Marketing and Communications (Marcom) is one of the four main functions within the PEAK Initiative.
Prior to PEAK, Marcom resources varied between campuses/colleges/units. This led to inconsistent quality of services, inconsistent adherence to branding standards, inequitable access to services, and duplication of services.
Not all campuses/colleges/units experienced all of these challenges, but through surveys and interviews with UMN Marcom professionals and leaders, we found that there is more room for consistency and equity in Marcom service delivery.
New positions for existing staff will be created to support specialization in:
- Account Services
- Creative Services
- Digital Communications
- Measurement and Analytics
This will create equitable and inclusive opportunities via clearly defined roles with corresponding standardized responsibilities, classifications, and compensation. Alignment between University Relations (UR) Leadership, Marcom leads, and local Marcom professionals will be enhanced to formalize accountability between the groups.
Marcom resources are listed below.
How is the Work Changing?
Digital communications, creative services, account services, and measurement and analytics support will be centralized in teams within UR that will provide common good services to the system. Local Marcom leads will be empowered to connect with high-level strategy, and will continue to direct unit-specific work.
Individuals performing work in the common good services team will benefit from:
- Opportunities for career advancement through clearly defined opportunities for professional development
- Developing expertise in a certain area
- Working in a community of similarly skilled professionals
Work Today
Staff and resources across campuses/colleges/units can vary widely, which can lead to:
- Inequitable access to services
- Duplication of services
- Inconsistent quality
- Inconsistent adherence to brand standards
Work Tomorrow
Campuses/colleges/units will have:
- Equitable access to Marcom services
- Clear roles and responsibilities
- Consistent quality
- Consistent branding
The UR teams providing common good services will support projects that directly:
- Relate to the website development of primary campuses/colleges/units and related publicly facing center/institute websites
- Support the campuses/colleges/units or University strategic goals
- Achieve clear marketing objectives
If additional consideration is needed to determine if a website/webpage is in-scope, UR will employ a common framework to evaluate the work. UR will not support secondary or tertiary website development that may be related to departmental, faculty, or administrative matters.
Common Good Services
Marcom work that will be performed through UR includes:
Account Services
UR is responsible for raising the University’s profile externally, for promoting the President’s priorities/broader initiatives, and for providing guidance across college/campus/units in these service areas:
- Brand Management
- Marketing Planning & Strategy Consultation
- Paid Advertising & Freelance Management
- Social Media Strategy
- User Experience*
- Digital Strategy & Consultation*
- Project Management
*Indicates service must be provided by UR if a website is considered to be in-scope
Creative Services
UR is responsible for raising the University’s profile externally, for promoting the President’s priorities/broader initiatives, and for providing guidance across college/campus/units in these service areas:
- Graphic Design*
- Multimedia Production*
- Written Content*
- Digital Creative & Production*
*Indicates service must be provided by UR if a website is considered to be in-scope.
Digital Communications
UR is responsible for raising the University’s profile externally, for promoting the President’s priorities/broader initiatives, and for providing guidance across college/campus/units in these service areas:
- Web Development*
- Knowledge Transfer*
*Indicates service must be provided by UR if a website is considered to be in-scope.
Measurements and Analytics
UR is responsible for raising the University’s profile externally, for promoting the President’s priorities/broader initiatives, and for providing guidance across college/campus/units in these service areas:
- Measurement & Analytics Strategy, Consultation and Training
- Small-Scale Surveys
- Strategic & Vendor Support for Large-Scale Surveys
*Indicates service must be provided by UR if a website is considered to be in-scope.
Campus/College/Unit Local Services
Marcom work that will continue to be performed locally includes:
Account Services
Brand Management
- Routine enforcement of the brand locally (e.g., centers)
Marketing Planning and Strategy Consultation
- Developing and implementing the actual unit-specific plan
- Blogs and vlogs production not supported for SEO
Paid Advertising and Freelance Management
- Implementation of college-specific advertising (brand, reputation and recruitment)
- Implementation of strategy (though UR will facilitate this work through a vendor as needed)
- Contract facilitation (including invoice management, etc.) on unit-specific work
- Relationship management with local or selected freelancers
- Commercial filming contracts
Social Media
- Content creation, management, and posting to local accounts
User Experience
- Resolution of smaller day-to-day accessibility issues identified through testing
- Management of accessibility tools (offered by OIT)
- Actual usability testing (performed by Usability Lab)
Digital Strategy and Consultation
- Unit-specific paid search strategy
- Unit-specific search engine optimization strategy
- E-commerce
- Digital marketing automation
Creative Services
Graphic Design
- Annual reports (including giving reports)
- Print magazines
- Alumni magazines
- Recruitment viewbooks
- Event materials
- Dean/faculty requests
- Facts and figures sheets
- Powerpoint presentations (UR provides templates)
Multimedia Production
- Non-Twin Cities photography and videography (not including editing)
- Blogs and vlogs production
- Audio production (including podcast production)
Written Content
- Grant writing
- Donor letters
- Stewardship documents
- Scientific writing
- Departmental and operational information (non-feature work) included in annual reports, magazines, and newsletters
- Viewbooks
- Event materials
- Website content that requires specialty knowledge
- Creating and maintenance of best practices documentation
Digital Creative and Production
- Digital asset management for unit-specific libraries
- Day-to-day needs (content updates, changing images, etc.) that can be done with quick turnaround by the local unit
- Writing for recruitment marketing
- VR
- Photo + Video for non-Twin Cities campuses
Digital Strategy and Consultation
- Unit-specific paid search strategy
- Unit-specific search engine optimization strategy
- E-commerce
- Digital marketing automation
Digital Communications
Web Development
- Website development for intranets, faculty lab sites, transactional sites
- Day-to-day content updates
- Private restricted data, ticketing, and fee collection
Measurement and Analytics
Market Research
- Develop and execute large-scale surveys (UR can offer strategic and vendor support as needed)
Insight and Analytics
- Data collection, measurement and analysis
- Data visualization
- Pulling data
How will roles change regarding Marcom work?
