CITY COLLEGES OF CHICAGO
Showcasing the stories of a city-wide system.
CHALLENGE
City Colleges of Chicago is a system of seven colleges spread out across the city, empowering Chicago residents since 1911. But with a dated brand that didn’t showcase the collective’s story or the individuality of each college, it was difficult to connect with target audiences.
SOLUTION
Working arm in arm with key stakeholders from City Colleges of Chicago and all seven colleges, we refreshed the system’s overall strategy and structure, and reenergized its image in the marketplace.
RESULTS
After launch, fall 2022 enrollment was +6.9% year over year, exceeding the Illinois community college average of +1.5% and the national average (flat). This work also won a 2023 Creative Communication Award in Branding and Brand Identity.
To bring the City Colleges of Chicago story to life, we first had to experience it. Through workshops with key stakeholders; quantitative and qualitative research with students, faculty, staff and community influencers; and site visits to all seven colleges — we got a first-hand look at what City Colleges is all about.
During our strategy work, we created a brand architecture that connected the entire system. It also gave each college a set of unique culture drivers and personality traits. We used those as our jumping off point for extending the overall expression.
It's on the move, it never backs down, it packs a punch and it's full of heart: Welcome to the City Colleges of Chicago brand expression.
The foundation was established but the work was just beginning. We then created guidelines for the overall system and each individual college so all the internal teams could hit the ground running (on brand, of course).
“Simple Truth worked hard to build consensus across a large and diverse group of stakeholders and delivered a brand that truly reflected who City Colleges is and the impact it makes on students’ lives.” – David Deyhle, Vice Chancellor, Institutional Branding and Strategic Marketing, City Colleges of Chicago
City Colleges helps turn passions into professions. We brought that truth to life through our “Love it. Live it.” campaign. And just like the overall City Colleges branding, this campaign worked at both a system and individual-college level.