UCM created 63 unique pieces of Rutgers Excellence content that were distributed across multiple channels to about 4 million readers.
University Communications and Marketing
About Us
About Us and Our Work
University Communications and Marketing (UCM) includes two major divisions—U-wide Comms and R-Comm—charged with elevating the public prominence of Rutgers. U-wide Comms is the universitywide communications and marketing department for Rutgers and includes the offices of University Brand, Marketing, and Creative Services and University News and Media Relations. It focuses on protecting the university brand, broadly advancing the university’s reputation, promoting Rutgers people and programs from all campuses, and managing initiatives and priorities of the university’s central administration. R-Comm is the communications and marketing department that focuses on promoting Rutgers–New Brunswick and Rutgers Biomedical and Health Sciences (RBHS). While R-Comm reports centrally through UCM, the department is dedicated to advancing the AAU flagship and is guided by the priorities of its two chancellors. The alignment of these two divisions within UCM provides opportunities for collaboration, clarity of message, and support of a strategic focus on elevating Rutgers' prestige and reputation.
By the Numbers
Highlights of FY 2022
16.5 million
pageviews
Rutgers.edu
Rutgers.edu
11,000+
image downloads
Rutgers Digital Asset Library
Rutgers Digital Asset Library
46.2 million
social media impressions
@RutgersU
@RutgersU
155,000+
circulation
Rutgers Magazine
Rutgers Magazine
2.3 million
pageviews
Rutgers Today
Rutgers Today
UCM Wins Six 2022 Hermes Creative Awards
About 6,500 entries from around the world were entered in the 2022 Hermes Creative Awards, an international competition for the creative and marketing industry. UCM's work was recognized with the following achievements.
Platinum Awards
- The Inauguration of Jonathan Scott Holloway (Special Event)
- Faces & Voices of Rutgers (Team Achievement)
- Rutgers Magazine Spring 2021 (Print Media)
Gold Awards
- Faces & Voices of Rutgers (Video Series)
- Rutgers.edu (Education Website)
- #HowWeMetAtRU (Social Media Campaign)
UCM Videos Earn Prestigious Awards
Telly Award
With over 12,000 entries from all 50 states and five continents in 2022, the Telly Awards represent work from some of the most respected advertising agencies, television stations, production companies, and publishers worldwide. UCM was recognized with:
Bronze Award in Online: Non-Scripted Web Series for Faces & Voices of Rutgers
Collegiate Advertising Awards
The national Collegiate Advertising Awards honor excellence in higher education advertising, marketing, and promotion. Entries are judged by a panel of higher education marketing professionals on criteria that include creativity, quality, and overall experience. UCM won:
Gold Award in the TV/Video Advertising/PSA–Single category for schools with 20,000 or more students for Rutgers’ Big Ten commercial: Progress Is Earned
MarCom and CASE Recognize UCM's Work with a Dozen Awards
MarCom International Awards
Rutgers Magazine Summer 2022 (print media) - PLATINUM
Faces & Voices of Rutgers (team initiative) - PLATINUM
The Inauguration of Jonathan Scott Holloway (special event) - GOLD
Faces & Voices of Rutgers (video series) - GOLD
Rutgers.edu (educational website) - GOLD
#HowWeMetatRU (social campaign) - GOLD
Great Things to Know about Rutgers (educational brochure) - GOLD
Pep Band Director Behind Ear-Shattering Chants (video) - HONORABLE MENTION
CASE Awards (Storytelling Category)
Med Student's Disability Helps Him Connect With Patients by Lisa Intrabartola
World Trade Center Health Program Saves Lives 20 Years Later by Robin Lally
Protein Data Bank Marks 50 Years Unlocking Human Disease Mysteries by Robin Lally
Senior's Newsletter for the Asian Community Makes National Impact by Robin Lally
Rutgers Excellence Campaign
Excellence happens at Rutgers every day, and the world needs to know. To advance the awareness of Rutgers’ excellence and support a presidential initiative to improve Rutgers' reputation, UCM launched the Rutgers Excellence campaign in 2021. Spotlighting the accomplishments and innovations of our scholars, our multichannel approach to content distribution in FY 2022 reached nearly 4 million readers and resulted in 138 million impressions, and our work continues in FY 2023.
