CLIENT OVERVIEW

Ultimate Medical Academy (UMA) is an institution that specializes in providing healthcare training and degree programs for traditional and non-traditional students.

OBJECTIVE

To expand overall presence and increase market share within the military education vertical.

SOLUTION & RESULT

Working with their internal marketing and brand management departments, UMA's overall visual brand identity was further developed and refined to communicate directly with prospective military and veteran students. A consistent look and feel was established and applied to B2C materials including print collateral and event signage, as well as lead generation tools and an overall online presence.

RESPONSIBILITIES

Art Direction, Copy Writing and Editing, Design, Production, Project Management, Client Service

REDEFINING BRAND VISUALIZATION

Beginning with a single tactical request to design and produce a full-length retractable banner stand for use at recruiting and lead-generation events—universal brand guidelines and predetermined visual elements were received as the creative starting point to connect with the new target market.

Process—following the initial brief and received direction, multiple concept designs that aligned with the current brand were presented:

After these initial concepts, the client’s front-line sales representatives revealed the military market was not responding to the previously established look and feel—specifically the color palette and "wavy" elements.

In response, new concepts were designed to remove all existing brand elements except for the logo identity and emphasize military recognition:

Further needs assessment and discovery with the team revealed a new approach was required—visual execution from a higher-level perspective with a revised identity focus.

Revisiting the juxtaposition of pre/post military imagery to visually “begin with the end in mind”, the color palette was refined to align with targeted female military audiences. Extraneous elements were removed, curved lines were straightened and blocks of color or imagery reinforced the logo’s “building block” persona.

With redefined direction, the new visual language was applied to several applications within the sales funnel including signage, displays, online and print materials.

MOBILE SIGNAGE & POS DISPLAY

As a potential first impression at trade shows and face-to-face environments, the full-length retractable banner stand and presentation signage designs featured diverse images of service men and women in and out of uniform.

Message—communicating a direct visual relationship between the student’s invaluable service experience and UMA’s applicable programs, the new messaging reinforced this concept—utilize skills learned while in service to transition into a successful healthcare career.

PRINTED EVENT COLLATERAL

Leading with incentive, promotional signage and inquiry cards were created to encourage prospective students to request additional program information and enter an event drawing.

LANDING PAGE & ONLINE FORM-FILL

To nurture new candidate relationships, a landing page/form-fill tool was needed to collect prospective student information and feed directly into their CRM system. Multiple design options were presented that were visually consistent with the other touch-points.

Final Layout Selection—fields and list menus tied to database.