Danielle Gauntz – Marketing & Communication

WOUmail tutorial

For emails designed to reach a campus-wide audience, WOU employees use the Internal Communications Hub, or WOUmail. Employees choose the topics they’d like to subscribe to and also determine where they will see emails – their inbox or the Portal. Employees receive emails automatically from a limited number of accounts, such as the president’s office, human resources and messages about emergencies and IT updates.

You can access the WOU Internal Communication Hub from your Portal. There, you can also set your preferences on what you will receive and where. It’s your choice whether you opt out of any category that does not pertain to you or subscribe to them all.

When you send a campus-wide message to faculty and staff (and retirees, too) you will be required to choose a category each time. Selecting a category is important, as it will be the setting that allows your colleagues (recipients) to customize what they receive. Please be thoughtful when selecting a category.

As with all technology systems, WOUmail is subject to the Acceptable Use of University Computing Resources policy.

Watch a short video tutorial.

Video – New Kids on Campus: Connection with Generation Z

In March, MarCom presented a slideshow and talk about our current and incoming students, known as Generation Z. If you’d like to learn more about this group of students and didn’t have time to attend the lunchtime presentation, you can still watch the whole thing on WOUTV!

In the video, speaker Marion Barnes goes over the generational differences between Gen Z, Millennials, Gen X and Boomers and covers the preferences that are specific to Generation Z. By knowing more about the needs, desires and expectations of our incoming students, every part of the university can do a better job at helping them succeed. The audience discussion near the end provides additional insights worth waiting for.

Check out the video to learn some best practices, then put them to work in your department!

Online employee profiles

When it is time for potential students to decide which university they want to attend, one of the things that can help them choose Western Oregon University is the ability to see friendly, welcoming faces on the university website.

If they can make a visual connection with the faculty members they will be learning from and the staff members who will be helping them throughout their WOU journey, they are more likely to choose our university. In addition, robust employee profiles allow them to learn more about the people who will be part of their campus community for several years.

To make this a reality, you play a role! It is time to update your employee profile. (Everyone has one!) It only takes a few minutes to upload a color photo (make sure it’s just you!), paste in the URL for your personal website and include some bio information that can help potential students gain valuable insight into your background, teaching philosophy/work responsibilities and your personality.

Get a feel for what potential students will see by using the refreshed Find People function on the website (English Studies is a great example).

We’ve put together this helpful tutorial to get started. Feeling confident? Skip directly to the form. It is in your Portal under My Programs. Click on Update your employee profile.

Do you need a new profile photo? We can help! Choose “photography” on our work request form and we will let you know when photo sessions are planned.

The Work Request Form Demystified

In order to track and organize the work we do in MarCom, we ask that employees who want our help contact us through our work request form. Select the type of work you need from the drop-down menu, then submit all the other relevant info to that type of request and send it off to us (a copy even comes to you for your records).

Check out this closer look at the different services we offer from the work request form:

Business cards – when cards are needed due to running out or a change of information
Department-specific stationery and logos – customized versions specific to your area
Digital marketing – propose artwork/info to be included on digital signage, portal ads or other online-only messaging
Editing – submit completed text. We’ll edit for grammar/punctuation/university style. Especially helpful for work to large and/or external audiences.
General marketing consultation – don’t know where to start or how to spread the word? We can help!
Graphic design – posters, pamphlets, fliers, oh my. New projects or updates to a previous project, such as new dates and times. Need to take information, make it pretty and share it with the world? Select this category.
Logos and branding – club-related branding or logos for independent university programs. To find out which you are, use the Visual Identity System.
Photography – need a photo for a publication or your webpage, request one from our photo database or for us to take a new photo.
Story idea – let us know about people, events or programs who deserve recognition and attention. We use story ideas on the website, in social media and to create press releases.
Web design – change or update the content of a WOU webpage
Other – only for projects that don’t fit any above category

Getting to Know wouTV

Tucked away in University Computing Services are Deborah Rezell and wouTV, formerly known as Digital Production Services. Although not directly a part of MarCom, video is a critical part of our overall communication with the world. Many people on campus have worked with Deborah in the past, but for those of you who are unfamiliar with wouTV, here’s a quick introduction!

wouTV creates just about every video that is filmed on campus. From addresses by the president and Athletics events to guest lectures and on-campus community events, Deborah and her student workers are the team that films it all. There is an amazing studio with digital backdrops in ITC, but wouTV shoots on-location on campus most of the time.

