Rebranding the Tepper School of Business (A)

<div style="font-size: 0.95em; line-height: 1.4;"><p align="justify">The (A) case outlines the process leading to the rebranding of the Tepper School of Business (the Tepper School) at Carnegie Mellon University (CMU). Lynda Oliver, chief marketing and communications officer at the Tepper School hired Digital Pulp, a New York-based advertising agency, for this project. The case outlines the marketing research process and findings—including a competitive brand analysis and several in-depth interviews and focus groups—that led to a new messaging hierarchy for the Tepper School to represent the school’s new positioning. Oliver had to choose between five proposed new slogans for the Tepper School to communicate this new positioning to the public and present her choice to the dean for approval. The chosen slogan had to reflect the Tepper School’s new competitive positioning and serve as the unifying basis for all future marketing communications. The (B) case presents the chosen slogan as well as a brief description of the proposed implementation process. It also presents sample advertisements, asking students to develop additional ones following the same format.

<div style="font-size: 0.95em; line-height: 1.4;"><p align="justify">The cases can be used at the undergraduate and graduate levels in a brand management course, in the branding module of a marketing strategy course, and in an introductory marketing course. The cases also work well in courses on positioning, as well as in those that introduce the concept, by providing the link between the internal process of deciding the new positioning to the outward-facing implementation of communicating it to potential customers using the chosen slogan and advertising campaign.<br><br>After working through the cases and assignment questions, students will be able to:<br><br><ul><li>understand the process for positioning and rebranding a brand, from marketing research to decision and implementation;</li><li>understand the importance of knowing the target market and competitive positioning to determine a brand’s positioning;</li><li>understand the importance of building consensus and alignment by involving key stakeholders throughout the process—particularly important with a marketing initiative that could impact an entire organization;</li><li>choose brand concepts and slogans that are differentiating and unique;</li><li>understand the importance of a messaging hierarchy, as well as voice and tone guides, for a consistent marketing communications strategy; and</li><li>create further advertisements based on a given messaging hierarchy.</li></ul>

• messaging hierarchy
• marketing research
• brand positioning
• competitive analysis
• rebranding process
• brand strategy
• slogan selection
• marketing strategy
• target market
• stakeholder alignment
• brand identity
• market differentiation
• advertising campaign
• brand messaging
• brand communication
• voice and tone
• Tepper School of Business
• business school branding
• brand development
• strategic positioning
• marketing implementation.