New Thinking

Across a variety of media platforms, Eastern outreach gets a fresh look.

For the whole of its 140 years, EWU has advanced and encouraged fresh ideas and forward thinking. Now it’s got a branding campaign to match, one that aims to share Eastern’s legacy of innovation with a new generation of up-and-coming college students.

“The New Think,” which debuted in January, features a variety of edgy, technology-forward student recruitment spots for television, streaming platforms, radio, print and social media, each highlighting student participation in university research and scholarship. It’s a concept born of a collaboration between EWU’s University Relations group and the Chapter & Verse creative agency in Spokane. 

Sam Buzby ’07, EWU’s director of marketing, was instrumental in bringing The New Think concept to life. He says the ad campaign, delayed for more than a year due to the pandemic, will help Eastern more effectively position itself as a university for the future. 

“We’re excited to remind everyone that Eastern is here to meet the needs of our evolving world through innovation and excellence,” Buzby says. 

The more immediate goal of The New Think has been to reestablish and fine-tune Eastern’s “brand” by emphasizing the university’s role in discovering new ways to solve old problems. Consider it, Buzby adds, “a reinvestment in, and modernization of, the university’s image.”

Drawing inspiration from the “eXp” movement — an initiative that aims to use experiential learning to connect students to future careers — the spots also showcase Eastern’s strength as a multidisciplinary, collaborative university.

 “We’re highlighting the great work our faculty and students are doing throughout the university, and turning it into authentic stories that will excite our community,” says Lance Kissler ’04, ’10, associate vice president of university relations at EWU. “This campaign provides us with a platform to continue more storytelling from a variety of our academic programs for years to come.”