Marketing and Communications (Marcom) is one of the four main service areas of the PEAK Initiative.
Prior to PEAK, the allocation of Marcom resources differed across campuses, colleges, and units. This led to inconsistent quality of services, varying adherence to branding standards, inequitable access to services, and duplication of services.
Not all campuses, colleges or units experienced all of these challenges, but through surveys and interviews with University of Minnesota Marcom professionals and leaders, we found that there is more room for consistency and equity in Marcom service delivery.
Through PEAK, specialization in the following areas will become available to existing staff:
- Account Services
- Creative Services
- Digital Communications
- Measurement and Analytics
This will create equitable access to marketing expertise, best practices, and standardization of practices focused on meeting strategic Marcom priorities. Alignment between University Relations (UR) Leadership, Marcom leads, and local Marcom professionals will be enhanced to formalize accountability between the groups.
How is the Work Changing?
Digital communications, creative services, account services, and measurement and analytics support will be centralized in teams within UR and will provide common good services to the system. Local Marcom leads will be empowered to lead and develop high-level strategy, and will continue to direct unit-specific work.
This will create equitable access to marketing expertise, best practices, and standardization of practices focused on meeting strategic Marcom priorities. Alignment between University Relations (UR) Leadership, Marcom leads, and local Marcom professionals will be enhanced to formalize accountability between the groups.
Individuals performing work in the common good services team will benefit from:
- Opportunities for career advancement through clearly defined professional development
- Developing expertise in a specific functional area
- Work on a diverse portfolio of projects
- Working in a community of similarly skilled professionals
How will roles change regarding Marcom work?
It depends on the individual and the needs of the campus, college, or unit. Today, many Marcom staff perform a variety of marketing and communications responsibilities ranging from internal and external communications to web development to graphic design.
Through the PEAK Initiative workforce transition process, there will be some parts of Marcom work that will stay within the campus, college or unit team and some that will move centrally.
Marketing and Communications Resources & Contacts
More information about marketing services, including common goods services, can be found within the University Relations website.
Meet the People
- Laura Johnson, Senior Account Services Director
- Sara Froehlich, Director of Digital Communications
- Adam Hammer, Creative Services Director
- Eric Meyer, Measurement & Analytics Director
Transition Teams
As each academic or administrative unit moves through PEAK implementation, representatives and leaders from each unit will form a Transition Team. Team members serve as a valuable resource for employees and supervisors within the unit as questions arise. When your area is actively engaged in the process, you will be able to find your representative on the list of transition team members from Finance, Human Resources (HR), Information Technology (IT), and Marketing and Communications (Marcom).
PEAK Office
Connect with us via email at [email protected].