Northern ARizona University

Impact. That's NAU.

Developing a new brand campaign to position NAU as the nation's preeminent engine of opportunity, vehicle of economic mobility, and driver of social impact.

Determination. That's NAU.

THE PROJECT

Utilizing the University's new strategic roadmap, comprehensive market research, and competitor positioning analysis, we engaged the NAU community in the development of a new brand positioning framework to help share NAU's one-of-a-kind brand story.

The framework served as inspiration for the development of two creative concepts, which were tested through focus groups and an online survey of over 1,000 Arizona residents. "That's NAU" emerged as the concept that best expressed NAU's brand vision and captured the attention of key audiences in ways that were distinctive and memorable.

To help bring the new concept to life, Red Cactus developed brand guidelines for the consistent application of the brand and conducted presentations and workshops to assist with a successful rollout and implementation strategy. In close collaboration with the NAU team, we also developed billboards, digital displays, and videos to activate the campaign across multiple platforms in both English and Spanish.

THE IMPACT

The "That's NAU" campaign quickly made an impact, earning Gold at the 2024 Educational Advertising Awards, Platinum at the 2023 MARCOM Awards, and Platinum at the 2023 Hermes Creative Awards. Beyond the accolades, the campaign helped elevate NAU’s visibility, fostered institutional pride, and directly contributed to the university’s strategic goals. In 2023, NAU welcomed the largest number of first-year Arizona resident students in its 124-year history, marking a major success in its recruitment and brand-building efforts.

What We Did

Market Research

Competitor Positioning Analysis

Brand Positioning Framework

Brand Creative Concepts

Concept Testing/Validation Survey

Brand Guidelines

Living the Brand Workshops

Advertising

Billboards

Digital Displays

Videos

Awareness and Ad Recall Study

Want to learn more about our branding process?

Collaborative. The Red Cactus team has seamlessly integrated with our in-house brand and creative services team, providing invaluable support and expertise that complements our initiatives.

RenSu Yang, Associate Vice President of Marketing

Distinctive. That's NAU.

NAU Achieves record Enrollment

In 2023, NAU welcomed the largest number of first-year Arizona resident students in its 124-year history including the largest number of Native American and Hispanic students ever. The average high school GPA was also higher than last year's record.

Boosting Brand Metrics

Our new brand campaign won Gold at the 2024 Educational Advertising Awards, Platinum at the 2023 MARCOM Awards, and Platinum at the 2023 Hermes Creative Awards while boosting brand equity metrics.

According to Harris Poll Brand Platform data, 2023 saw statistically significant gains in awareness, willingness to recommend, and consideration, among other metrics. Notably, familiarity with the NAU brand rose from 61.9% of respondents in 2022 to 66.5% in 2023.

NAU also enjoyed a net gain of +6% in favorability, according to a 2023 survey of over 1,000 Arizona residents.

Remarkable ELEMENT: Brevity

The "That's NAU" campaign underscores the importance of brevity in marketing. By distilling the university's brand promise into a simple, impactful phrase, the campaign resonated deeply with target audiences, strengthened brand recognition and drove meaningful results.

Beatrice and her team have been integral to the success of our new brand campaign. It feels like Red Cactus has always been a part of our work and helped us kick up our efforts about ten notches in a very short amount of time. The feedback from stakeholders has been stellar.

Jessica Lawless, Director of Brand Strategy

Northern ARizona University

Impact. That's NAU.

Determination. That's NAU.

What We Did

Direct. Powerful.

Collaborative. The Red Cactus team has seamlessly integrated with our in-house brand and creative services team, providing invaluable support and expertise that complements our initiatives.

Distinctive. That's NAU.

NAU Achieves record Enrollment

Boosting Brand Metrics

Remarkable ELEMENT: Brevity

Beatrice and her team have been integral to the success of our new brand campaign. It feels like Red Cactus has always been a part of our work and helped us kick up our efforts about ten notches in a very short amount of time. The feedback from stakeholders has been stellar.

Get inspired

Northern ARizona University

Impact. That's NAU.

Determination. That's NAU.

What We Did

Direct. Powerful.

Collaborative. The Red Cactus team has seamlessly integrated with our in-house brand and creative services team, providing invaluable support and expertise that complements our initiatives.

Distinctive. That's NAU.

NAU Achieves record Enrollment

Boosting Brand Metrics

Remarkable ELEMENT: Brevity

Beatrice and her team have been integral to the success of our new brand campaign. It feels like Red Cactus has always been a part of our work and helped us kick up our efforts about ten notches in a very short amount of time. The feedback from stakeholders has been stellar.

Get inspired

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