The University of Louisville is taking a unique approach to increasing its brand awareness outside the Louisville metropolitan area, from which come the majority of the school’s student body.
Like many recent marketing campaigns, this one focuses on some of UofL’s strengths, including high ACT scores, national rankings and cutting-edge research.
What’s different is the color scheme which infuses the advertisements. Rather than exclusively using the university colors of red, white and black, the messages are delivered in front of a royal blue background, the color often associated with the Commonwealth and with UofL’s chief athletic rival, the University of Kentucky.
“The campaign is designed to spill red into the traditional UK and Commonwealth blue, reminding audiences that there is more than one university in Kentucky," said Mary Griffith, senior associate vice president for communications and marketing. ”It’s an incursion campaign coming right at the time UK and UofL play out their traditional sports rivalry (the football teams play their annual grudge match in Lexington on September 19).”
Target audiences are central Kentucky alumni, current students and potential recruits, and influencers. A smaller print campaign directed at veterans and their education needs is running in Elizabethtown and Fort Knox newspapers.


I was unaware of some of that information. I spent Wednesday morning gathering facts and discussing possible responses to these new developments with Provost Shirley Willihnganz and other administration officials.
