Energized rebrand creates a 30% increase in first-year students

KW2 got to work, conducting interviews and surveys with more than 1,000 students, alums, staff and community partners. Participants’ experiences with and perceptions of UW-River Falls revealed a gap between the down-to-earth brand UWRF had built and the heroic way Falcons saw themselves. Our researchers tested these findings in a series of moderated focus groups, and soon a core message for the college’s revitalized brand emerged: UWRF is a place where everyone can take risks—and take advantage of eye-opening opportunities.

With the promise of opportunity as our focus, KW2 and the UW-River Falls brand team met weekly to develop a heroic new message strategy and updated brand tools, create a flexible identity system—inspired by new, dynamic UWRF logo—that reflects the revitalized brand, and plan an extensive launch. We kicked it all off in the fall of 2022 with a high-energy brand video, reimagined recruitment ads, and a campus-wide reveal. Finally, we delivered a 100-page brand guide and even held an internal writing workshop to help their campus-wide content creators protect the new brand’s integrity.

The brand launch was met with a literal standing ovation—and exciting preliminary results for UWRF. Admitted first-year students have increased by 30% over the previous year, and an increase in students from Minnesota reflects the college’s concentrated marketing efforts. Transfer student numbers have also increased by 17%, and housing contracts are up 20% for the fall of 2023—a strong indicator of student commitment.