It depends on individual and the needs of the campus/college/unit. Let’s take Andres for example.
Andres is a campus communicator who performs a variety of marketing and communications responsibilities. He is currently focused on internal and external communications. Andres enjoys being in his department but would like to specialize in website development and have a more holistic understanding of the work at UMN.
There will be some parts of Andres’ work that will stay in his campus communications office, and some may be supported by other groups providing common good services. These will also be determined, in partnership with his local Marcom leader, through the PEAK Initiative workforce transition process.
Marketing and Communications Questions
Below are some of the questions to help provide information on general and staff specific Marketing and Communication questions. Additional FAQ's are available for each of the main function areas. The general PEAK questions can be found on the Frequently Asked Questions page.
These questions have been updated as of April 19, 2023.
What University Relations (UR) areas are in scope for PEAK?
Marketing activities are in scope for PEAK and its approach to common good services. The UR approach to Public Relations and Internal Communications are already largely operating in a common good services approach and no significant change are expected in those areas. As it relates to strengthening the Marcom lead role, its alignment with local Marcom employees and UR on the Twin Cities campus, University Relations Marketing, Public Relations and Internal Communications will be part of our enhanced strategic conversations, outlining work together, and other collaboration.
What are the benefits of common good services?
The primary goal of common good services is to increase the consistency of service quality and to provide more equitable access to specific services for campuses/colleges/units. The common good services should increase UR’s efficiency over time by standardizing support for campuses/colleges/units. This will allow all Marcom functions to benefit from high levels of expertise and services that are scalable, consistent, and more cost effective, rather than needing to duplicate functions within each campus/college/unit.
How will the common good services provided to each unit be determined? What is the annual cost of common good services to units?
The common good services will be determined by a Service Level Agreement (SLA) between University Relations (UR) and the campus/college/unit and funded through University cost allocation.
The common good services will be determined through conversations UR will have with the campus/college/unit (CCU) Marcom lead or leadership. The conversation will be centered around how the CCU’s strategic plan goals connect to UR’s goals and MPact 2025. The goals that support each of these plans will drive which Common Good Services are part of the SLA. UR, Account Services will provide a questionnaire to gather this information and additional background from the CCU. The Account Services Team will then set up a meeting with the CCU to discuss the Common Good Services the CCU needs to achieve the Marcom-related strategic plan goals.
How do the common good services impact a unit's ability to hire freelance support?
Units may continue to hire freelance support for work that is not considered a common good servicesbased on the approved vendor list. In the long-term, common good services provided by UR will ideally decrease the need for freelance support across units, colleges, and campuses.
How will in-scope and out-of-scope projects and websites be determined?
All work completed by UR will be defined in an annual Service Level Agreement with the individual unit.
UR will support projects that directly:
- Support the campus/college/unit or University strategic goals
- Achieve clear marketing objectives
- Relate to the website development of primary unit/college/campus and related publicly facing center/institute websites
UR will not support secondary or tertiary website development that may be related to departmental, faculty, or administrative matters. In situations requiring additional consideration to determine if a website/webpage is in-scope, UR will employ the RICE prioritization framework (detailed below) and communicate a final decision on inclusion and the rationale behind the decision to the unit in question.
- Reach: Who is the audience of this page? How many views is the page receiving, and from who?
- Impact: What is the page’s purpose? Is it supporting University marketing objectives?
- Confidence: How confident are we in our analysis of the page?
- Effort: How much effort does this page take to maintain? Will it be easier for the local unit or for UR to maintain this page?
What enterprise system solutions/tools will be available for units under the common good services?
Current solutions and tools will be reviewed when UR meets with the campuses/colleges/units to determine which are relevant and most helpful for the campuses/colleges/units. UR is continuously looking at new solutions and tools for use by the enterprise that serve the University’s marketing, public relations, and internal communications needs. By providing services more consistently through common good services and shared tools/systems, UR will be able to engage with enterprise system software more efficiently to ensure better support to campuses/colleges/units.
