Case Study
Utah Connected Learning (UCL) at the University of Utah
The UCL is composed of 8+ different programs with buyer personas ranging from 5 to 105 years old, representing a wide range of socioeconomic statuses. While attached to the University of Utah, UCL is not included in the main campus’s marketing or messaging, but is required to have all UCL marketing approved by the main campus to ensure there’s no competition with the school’s for-credit and sports arms.
The Big Question:
Can a wildly diverse department create a centralized brand message the main campus approves of?
The Solution:
4-step Identity Marketing™ Framework
I flew to Utah to walk a UCL team of 15+ individuals through the 4-step Identity Marketing™ Framework. The executive leadership team was intentional about learning what I was teaching, while giving the individual contributors on their team the opportunity to implement without their influence and have the space to step up and shine. We would have two full days together to work through the process and attempt to produce a unifying message.
Day 01
of the Identity Marketing Intensive
We got straight to work, following my tight, no-fluff agenda. This experience is designed to be completed over two days because we need space for the first day to feel messy and open-ended as teams engage with learning an entirely new way of thinking about marketing and sharing their own ideas with the group. This structured day follows my signature, proven framework and involves strategic workbook exercises and intentional prompts so teams can feel confident and supported in throwing a ton at the wall and getting all the thoughts and ideas on paper.
We followed my 3 rules for every workshop I facilitate:
Counsel but don’t campaign
Always have a “yes, and…” attitude
Trust the process, don’t skip ahead
The team engaged in a lot of new teaching, new ways of thinking about marketing, and explored new potential identities.
We completed Steps 1 and 2 of the Identity Code™ Framework:
Find It: How to secret shop yourself without spending millions
Prove It: How to get immediate buy-in without outdated focus groups
At the conclusion of Day 1, there was no consensus on a marketable identity…yet. We all agreed on 3 powerful options that were so good, they split the room––with almost everyone finding they could argue equally for each idea.
The team used the provided validation templates to engage their social media audience, and we saw these concepts gaining early signals of adoption, which is exactly what we hoped to see!
We ended Day 1 with a lot of phenomenal ideas floating around, and everyone was committed to think on it, rest, and come back fresh for Day 2.
Summer Pessatore
Associate Director, PR & Communications
"I never saw myself as a marketer. Despite being part of the marketing team and playing a significant role in our strategies and processes, the term always felt a bit “gimmicky” to me. Then Veronica came along. During her two-day visit, she introduced us to “identity marketing.” Through case studies, team exercises, guided research, and more, Veronica transformed how I identified myself and our brand.
By guiding us with ethical principles, she unlocked a new level of creativity and inspiration within our team. I've never seen us so excited! When we presented our ideas to leadership, some expressed they got goosebumps in response. Veronica’s influence left us not just inspired, but equipped with practical skills. Unlike other workshops that spark temporary enthusiasm, Veronica ignited my creative side and reshaped my approach to branding.
The skills I gained from her will benefit me throughout my career, and I cannot recommend her enough to any marketing team, organization, or industry. Now, I proudly identify as both a marketer and a creative."
Day 02
of the Identity Marketing Intensive
Everyone returned, ready to press on in refining and testing the ideas we generated and initially tested with their audience.
I knew that getting hung up on finding the right name from the options we had come up with would distract from the momentum we were creating. Even though the specific name wasn’t set in stone, the meaning behind the name was clearly resonating with everyone, and I wanted to capitalize on their progress.
I suggested moving forward with Step 3: “Name It” using a blank placeholder for the actual identity name so we could continue with the process of giving the yet-to-be-chosen name a birth story, non-negotiables, slogans, transformational path, and more. (This is the context behind the name, which matters even more than the name itself.) I knew the name would come later and be even more intentional once we had completed the context-building.
After mixing up the groups so everyone was working with new people, each worked on one of the marketing assets before each group presented to the rest. And despite the groups working independently, there was one word that kept popping up in every single presentation.
Without coming up with a name,
we had a unifying identity concept.
The teams went back to the process, using the newfound word as the focus, and created an entire world around it.
They created a second draft of Step 3: Name It messaging.
The teams completed Step 4: Dress It, creating swag, music, designs, and more personified marketing collateral that centered on the focus identity concept and language..
