Co-Brands
The University of Cincinnati may enter into strategic partnerships with external entities. UC defines a co-brand as a novel creative and strategic identity and approach in support of a new product, service, or shared endeavor per a formal relationship between our institution and an external organization or entity.
Successful co-branding must always uphold the University’s brand standards and recognize external partners appropriately. A co-branded look, feel, identity and/or campaign is not always necessary. When it is determined that a co-brand is essential it must be developed by Marketing + Communications. This will be developed as a lockup, with the UC logo appearing in the leftmost position.
When a third party is interested in showing affiliation with the university through use of marks, the design must recognize the other party’s support of UC (ie. Including language such as “in partnership with”, or “sponsored by”). In limited circumstances, when a compelling institutional reason exists, a specific co-brand design may be approved following these guidelines. In cases which a sponsorship is necessary, please consult the University’s Sponsorship Policy.
Unique requests for alternate solutions must be submitted through the brand review form, with final, written approval coming from the brand review committee.
Before any co-branded materials or assets can be developed, you must provide:
- Explicit approval from the external partner(s) to use their logo
- The external partner logo in .eps format with fonts outlined (raster logos (.jpg, .png, .pdf, etc.) are not acceptable and cannot be used)
- The external partner brand guide
- Explicit approval from the appropriate division head, VP or leadership team
- An outline including the partnership goals, future projects and opportunities, and associated timelines
