Program Management
7
Abbey K. Elder
Doing outreach is an important job for both program managers and general OER support staff, but it requires a set of skills that we aren’t often equipped to do. In this section, we’ll cover some basics for marketing OER and partners you can ask for support, both on and off campus. In the next chapter, we will expand this overview to look at more general tips around building and managing your program’s brand.
What is Marketing?
The American Marketing Association defines marketing as
“the process of planning and executing the conception, pricing, promotion, and distribution of ideas, goods, and services, to create exchanges that satisfy individual and organizational objectives” (Bennett, 1989).
For the purposes of this book, we’ll focus on the last section of that definition, “creating exchanges that satisfy objectives.” Marketing isn’t just about branding and logos. It is also about making connections with people based on your experiences and your ties to a common goal.
While traditional marketing is focused on selling a product to a wide base of consumers, marketing for institutional initiatives is more focused on broadening awareness of existing and future support. In other words, just because you’ve built something, that doesn’t mean that your program will see widespread usage. You will want to continue to promote your program throughout its growth to ensure that your community is aware of your work and its evolution over time. Proper use of marketing tactics can ensure that your community is aware of the programs you’ve built and can take advantage of the opportunities you’ve provided for them.
Building a Brand Identity
Before you can set out on promoting your initiative, it’s a good idea to put together a brand identity. A brand identity is a set of standards that make your program recognizable at a glance for your audience. Your brand identity might include a recognizable color scheme, logo, character, or motto. You may tie your brand identity into your institutional branding by utilizing your institution’s colors or mascot. Keep in mind that if you are using your institution’s branding you may need approval from an institutional marketing or communications team before finalizing your branding. Next, we’ll look at a few examples of how brand identities are crafted.
A good example of a clear brand identity is an OpenStax textbook (See Figure 7.1). The basic, bold text implies that their textbooks provide a clear and general overview of common general education topics, which reflects the background of OpenStax’s work.
So, how should you approach branding for your OER program? There are no hard and fast rules here, but there are a few tips and tricks that you can follow.
Creating a Logo
The branding for your OER program should be three things: simple, clear, and consistent. This work usually starts with your logo or an icon that represents your work in some way. For example, The Iowa Open Education Action Tea