Minneapolis Community and Technical College Seeks Branding Firm

Minneapolis Community and Technical College (MCTC) is a public college located in the Loring Park neighborhood at the western edge of downtown Minneapolis. It is one of the 37 institutions in the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities system. They seek a branding agency to assist with the development and implementation of an updated Brand Identity System. The project will include consultation and decision-making with members of MCTC’s President’s Council and its Marketing Director. The discovery process will include consultations with other College representatives such as students, staff and faculty. These consultations should follow a specific, documented process. The brand elements developed need to be functional in a variety of combinations of color, size and media applications.

Background:

MCTC formed in 1996 with the merger of a technical college with a long history of vocational education dating back to 1914 and an open-enrollment community college established in 1965. Currently, the campus covers 21.6 acres and includes a state-of- the-art Science Center, dining hall and outdoor plaza.

Accredited by the Higher Learning Commission of the North Central Association of Colleges, MCTC enrolls nearly 13,000 credit students annually and is an active partner in initiatives designed to strengthen the social, economic and cultural vitality of the Twin Cities metropolitan area. MCTC is proud to be one of the most diverse schools in the Minnesota State system with students who are diverse and eager to learn and share with one another in a global campus environment. According to students, MCTC’s diversity is a significant reason for choosing to pursue their studies here.

Scope of Work:

Develop and implement a brand strategy to communicate MCTC’s value proposition. The project will include assessing and, possibly, updating primary branding elements including the College’s name, wordmark, logo, graphics and tagline in a manner that:

• Results in increased student enrollment and retention
• Strengthens partnerships with communities and businesses positioning MCTC as the region’s workforce engine of the future
• Leads to stronger support among opinion leaders and public officials
• Increases the institution’s unique brand value, recognition and visibility
• Aligns creative direction and brand guidelines with the College’s Mission, Vision, Values and strategic priorities
• Strengthens MCTC’s competitive position and unique brand promise relative to other institutions
• Develops an aspirational, yet accurate and believable, brand promise
• Creates a system to guide future development of marketing and communication strategies and tactics considerate of accessibility compliance guidelines
• Provides assistance in rolling out and obtaining institution-wide compliance with the use and management of the new brand and associated messages

Due Date:

September 25, 2017

Address:

Geoffrey Jones, Director of Marketing and Communications
Minneapolis Community and Technical College
1501 Hennepin Ave
Minneapolis, MN 55403

Padilla PR and Weber Shandwick have Minnesota offices.