OLLI at Clemson (Osher Lifelong Learning Institute)
Brand Identity & Growth Strategy
The Context
OLLI at Clemson operates within both an Osher Foundation membership requirement and Clemson University’s land-grant mission. Historical membership, participation and program data showed a sustainability challenge with several interdependent causes.
The Constraint
The institute was losing members faster than it historically acquired them, paid participation was low, program categories performed differently, and the public brand needed to make lifelong learning and social connection feel coherent and distinctive.
My Role & Scope
- Analyzed three years of membership, program and revenue data.
- Developed the organizational strategy statement, map, KPIs and targets.
- Built audience mindsets, positioning, promise, tagline and message pillars.
- Translated the strategy into acquisition, engagement, program and partnership actions.
Key Evidence
STRATEGY STATEMENT
Achieve organizational sustainability by serving at least 1,000 members annually through community-centered lifelong learning experiences.
What I Built
Strategy Map
Objectives, KPIs, targets and initiatives across acquisition, engagement, program delivery and institutional relations.
Audience Mindsets
New Horizon Seeker, Dedicated Discoverer and Connected Contributor — defined by motivation rather than age alone.
Positioning System
A welcoming learning community where exploration and social connection are equally central.
Message Architecture
Three pillars: belonging through discovery, curiosity without expiration and member-shaped participation.
Verbal Identity
Promise: "There’s always something new to explore, and someone to explore it with." Tagline: "We Learn. We Laugh. We Grow."
Activation Plan
Attribution, interest capture, dynamic email, instructor promotion, referral, media and partnership workflows.
The work connected brand expression to measurable membership, participation and institutional decisions.
Capability Proven
- Data-led marketing and organizational diagnosis.
- Brand strategy, positioning and message architecture.
- Audience segmentation based on motivation and behavior.
- KPI design, implementation planning and cross-functional activation.
Skills
Additional Work & Outcomes
- Developed a sub-brand identity system for OLLI at Clemson University to unify fragmented marketing communications and support enrollment goals.
- Delivered full brand identity documentation covering brand foundations, verbal identity, visual identity, and messaging architecture.
- Developed a brand strategy to activate the brand as an organizational asset, aligned with the organization’s broader goals, and grounded in the brand identity.
- Created an action plan to cascade the brand strategy for operational effectiveness.
- Re-branded and re-designed the OLLI at Clemson website, creating a new website architecture, adding website features aligned with the brand, adding brand-consistent elements, and auditing technical SEO to rank the website at 98% website health.
- Handled social media marketing, email marketing, and local SEO, increasing Instagram reach by over 1,000%.