March 31, 2014
Northeast Texas Community College (NTCC) †is getting a new look as it approaches 30 years of serving the area. This week, the college unveiled a new logo and branding campaign that highlights NTCC's commitment to providing responsible, exemplary learning opportunities.
Last fall, NTCC engaged the services of Interact Communications, one of the top community college marketing firms in the country, to conduct market research, create a recognizable brand and develop a comprehensive marketing and recruitment plan. The research phase included focus groups with local stakeholders, surveys, competitor reviews, and more.
"There is a lot of behind-the-scenes work that goes into rebranding an organization. It is not enough to develop attractive, creative marketing pieces and call it a brand. We really wanted something that resonates with our community and that fits who we are as a college," Dr. Brad Johnson, NTCC President, said. "We are exceptionally pleased with the result of these efforts and I think you will begin to see an increase in the visibility of NTCC over the coming months."
The new brand statement is "focused" and Johnson feels that the single word does a good job of summarizing the college's strategic vision.
"FOCUSED†is a simple concept and I think it sums up what we do nicely. We are a community college in every sense of the word - meaning that our primary mission is to meet the needs of the community. As those needs shift, it is our job to adapt our focus to meet them," Johnson said.
The new logo, features a stylized "N" for Northeast and maintains NTCC's original blue and red color scheme. Jodi Weber, NTCC Director of Marketing and Public Relations, noted that the previous logo was developed about 20 years ago and was beginning to look dated.
"As we all know, styles change drastically in 20 years. While our most recent logo served us faithfully for a long time, we decided it was time to create a fresh look that will move us into the future," Weber said.
According to Johnson, the new brand and logo rollout will not happen overnight.
"Implementing a new logo can be an expensive endeavor when you factor in signage and other more permanent fixtures on campus. With this in mind, we anticipate that it will take a couple of years for us to completely phase out the old logo," Johnson said.
For now, the community can expect to see the new look in local marketing, social media, on the college website and on new merchandise produced for the college. The Eagles athletic brand will remain the same.
In addition to the new look, NTCC is also making a commitment to keeping the community more informed about what is happening at the college.
"I often have people in the community tell me that they want to know more about what is happening and†what we offer at NTCC. The new marketing plan is being designed to help us share our story with a broader audience," Johnson said.
Johnson acknowledged that part of this effort will include telling success stories of NTCC students. Any current or former NTCC student who would like to share his or her success story with the college is encouraged to contact Weber at†jweber@ntcc.edu†or 903-434-8114.
"We know that our students are out there doing great things in our community and beyond. Those stories†reveal†the heart of what we do here at the college," Johnson said.