Using cultivated lists to reach academic leaders and other higher education influencers, UCM sent 77 direct emails featuring university accomplishments and initiatives, promotional content, and faculty and student achievements.
To reach target-specific audiences of academic leaders and alumni working in higher education, 29 sponsored LinkedIn posts were placed.
UCM and the Office of Research launched the Rutgers Research Newsletter in 2021 that reaches about 9,300 academic leaders and researchers with an open rate of 30 percent.
200 digital and print ad placements ran in focused media outlets including The Chronicle of Higher Education, Inside Higher Ed, Science, Nature, The Washington Post, and The New York Times.
70,473 pageviews to the Rutgers.edu/excellence campaign landing page from digital advertising, enewsletters, social media, and direct email click throughs to learn more about campaign topics and facts.
Proactive outreach to news media has earned the attention of 12 target publications, selected for their influence on higher education leaders. Rutgers has appeared 900+ times in these media outlets, with mentions about Rutgers' initiatives, research, faculty, and students.
During the last six months, the campaign:
• Secured more than 18 million impressions
• Reached over 1.8 million readers
• Distributed 26 unique pieces of content promoting Rutgers’ excellence
• Earned over 500 mentions in the 12 most influential news publications
• Included over 45 paid ad placements
• Sent 24 direct emails to higher education leaders, alumni, and Rutgers Research subscribers
Rutgers Today
Rutgers Today is the universitywide news center promoting news, features, and videos with daily content additions and updates on all things Rutgers.
Highlights of FY 2022
- 2.3 million pageviews
- 610 daily and special issues published
- 350+ stories written or edited
Distribution channels
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Daily enewsletter
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Special enewsletters for targeted audiences: alumni, students, retirees, and others
Rutgers Magazine
Rutgers Magazine is the only universitywide magazine that promotes Rutgers, its programs, and its people through engaging and informative stories that inspire pride, enthusiasm, and support for the institution among alumni, the university community, and friends of the institution.
- 155,000 per issue circulation
- 350+ stories produced
- 2x per year published
- 60,000+ website pageviews annually
Rutgers.edu
The universitywide gateway site to Rutgers, UCM manages this important channel to the Rutgers digital universe.
- 16.5 million pageviews in FY 2022
- 2.9 million visitors
Presidential Communications
UCM managed the communications needs for the inauguration of Jonathan Holloway as the 21st president of Rutgers, including creating a broad range of promotional materials and graphic elements featuring the inauguration theme Rutgers: This is what Excellence looks like, news promotion, and a highlight video.
The department pitched and promoted the launch of President Holloway’s Rutgers Summer Service Internship Initiative, which welcomed the first 100 students to participate in the program. Our efforts resulted in 20,011 social media impressions, 317 social media engagements, and 1,567 pageviews of the story in Rutgers Today.
UCM promoted the President's third University Senate address that outlined: creating a council on online education, improving the student experience, aspiring a beloved community while recognizing differences, and serving the common good. Our work resulted in 895 pageviews on Rutgers Today, 11,781 impressions and 238 engagements on social media, and three news stories.
UCM promoted President Holloway's first annual budget address to the University Senate that commits to growing the endowment and investing in research, libraries, and athletics. Our efforts resulted in 62 news stories and 1,507 pageviews on Rutgers Today
In conjunction with the Office of the President, UCM monitors coverage of President Holloway in the news, promotes his standing as a leading historian, and facilitates interviews with media. He was mentioned in more than 6,700 stories in print, digital, and broadcast media last year, including his contributing commentary in a "History Channel" series on the American presidency.
UCM manages updates on the president’s website adding messages to the Rutgers community, op-eds and media coverage, multimedia, and university initiatives. In FY 2022, the site had 234,812 pageviews.
Faces & Voices of Rutgers
Faces & Voices, an award-winning, collaborative video series, tells the Rutgers story through its greatest asset – the students, faculty, staff, and alumni who make it a dynamic place of discovery and enrichment. Through a series of conversations over two seasons, President Holloway learns about Rutgers from the individuals who exemplify the university's diversity, commitment, and impact. Shared through Rutgers channels, the series also premiered on the Big Ten Network in January 2022.
