We Are Who We Include: Inclusive Branding for Higher Education

• Author(s) / Creator(s)

  • Fell, Mary

• Higher education plays a critical role in society, creating a path for individuals and communities to better health and wellbeing. To support more diversity in higher education, brand plays a fundamental role in attracting a more diverse group of students, as well as staff and faculty, facilitating a strong sense of belonging. The role of inclusive branding is at the core of building a sense of belonging within a post-secondary institution (PSI), and can act as a catalyst to hold an institution more accountable for actions to support inclusivity and build equity. This paper is a feminist autoethnography of the brand process for NorQuest College to support their organizational strategy, NorQuest 2030: We are who we include (NorQuest, 2020). The goal of the brand for NorQuest College is to attract and build a strong sense of belonging within a more diverse group of students, critical to achieving the outcomes outlined in the organizational strategy. The brand refresh was guided by inclusivity and accessibility in order to evolve to an inclusive brand, a type of brand that takes into consideration diversity in all forms. Reflections of the brand process are shared through personal reflections, alongside a series of interviews with key executive members and equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI) experts from the college, about the importance of inclusivity in higher education. As the expectations regarding inclusivity continuously evolve within society, the evolution of this brand aligns to the continuous support needed for the communities the college serves. It is also important to note the major role technology plays within an inclusive brand by creating not only the means to foster inclusivity, but also barriers that can detract. This research study is a call to action for further research on inclusive branding for higher education and other public sector organizations. Inclusive branding is a style of communications and marketing a PSI should strongly consider adopting, not only to better position the institution to more attract students, build a more diverse faculty and staff, and strengthen external partnerships, but more importantly to support diversity and inclusion within our society through inclusivity within higher education.

• Date created

  2023-08-19

• Subjects / Keywords

  • inclusive brand
  • higher education
  • inclusive design
  • visual communications
  • feminist autoethnography
  • equity, diversity and inclusion

• Type of Item

  Research Material

• DOI

  https://doi.org/10.7939/r3-nbb4-ca51

• License

  Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International