New Brand: Alpha Gam Gets a Makeover

While there are many ways a member can discuss her Alpha Gam experience, so much of it can only be understood from the inside out. That’s why, in early 2017, we set out to develop a brand image that both visually and verbally expresses the values of Alpha Gamma Delta in a way that is more broadly understood by potential new members, parents, our philanthropic partners and those in our communities.

Developed in 2011, the former tagline Live with Purpose directly referenced Alpha Gamma Delta’s Purpose, which debuted in 1921. While the Purpose is still a major tenet of the Fraternity, its deeper meaning as part of a tagline was not as evident to those outside the organization.

“The Purpose continues to be extremely special to members of Alpha Gamma Delta; however, we felt the Fraternity needed a tagline that could be more easily embraced by non-members as well,” said Director of Communications and Marketing Wendy Theus Barker–Gamma Alpha, University of Georgia. “You don’t have to be a member of Alpha Gam to understand what it means to be loving, leading, lasting.”

For many years, the Armorial Bearings was the only representative mark of Alpha Gamma Delta. Even throughout the 1960s and 70s, most fraternal organizations used their crest as their official logo. However, as corporate and consumer culture grew, brand images became more iconic and representational. In 1986, the Fraternity introduced what is on record as our first official logo.

As our organization grew, so did the need to distinguish ourselves with more sophisticated branding. In 2001, we introduced our first full brand which included the tagline, Surrounded by Sisterhood. Then, in 2011, we updated the brand with a more modern logo and adopted the tagline Live with Purpose. These principles will always be a part of who we are. As members of Alpha Gam, we are always surrounded by sisterhood. We will still be and seek women who truly Live with Purpose. As a new generation of women come to know our sisterhood, loving, leading, lasting is the opening paragraph of a story they will tell and will continue to evolve for a lifetime.

A Paradigm Shift As of 2018, Millennials are the largest segment of our membership—encompassing both collegiate members and alumnae. With collegiate chapters now led by the youngest segment of the Millennial Generation and the first members of Generation Z beginning their college careers, a paradigm shift began across college campuses and within fraternity/sorority groups.

In early 2017, Alpha Gamma Delta partnered with Indianapolis-based Shelle Design to develop new messaging and visual elements, including logos, graphics and color palette.

In order to develop a brand that would speak to women who embody our Purpose, Shelle Design and the in-house Communications and Marketing Team at IHQ surveyed more than 1,500 collegiate and alumnae members, conducted numerous focus groups and phone interviews, and took a comprehensive look at the goals, attributes and aspirations of those born after 1997, also known as Gen Z. Not only did our research reveal our strengths and opportunities for improvement, but it emphasized the impact of issues affecting the sorority experience

across campuses throughout the United States and Canada, such as continued negative stereotypes of fraternal organizations, on-going news coverage of isolated hazing incidents, a growing opposition to samesex organizations and the decline in college enrollment. As birthrates continue to fall, even fewer students will enroll in college in the next 20 years. For membership organizations like ours to survive and thrive, it is imperative we provide an experience that is both meaningful and personally beneficial.

One characteristic of Gen Z is that they want to be part of something greater than themselves—which is very much in line with Alpha Gamma Delta’s values. To better understand the benefits of lifelong membership in Alpha Gam, we looked to our members.

“To gather a deeper understanding of the Alpha Gamma Delta experience, it was imperative we integrate the characteristics of generational personas within the identity of an Alpha Gam,” said Michelle King, President of Shelle Design. “‘Who is she on the inside? How does that inner strength drive her to contribute to the world’s work? What inspires her to make a lasting impact relevant to the needs of the broader community today and in the future?’ This integration would mark the next evolution of Alpha Gamma Delta’s brand essence.”

Further Gen Z research indicated they are motivated, values-oriented and concerned about their future career and well-being more than previous generations did upon entering college. They are also altruistic, compassionate and loyal. While these characteristics are in line with our organizational values, we knew we could do a better job of communicating the more tangible benefits of our membership, such as networking, leadership development and opportunities to serve the community on a larger scale.

“As institutions aim to attract students from a variety of backgrounds who want a meaningful college experience inside and outside the classroom, it is important to understand how our message must energize and inspire potential new members,” said International President Lee Woodham Langub, who has spent 14 years teaching in higher education.

On a more practical level, research revealed that the majority of our collegiate chapters never used our old logo because it felt outdated and too institutional. Respondents indicated both our logo and messaging lacked appeal when used for recruitment purposes.

KEY RESEARCH TAKEAWAYS

1. The rose and the word Purpose are more widely associated with other NPC groups on the vast majority of campuses where our chapters are located.

2. Collegiate and alumnae officers need brand elements that can be easily implemented in recruitment, social media and event marketing. Collegiate members also need a concise answer to the question "What is Alpha Gamma Delta?"

3. In order to appeal to Gen Z, the value of membership must be clearly defined.

4. When asked to describe personality traits that our brand should reflect, the most common responses from collegiate and alumnae members were strong, fun, kind, bold, genuine, inspired and loyal.

Interpreting the Brand The words and meaning of loving, leading, lasting are deeply rooted in our Fraternity’s rich history. Though the new logo features updated typefaces and a more modern color palette, it also contains elements which honor our past, including a nod to the three circles displayed on our Armorial Bearings. A secondary color palette, informal logos, patterns and graphic icons have been added. The guidelines and use cases for these new materials are available to applicable collegiate and alumnae officers in the updated Visual Identity and Style Guide.

“While staying true to our traditional colors and symbols, our new brand elements are eye-catching, meaningful and have tested well across all age groups,” Wendy said.

In addition to the brand's visual components, messaging was developed to support the new

tagline and fully answer the question, “What is Alpha Gam?” When used consistently and effectively, a full formed brand can positively influence an organization’s reputation, recognition and values alignment.

Telling Our Story Because the women in our collegiate chapters are perhaps our most prominent storytellers, educating collegiate officers on proper brand usage was an essential component of the launch plan.

“A brand is more than a logo and a catchy phrase,” said Wendy. “From how and where we use our logo to how we talk about Alpha Gam in formal or casual conversation, being mindful of our brand guidelines plays an important—though often unseen—role in the success of our organization,” said Wendy.

To properly implement across all communication channels, including those used by collegiate chapters, a soft launch was held at each of the four Academies for Collegiate Officers. Additionally, the Communications and Marketing Team hosted a webinar the week before the launch to provide further guidance to the Vice Presidents–Marketing and their advisors on their role in the brand launch.

Autumn Gupta, Delta Alpha–University of Southern California, participated in one of the initial collegiate focus groups at the Academy for Chapter Presidents in January 2018, but didn’t see the final brand reveal until last week’s chapter meeting.

“I can count on one hand the number of times I have cried in front of my chapter sisters, and one of those times was watching the new branding video,” Autumn said. “So much of it resonated with me. I am truly excited for the future of Alpha Gamma Delta.”

Our new brand messaging also aligns with our International President’s goal to create the best sorority experience possible.

“It’s not enough to just say the words. We must do the work to provide an experience that is unmatched by other organizations. Our brand represents a promise to our current and future members,” said Lee. “It’s a promise I know we can certainly keep.”