Situation

Colorado State University’s 100-year-old College of Agricultural Sciences (CAS), has long been reputed for world-class research and its advanced degree programs.

So, when CAS announced a first-of-its-kind undergraduate program for the Agricultural Biology Department in 2021, it was big academic news. No other University was, or is, positioned to offer a trifecta of foundational specialties (entomology, plant pathology, and weed science) all as part of one comprehensive undergraduate major. CAS’s business and communication challenge was to determine how to position this new offering, quickly fulfill program enrollment goals, remain consistent with CSU’s larger brand platform and carve out a unique identity for the College of Agricultural Science and Department of Agricultural Biology.

What We Did

Through a series of one-on-one interviews and departmental workshops, we discovered most undeclared freshmen held an outdated idea that Ag Bio was synonymous with Cows and Corn. In other words, unsophisticated and uninspired. They had little idea that Ag Bio offers a career path for helping to solve the global hunger crisis and for fighting climate change through many diverse roles. CAS clearly needed to elevate the big-picture value proposition behind studying Agricultural Biology.

The result of our work together was a new Message Framework to help CAS faculty and CSU recruiters talk to students in layman’s terms, not just about what they would study in the new Ag Bio program, but why it so urgently matters. Since that time, RBA has continued to provide ongoing Brand Therapy coaching to one of CAS’s internal departments, the Plant Diagnostic Clinic, guiding them towards greater financial sustainability, expanded product offerings and a more targeted customer experience.

Outcome

Just two years in, the undergraduate Agricultural Biology program is thriving and surpassing enrollment goals.