University News and Media Relations
UCM tracks all news coverage of Rutgers and develops daily, monthly, quarterly, and annual news coverage reports for university leadership and governing boards that capture the breadth and sentiment of the coverage.
Highlights of FY 2022
815,000+
news stories citing Rutgers
551
Rutgers experts in the news
9 out of 10
Rutgers news stories are favorably ranked as neutral to positive for the institution
Pitching and Promoting Stories
UCM created a roundup of noteworthy stories and achievements in 2022 for distribution to a range of audiences through Rutgers Today, social media, and emails to higher education leaders and high school guidance counselors.
1,539 pageviews on Rutgers Today
151,000 impressions on @RutgersU social media
35% email open rate
The Scarlet Guarantee was announced as a historical financial aid package that discounts tuition and fees for some Rutgers–New Brunswick students with a multi-channel promotion including media interviews with Chancellor-Provost Francine Conway; a Star Ledger op-ed; and a video message shared on social media.
125 news stories
Promoted alumna Assata Davis being named a prestigious Marshall Scholar, resulting in coverage including in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution and 1,339 pageviews in Rutgers Today.
138 news stories
UCM promoted Rutgers experts in the days and weeks leading up to the midterm elections in November 2022 generating multiple stories.
665 news stories
Promoted alumnus Kenneth Greenblatt, who was the head of U.S. security at the World Cup in Qatar, resulting in coverage in the The Press of Atlantic City and more.
86 news stories
2,062 pageviews in Rutgers Today
Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School professor of obstetrics, gynecology, and reproductive health and director of the Reproductive Choice Program at New Jersey Medical School Glenmarie Matthews broke down the basics of New Jersey’s reproductive choice law.
35 news stories
4,799 pageviews on Rutgers Today
We provided expert commentary to the media that resulted in interviews on the CBS Morning Show and in The Philadelphia Inquirer and The Huffington Post.
Promoted faculty expertise and Title IX’s 50th anniversary with Nine on Title IX. Coverage included an op-ed in USA Today and placements on WPIX-11, Yahoo News, Fortune, Business Insider, and University Business.
On social media, the Nine on Title IX video garnered:
20,344 impressions
517 engagements
We pitched Rutgers experts Maria Venetis, Maurice Elias, and Yana Rodgers to speak on aspects of life after the pandemic, including mental health, how we communicate, and the future of work.
71 news stories resulted
Six essays by Rutgers community members, including President Holloway, on the holiday were also published as op-eds.
Includes coverage in The Star-Ledger
29,361 social media impressions
530 social media engagements
3,633 pageviews on Rutgers Today
School of Arts and Sciences professor Erica Dunbar was an executive producer and consultant on the depiction of African Americans on the HBO series The Gilded Age. The story was pitched nationally.
289 news stories
2,981 pageviews on Rutgers Today
Rutgers law co-dean Kimberly Mutcherson weighed in on the leaked SCOTUS decision.
491 news stories
12,547 social media impressions
67 social media engagements
4,948 pageviews on Rutgers Today
Managing Universitywide Social Media Accounts
UCM tracks, manages, and monitors the five @RutgersU social media accounts: LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube.
Highlights of FY 2022
750,213
total social media followers
46.2 million
social media impressions
@RutgersU channels
@RutgersU channels
3,253
social media posts
Monitoring Rutgers across All Social Media Channels
UCM uses social media listening tools to monitor the conversations people are having about Rutgers across all social media to gain insights that inform our understanding of public sentiment regarding Rutgers, its reputation, and its overall brand.
1.5 million Rutgers brand mentions in FY 2022
Mentions are counted across over 100 million data sources, in 50+ languages, and across 25+ social networks and other platforms.
Issues, Emergency, and Crisis Management Communications
UCM coordinates with Institutional Planning and Operations and communication teams across the university to notify the Rutgers community of urgent issues, testing, and emergency notifications.
University Initiatives and Communications
UCM provides communications planning, consultation, promotion, and support for selected university initiatives, events, and programs.
Your Voice, Our Rutgers, a universitywide website, showcases a series of climate surveys to assess the experiences of faculty, staff, and students. Each survey is part of a larger effort by the university administration to use research-based assessment methods to gather data that will help the university realize opportunities to make Rutgers a better place to work and learn.
