Southeast to spend $150,000 to refresh brand with Ohio firm

Southeast Missouri State University plans to spend $150,000 with an Ohio company to �refresh� its brand without seeking proposals from other firms.

School officials said Monday the move is both legal and prudent even though the university has had to cut spending in other areas.

Ologie LLC of Columbus, Ohio, was hired three years ago to develop a marketing brand and messaging strategy to recruit students. The company�s efforts helped create the university�s �The Will to Do� messaging strategy, which is publicized on banners and in all types of advertising.

Southeast previously paid Ologie nearly $290,000 for the branding, messaging and the launching of the brand, which included a video, other marketing materials and training.

School officials said the university received proposals from several companies before selecting Ologie to do the original branding work and would seek proposals in the future if or when the school wants to develop a whole new brand and marketing message.

Debbie Below, vice president for enrollment management and student success, said, �Ologie was hired to help us define our brand� and the messaging strategy to support that brand.

Southeast�s brand, she said, has focused on the school�s commitment to provide �personalized support� to students throughout their college education.

�They helped us define and better understand who we are,� Below said, adding the message �has really improved communication� with students and helped inspire students.

When �The Will to Do� message was rolled out in April 2015, Ologie recommended �we refresh our brand within four to five years,� Below said.

Southeast has invested �a significant amount� of money in its current marketing message, she said.

�We felt this is the most economical way to refresh our brand,� Below said, citing Ologie�s past work for Southeast.

She said Southeast is justified in signing another contract with Ologie.

�We are an educational provider. We are a business. We have a competitive landscape like any other would,� Below said.

Below said the university is �very committed� to �The Will to Do� message and does not expect that to change right now.

But she said Southeast does want its marketing efforts to stress its affordability, scholarships, outcomes and its new academic structure.

�We have new college names and more importantly a structure that we think connects back to our outcomes,� she said.

Plans call for Ologie to begin its latest work for Southeast late this summer or early fall. The contracted work is expected to be completed before the fall semester ends, Below said.

Kathy Mangels, vice president for finance and administration, said it is unusual for Southeast not to seek proposals, but it is justified in this case.

Student enrollment is a vital source of university revenue in the form of tuition and other student fees, she said. �There are many aspects to making sure that students are aware of the university and the programs we have and to recruit them here.�

According to Mangels, hiring Ologie is one of the costs of investing in enrollment.

State law allows �single feasible source� purchases, provided certain requirements are met. When the purchase is for $25,000 or more, it includes posting legal notices of the single-source purchase intent in two daily newspapers. School officials said they have posted the notices late last month as required, including one in the Southeast Missourian on May 27.

Under state law, Southeast also must document its reasoning for not seeking proposals.

In a memorandum, Tonya Wells, Southeast�s director of marketing, wrote that Ologie, because of its past work in developing Southeast�s brand, is the �sole vendor who can quickly refine Southeast�s brand.�

She wrote, �Ologie possesses the previous data, the records of the project and its development, and the creative team from the initial brand launch to ensure we proceed both in a timely manner and without redoubling past efforts.�

William Faust, senior partner and chief strategy officer for Ologie, echoed the comments of Wells. He said in a May 22 letter to Wells hiring his company would be �the most cost-effective way to successfully manage this updated messaging within the timeline necessary.�

mbliss@semissourian.com

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