University of Texas at Austin’s McCombs School of Business Issues Marketing RFP

The University of Texas at Austin is the largest academic component of The University of Texas System, a major research university, and home to more than 50,000 students and 24,000 faculty and staff members.

The University of Texas was established by the state legislature in 1881; by popular vote, the Main University was located at Austin and the Medical Branch at Galveston.  The Austin campus was opened in September, 1883, with a faculty of 8 and a student body of 218.  The central campus has grown from 40 to more than 360 acres, while the student body has increased to about 38,000 undergraduates and 12,000 graduate students.

The University of Texas at Austin’s McCombs School of Business (“School”) is seeking a partner to complete strategic brand refresh, brand experience and communication plan.  Today with a new Dean, the School has a need to develop a new image and marketing path.

The University of Texas at Austin has issued an RFP for marketing, including:

A. Strategy Review and Brand Positioning Development;
B. Design, Deployment and Communication Plan.

Scope of Work:

A. Strategy Review and Brand Positioning Development

1. Discovery: Identify Stakeholders and Create Engagement Plan
   • Identify internal core stakeholders (e.g. School Dean, students, department chairs, and School’s sub brands), internal but indirect stakeholders (e.g. faculty, departments) and external and indirect stakeholders (e.g. Red McCombs, alumni, donors, media, taxpayers, peer academics)
   • Engage stakeholder groups at various levels as a part of asset and School’s current brand perception discovery process and strategy development, input and approval processes.
2. Review Current Assets and Materials
   • Conduct internal and external audience research (qualitative and quantitative) of brand strength, awareness, and position.
3. Review and Assessment of School’s Key Competitors
   • Identify School’s key competitors for undergraduate, graduate and executive education programs.
   • Review key competitors’ strengths, weaknesses and implications, if any, for School’s brand positioning development.
4. Positioning Development, Proposal and Validation
5.  Deliverables
   • Original brand research (incorporating any existing research) with report of results.
   • Written recommendations for strategies and tactics to increase brand and sub-brands awareness. The recommendations will reflect School’s core strengths, address the needs and aspirations of the next generation of students, provide a perspective on the evolving needs of the business environment the School will need to address and inspire other key constituents including alumni, faculty, staff, and others.
   • Brand standards manual and style guide.

B. Design, Deployment and Communication Plan

1. Use brand strategy, student lifecycle communications strategy, internal and external brand communication strategy, and public relations strategy recommendations

Proposal due by July 22 to:

The University of Texas at Austin
Purchasing Office
110 Inner Campus Drive
Main Bldg., Room 132
Austin, Texas 78712-1140
Attn: Darya Vienne