UCM promoted President Holloway’s announcement that Rutgers will prohibit tobacco use on campus by 2023.
44 news stories
1,417 pageviews on Rutgers Today
26,675 impressions on social media
UCM led promotion of President Holloway’s acceptance of the recommendations by the Future of Work Task Force. UCM contributed to the website update, wrote a Rutgers Today story, and posted the announcement to social media.
23 news stories
4,153 pageviews on Rutgers Today
22,213 impressions on social media
In June, UCM promoted the 2022-2023 budget approval, a roundup of highlights, and the appointment of the Gloria Steinem chair.
96 news stories
2,133 pageviews on Rutgers Today (roundup)
2,644 pageviews on Rutgers Today (Gloria Steinem chair)
32,778 impressions on social media (Gloria Steinem chair)
As part of a broad effort to elevate the visibility and prestige of the university, Rutgers–New Brunswick is promoted as being named a Top 20 public national university by U.S. News & World Report. Efforts include digital and outdoor advertising, social media, as well as static and video ads appearing on 114 screens throughout Newark Liberty International Airport Terminals A, B, and C, reaching millions of New Jerseyans and worldwide travelers.
UCM continues to support Rutgers–New Brunswick with the 15+ to Finish campaign aimed at current students and advisers, encouraging them to consider a minimum of 15 credit hours a semester to decrease time to graduation and lower overall student debt. The campaign was featured on digital screens throughout campus and in flyers. Also, UCM published social posts on the @rutgersnb platforms that coordinated with emails sent to students.
In support of the Cannabis Decriminalization Impact Task Force, UCM created a comprehensive communications plan to inform the university community about the continued prohibition of cannabis on campus. A webpage includes FAQ, resources, the task force report, and university policies about the prohibition of the use and possession of cannabis on university property.
As the COVID-19 virus moves from pandemic to endemic, UCM continued to inform our community about steps taken to protect health and safety, such as changes to COVID protocols and the spring 2022 booster documentation requirement for eligible faculty, staff, and students.
240 news stories
3,807 pageviews on Rutgers Today
328,549 impressions on social media
Rutgers Pride Campaign, #DYKRutgers
UCM designed a campaign to deliver bite-sized institutional facts and figures to build pride among our strongest brand ambassadors: faculty, staff, students, alumni, and Rutgers supporters. Distributed through myRutgers portal, search.rutgers.edu results, and social media, we use #DYKRutgers (Do you know Rutgers?) to frame the collection of weekly university facts, many correlating to major news stories, holidays, or events.
Commencement 2022
UCM successfully promoted and supported Rutgers' 256th Anniversary Commencement ceremony held in person on Sunday, May 15, 2022.
UCM created a family of event collateral material: refreshed Commencement graphics, invites, program book, social media. Promoted graduation ceremonies and highlighted Class of 2022 graduates across universitywide social media accounts.
We created and promoted graduating student profiles, the ceremony speaker and degree recipients, and Commencement events and celebrations through storytelling, photography, and video in Rutgers Today and on @RutgersU social media, garnering over 25,000 pageviews, 259,400 video views, and over 1 million social media impressions.
UCM manages the Commencement website, which received 64,000+ visitors and 516,000+ total pageviews from February to May 23. The live streaming of the May 15 event had nearly 6,500 views on the site.
Swag Portal for Rutgers-Branded Merchandise
UCM, in collaboration with University Procurement Services, created the Swag Portal, an online platform that encourages the strategic sourcing of Rutgers-branded merchandise. Making finding and buying Rutgers-branded merchandise easier, the portal streamlines the purchasing and design process for Rutgers units to secure promotional items: apparel, face coverings, bags, pins, displays, specialty items, giveaways, and more.
350+ Rutgers units placed orders
1,800+ total orders placed
$3.6 million in total orders
$4 million+ in savings resulting from competitive and discounted pricing for the university
Brand Management
UCM defines, elevates, and protects the Rutgers brand by managing our brand assets and enhancing the public prominence of the university through effective communications.
This reimagined resource site, built with the Rutgers Core Component Library, features a new Quick Links section, FAQ library, streamlined brand policy details, and a “I Want Help With” service-focused section to help university communicators find the resources they need.
