known for its celebrated athletic accomplishments, but national or international awareness for their academic equity and achievements is comparatively low. While telling the academic story, we had to balance the university’s strong local commitment with UO’s far-reaching contributions and increasingly global impact and affirm UO’s position among the nation’s premier academic and research universities."

The first spot -- which debuted during the Rose Bowl -- showcases memorable and notable moments in the school's history, such as track athlete Steve Prefontaine, author Ken Kesey, and the fact that the movie Animal House was filmed on its campus. These images appear while a narrator speaks about the school's possibilities through the 'if' theme. The ad can be viewed here, and also appears on a specially created microsite.  

The campaign includes print ads, radio spots, Duck mascot pop-up appearances, digital billboard runs, targeted outdoor advertisements, including wall advertisements, as well as train and bus wraps in key West Coast markets. The second phase is expected to launch in the spring.

The University of Oregon and 160over90 partnership began last summer. The client’s work is managed out of 160over90’s Newport Beach, CA office. The Philadelphia-based agency represents other colleges and universities, including Michigan State, Notre Dame and the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.