THE PC BRAND—BRINGING OUR VISION TO LIFE!
On Oct. 1, 2021, in his Inaugural Address, Fr. Sicard, the 13th President of Providence College stated:
“There is so much that continues to distinguish us. Our Catholic and Dominican mission and identity define who we are and how we approach the sacred work we do here — that work of helping our students to flourish and to live meaningful personal, professional, and spiritual lives.”
In 2022, Providence College introduced a new brand strategy as the foundation for our communications efforts. I hope that my recent conversation with Stasia Walmsley, assistant vice president of brand management and marketing, will help you to learn what the PC brand means for our students and families.
If you are interested in reading stories that reinforce the PC brand, visit our student “seekers” webpage or the college’s latest stories on new.providence.edu.
Jackie
For starters, what is a brand?
Sometimes people think of a brand as a tagline, like Nike’s Just Do It slogan, or Apple and its iconic logo. But it is really a lot more than that. A brand is meant to convey an organization’s promise to its audiences.
What is PC’s brand?
For us, when we talk about the brand, we’re describing the essence of our college, the experience we create, the personality we convey, the message we deliver, and the identity we express.
Specifically, the Providence College brand is rooted in the assurance that we provide students a distinctive combination high-quality academics, opportunities to create meaningful connections, and an environment where students have robust opportunities to participate in the life of the community. And, of course, these attributes all rest on the foundation of the college’s Catholic and Dominican identity.
Why is this important to students and their families?
College is a significant investment — of money, time, and trust. Developing an authentic brand assures families and students know what to expect from that investment.
For instance, stories on the PC news pages, information on our admission website, student profiles, and posts on the college’s social media channels are all based on the authentic principles of the brand. In other words, we are committed to storytelling that reflects exactly who PC is at its core.
I’ve noticed the word “seek” in a lot of the college’s materials. How is that connected to the brand?
Although there’s no one word or phrase that could evoke everything that represents the Providence College brand, we’ve been using the word “seek” in many of our admission messages to help describe what it’s like to be at PC. Our students seek answers to difficult questions. They seek purpose and meaning, whether it’s in class or service-learning opportunities. They seek truth and engage in their faith journey guided by our Dominican community. To describe Providence College as a place “for those who seek” is just the first part of a much bigger story. I can’t wait to see how the Class of 2027 continues to help us to tell it.
Stasia Walmsley
Assistant Vice President for Brand Management & Marketing