37,000+ visitors annually
Partnering with Academic Affairs, UCM developed new design guidelines for digital badges that are awarded for demonstrating completion of cocurricular, extracurricular, or noncredit-related learning. Digital templates allow badge administrators to easily create the graphic files needed for the Rutgers digital badge catalog.
Communicators Network Training Event: Engaging Digital Audiences
Over 100 Rutgers communicators attended the November 2022 event. Mark Beal, assistant professor at the School of Communication and Information, presented Engaging the Gen Z Audience and social lead at Squarespace, Brandon Smithwrick, shared the latest trends and best practices in social media. Attendees gave the event a 96 percent satisfaction rating.
The ACE program includes outside communications firms with master service agreements in place with the university, making engagement for Rutgers units faster and easier. Last year, nine virtual information sessions were held featuring 47 ACE vendors with 234 Rutgers employees participating.
To help faculty and staff better understand the communications resources available to them and to provide guidance on the correct implementation of the university's policies related to branding, marketing, and communications, UCM launched an enewsletter distributed twice per semester. Issues are opened by more than 5,700 recipients with 1,300 users clicking through to obtain more information.
In adherence with Rutgers’ advertising policy, UCM reviews all advertisements, ensuring that Rutgers is presented in a consistent, coherent, and brand-standard manner.
FY 2022
359 ads reviewed and approved
$5.9 million in total media buys
528.4 million impressions
Promoting Rutgers
A new billboard was installed on Somerset Street in New Brunswick highlighting the achievements and scholarly pursuits of our students. Continuing the theme of “This Is What Excellence Looks Like,” the billboard is intended to instill pride in Rutgers and our nationally recognized students.
The Rutgers Holiday Store marked a successful second year in 2021 with more than 660 items sold. Launching on November 1 and running through mid-January, the store offered a mix of Rutgers-branded apparel and gifts including ugly holiday sweaters, pajamas, dog hoodies, and socks.
UCM introduced a limited-edition merchandise collection to showcase university points of pride. The inaugural Special Collection spotlights the Rutgers Marine Field Station on its 50th anniversary of preserving the state’s coastal habitats. The collection includes T-shirts and tote bags featuring designs of six marine animals and sold at Barnes & Noble at Rutgers bookstore and online.
Rutgers Core Component Library
The RCCL is a multi-template, 65+ component building tool for websites that empowers university units to create brand-forward, accessible sites with an improved online presence and better user experience. It is managed by UCM, R-Comm, and the Office of Research. Using Drupal (and in the future WordPress), the component library will continue to grow to meet the web needs of the university.
Examples of Sites Created by Units Using the RCCL
Website Collaborations with Rutgers Partners
Working with partners at the university and using the Rutgers Core Component Library (RCCL), we created websites with brand-consistent, graphically driven, and engaging content.
Partner Websites Created with the RCCL
Photography and Other Digital Assets
UCM provides the Rutgers Digital Asset Library to store, organize, and share photos and videos with the university community. Providing access to thousands of images and a growing number of videos, the self-serve asset management tool is accessible to faculty and staff who can create collections and share and download photos and videos.
Highlights of FY 2022
- 19,500+ total assets in database
- 11,000+ assets downloaded
- 5,000+ assets added
Storytelling through Video
Telling the stories of Rutgers people and places through video, UCM produces content for Rutgers.edu, Rutgers Today, social media platforms, and other university projects and channels.
Highlights of FY 2022
- 11.3 million total video views, including YouTube and Vimeo
- 38 videos produced for UCM channels
On the Pandemic and COVID-19 Health Briefings
On the Pandemic is a podcast series, hosted by Mary Marchetta O'Dowd, executive director of Health Systems and Population Health Integration at RBHS, in which university experts and leaders in health examine the critical challenges we face in our recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic. A companion piece to RBHS chancellor Brian Strom’s COVID-19 Health Briefings webinar, the podcast and webinar series produced by UCM were designed to help us all better understand the landscape of the COVID-19 pandemic.
9 podcast episodes
17 webinar episodes
Get to Know UCM
UCM and R-Comm are part of the Department of External Affairs at Rutgers, which is also home to the offices for State Government Affairs and Federal Relations. In all that the department does, communicating Rutgers’ knowledge and value as a top public research university and increasing the university’s prominence are paramount.