Will support from common good services be on a project-by-project basis or will units be assigned a staff person to work on multiple projects on a daily basis?
Marcom leads and/or campus/college/unit will be assigned a project manager for their work.
What if the common good services do not fit my campus/college/unit needs?
Common good services were designed to support and fulfill specified Marcom needs across the University that may be offered at a larger scale to maximize expertise and enhance efficiency. The common good services provided by UR to campuses/colleges/units will be agreed upon in a Service Level Agreement. If a campus/college/unit feels their needs cannot be met based on common good services, UR leadership will meet with the campus/college/unit to discuss their specific needs and offer alternative solutions. Common good services will continue to evolve over time to meet University and client needs.
Does UR have experience providing common good services to units?
Yes. UR’s Marcom team has provided similar services to the Health Sciences colleges and University Services for several years and has been very successful. These new common good services offerings would build on our existing model. In many respects, UR’s Public Relations and Internal Communications teams already offer work with partners in ways that reflect PEAK’s common good services approach. Work in those areas will continue without significant changes.
If work is moving centrally, does this mean campuses outside of the Twin Cities will no longer be doing our own campus creative/marketing?
No, not necessarily. It may mean that aspects of creative development and marketing that are outlined as Common Good Services will move to UR on the Twin Cities campus—if it makes sense and can be accomplished from a different location. Further detail on what work will continue to be completed at the local level vs. by the Common Good Services team will be discussed with campus Marcom Leads in Phase 1 meetings scheduled to begin in early December. It’s important to note that even Common Good Services work, however, will require clear goals and outcomes, strategic input and direction, content expertise, and resource considerations from campus Marcom Leads and communicators. Common Good Services teams will collaborate closely with campuses to meet campus needs.
What are the roles and responsibilities of the local communicator and who will they be?
Marcom Lead
- Has a dotted reporting line to the Vice President of University Relations.
- Drives strategic planning, initiatives, and priorities for Marketing and Communications across their assigned campus, colleges or unit.
- Ensures accountability and alignment of services in accordance with overall University Relations strategy and vision and in connection with the University’s strategic plan
- Leads and works to strengthen accountability with and among Marcom employees that work within the campus/college/unit the Marcom Lead represents.
- Advises area leaders on marketing and communications strategies and staffing in alignment with University Relations (UR) and University overall vision and strategy.
Local Communicator
- Typically reports to the Marcom Leads but if not, a local communicator is accountable to the Marcom Lead for aligning work, strategy, branding and other considerations.
- Performs local services to campuses/colleges/units not considered to be Common Good Services. See table below for more detail.
Function Area | Marketing and Communications Lead/Local Communicator Role and Responsibilities |
---|---|
Account Services |
|
Creative Services |
|
Digital Communications |
|
Measurement & Analytics |
|
Staff Specific Questions
Does the Milestone 3 presentation inform attendees that they are invited to express interest in University Relations (UR) or is it informing attendees that they will be a part of UR?
The main purpose of the Town Hall was to help people understand what it would be like to work for University Relations and what University Relations will be like in the future. It was open to all Marcom staff in Phase 1 campuses/colleges/units because even those who do not realign to a PEAK position will be impacted in some way.
Will there be enough opportunities for all existing communicators at the University to be part of the organization or will there be layoffs?
PEAK is not aimed at a reduction in staff. The goal of PEAK is to realign existing staff to the way we will be doing common good services work.
If someone declines the expression of interest and wants to stay in their unit, will their job still exist in the unit? What if part of their work migrates to UR?
If you are performing work that will be shifting to University Relations, you should work closely with your supervisor and transition team to understand the impact to your position and the options available to you.
If we accept a role in UR, will our job classification stay the same? I am a civil service employee but I’ve heard that many UR jobs are P&A.
PEAK leadership is still working out the details of many scenarios, including this one. While we don't have an answer to this specific situation yet, we will engage with you and your manager to work through these questions as part of our workforce transition process. Our goal is to ensure you are aware of how it will affect you, the timing, and how the process will work prior to any changes taking effect.
Marketing and Communication Resources
March 2023
Implementation Phase 1 - Milestone 3 Town Hall
- View the Marketing and Communications Milestone 3 Town Hall presentation
- Watch the Marketing and Communications recording (for University of Minnesota staff systemwide - login required)
November 2022
Implementation Phase 1 - Milestone 2 Informational Meeting
Contacts
Sponsor & Transition Teams
View the PEAK Initiative Sponsors.
Find your representative on the list of Phase 1 transition team members from Finance, Human Resources (HR), Information Technology (IT), and Marketing and Communications (Marcom).
PEAK Office
If you have additional comments, inquiries or feedback, use the PEAK contact form to connect with the PEAK office.