The energy in the room was electric, and it was at this point that we invited the executive leadership team back into the room.
Andrew Stone
Associate Director of Marketing - Digital
"To be honest, I can be a tough audience for presentations like yours. After years in marketing, I’ve been through many similar sessions, and usually leave thinking I wasted a ton of time on something I could have led myself. On day one, I left feeling we might be on the wrong track. The three words we came up with didn’t resonate with me or reflect the complexity of our programs and house of brands. I tried to trust the process, hoping for that aha moment during my commute, in the shower, or while cooking dinner. It didn’t come, and my frustration just grew.
The next morning, I vented to one of our directors. I felt we weren’t looking at the full picture and were wasting our time, I wanted to just throw my hands up and get back to my job. Through that conversation, I realized something important. While the messaging we had wasn’t right, we had identified a critical gap. Marketing had been serving one side of our operation well but not the other. We needed a unifying message that would connect both sides of the coin and resonate with our diverse leadership.
With that clarity, I approached day two with a renewed purpose. I wanted to guide the team toward a unified direction without losing faith in the process. I shared my frustrations with the group and got to work. As the day progressed, we found momentum. The aha moment came when we started brainstorming taglines. The weight lifted, ideas flowed, and we began shaping a message that unified our programs and community.
By the final presentation, something unexpected (but hoped would happen) happened. Leaders from both sides agreed on the direction we’d created. This has been a very rare occurrence in 13 years here. For once, no one felt they had to make major concessions, and both sides were genuinely excited to move forward.
This breakthrough wouldn’t have been possible without your guidance. You helped us achieve something I wasn’t sure was possible: true unity. I left that day with a sense of accomplishment, renewed hope, and immense gratitude."
thE reSULTS:
The Executive Team was Floored.
There were reportedly some full-body goosebumps experienced throughout the group, and everyone agreed that they felt a concrete sense of unity that had never existed before.
We were able to reserve a URL that aligned with the new identity, and in post-workshop followup, it appears a name everyone loves and agrees on has emerged from the world we built for UCL’s new identity.
"To be honest, I can be a tough audience for presentations like yours. After years in marketing, I’ve been through many similar sessions, and usually leave thinking I wasted a ton of time on something I could have led myself. On day one, I left feeling we might be on the wrong track. The three words we came up with didn’t resonate with me or reflect the complexity of our programs and house of brands. I tried to trust the process, hoping for that aha moment during my commute, in the shower, or while cooking dinner. It didn’t come, and my frustration just grew.
The next morning, I vented to one of our directors. I felt we weren’t looking at the full picture and were wasting our time, I wanted to just throw my hands up and get back to my job. Through that conversation, I realized something important. While the messaging we had wasn’t right, we had identified a critical gap. Marketing had been serving one side of our operation well but not the other. We needed a unifying message that would connect both sides of the coin and resonate with our diverse leadership.
With that clarity, I approached day two with a renewed purpose. I wanted to guide the team toward a unified direction without losing faith in the process. I shared my frustrations with the group and got to work. As the day progressed, we found momentum. The aha moment came when we started brainstorming taglines. The weight lifted, ideas flowed, and we began shaping a message that unified our programs and community.
By the final presentation, something unexpected (but hoped would happen) happened. Leaders from both sides agreed on the direction we’d created. This has been a very rare occurrence in 13 years here. For once, no one felt they had to make major concessions, and both sides were genuinely excited to move forward.
This breakthrough wouldn’t have been possible without your guidance. You helped us achieve something I wasn’t sure was possible: true unity. I left that day with a sense of accomplishment, renewed hope, and immense gratitude."
Andrew Stone
Associate Director of Marketing - Digital
The Takeaways:
The Identity Code™ Framework works when completed in full. Trust the process.
Start with identity marketing first, and the brand identity will fall effortlessly in line behind.
Even the most disparate, diverse teams, departments, and organizations can find a unifying message and marketable identity.
Ready to experience the
2-Day Identity Marketing™ Intensive?
Ready to experience the 2-Day Identity Marketing™ Intensive?
Your customers are out here asking, “Who the heck am I?!” If you can give them a compelling answer… you’ve won a legion of lifelong fans and loyal buyers.
For Questions, Contact [email protected]
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