Did you know you could hire wouTV to film your lecture, event, student organization or other university-related happening? Here’s the fee breakdown:

On-campus production: $100
Studio production: $50
Live stream/multi-camera event with student crew: Fee above plus student worker hours.
Studio/classroom lecture needed for a course: FREE

Learn more about Deborah and wouTV on WOUStories. Need the services of wouTV? Email Deborah at rezelld@wou.edu.

So You Need Business Cards

One of the most common work requests we get in MarCom is for business cards. The current design includes the tagline and mission statement and makes your name prominent. It might just be time for you to upgrade your own cards! (If you have really, really old cards with a “retired” logo, replacement is must. Use those for notes-to-self or other clever – but not public – uses.)

Ordering cards takes just one form, and we will handle ordering them from the Print Shop for you! It only takes a moment to create your card, and you can choose from a variety of different backs: mission statement, appointment form or social media. See attached examples.

Get started crafting your business cards today with our work request form.

Poster Perfection

If you advise a student organization or your department hosts multiple events throughout the academic year, chances are you’ve been involved with the poster-making process.

Although there is a great deal of freedom allowed in WOU poster designs, there are a few best practices from a branding standpoint.

Make sure to include the WOU logo appropriate to your group or the primary university logo. You can find logos in the downloads section of the MarCom Toolkit. (A tip: Keep in mind minimum sizes and never stretch, scrunch or change the proportions of a logo.)
Include the most recent disability statement. It should be clear and no smaller than 11 pt. (we suggest Arial).
Add our current tagline in one of three ways: the corner sticker, within the logo or text (Arial, all caps, third word bold. TOGETHERWE SUCCEED).

Want a head start? We have created a handy black bar that includes all three items in one convenient footer that rests happily at the bottom of your poster, leaving you plenty of space to promote your event or activity. These “poster pieces” can be found in the MarCom toolkit downloads.

A special reminder about getting your posters posted: Check out Student Affairs’ Campus Posting Guidelines.

Toolkit Tutorial

Your colleagues in MarCom have created a bunch of resources to make your work life easier and to promote WOU’s brand identity. If you are the type of person who worries your visual design skills are limited, our templates help take the pressure off. Find what you need on the downloads page of the MarCom Toolkit.

Of course, the toolkit is not just about downloads. You’ll also find a wide range of guidelines, messaging templates and graphic identity resources.

Email Signatures an Exercise in Consistency

Email is our most common communication tool. Creating a consistent email signature allows us to subtly and effectively convey our message. During New Employee Orientation, this is one of the most common requests I receive. If we all utilize the same email signature template, it conveys a level of professionalism and pride. The template allows for some personalization too!

Please use our handy email signature how-to and discover how you can create your own WOU branded signature, complete with the fields you desire (and your favorite quote, vacation notice, department link, etc.)!

PowerPoint Presentations Made Simple

Do you do presentations to large, public or internal audiences? If so, you are in luck!

We have made your life easy by creating three PowerPoint templates with photos featuring buildings, people or Commencement. Choose the one that’s appropriate for your purpose and put your presentation together lickety split! New designs will be added every so often.

Find a template on our MarCom website.

Western Oregon University’s Land Acknowledgement
Western Oregon University in Monmouth, OR is located within the traditional homelands of the Luckiamute Band of Kalapuya. Following the Willamette Valley Treaty of 1855 (Kalapuya etc. Treaty), Kalapuya people were forcibly removed to reservations in Western Oregon. Today, living descendants of these people are a part of the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde Community of Oregon and the Confederated Tribes of the Siletz Indians.

Accessibility Public Records Privacy Student Consumer Information

WOU prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, sex, national or ethnic origin, age, religion, marital status, disability, veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity, and gender expression in all programs, activities and employment practices as required by Title IX, other applicable laws, and policies. Retaliation is prohibited by WOU.

Watch a short video tutorial.

Tools

Resources