Positioning & Communications

Awareness and Accessibility

The National Urban Extension Leaders (NUEL) refers to positioning as “how Extension is positioned at the local, state, and national levels.” Positioning influences awareness and accessibility in metro areas.

Context 

OSU Extension is based in the College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences (CFAES). All Extension communications follow university and college branding guidelines. With multiple local, state, and national partners, navigating issues related to positioning presents both opportunities and challenges. In counties with large populations, there’s tremendous opportunity for diverse populations to have a first-time Extension experience through effective positioning. For those who are familiar with Extension, predominantly perceived images are generally limited to commodity agricultural and county fairs. When considering accessibility, the location of county offices is not always centrally located or in close proximity to bus routes and highways. To support Extension positioning in urban communities, it’s imperative to engage internal and external partners and to improve personnel’s working knowledge of Extension in the urban context. 

Positioning Goals 

Create meaningful messaging and expand the presence of OSU Extension with key existing and new audiences in Ohio’s metropolitan areas.

  1. Leverage existing resources to diversify and improve accessibility to photos, videos, and other digital assets to reflect diversity of people and environments in urban communities.
  2. Identify specific audiences and develop grassroots marketing messaging. 
  3. Design measurable campaigns and communication calendar for specific internal and external stakeholders. 
  4. Consider Extension engagement locations – physical and virtual. 

Resources

Urban Extension includes a diverse group of people and environments. With multiple local, state, and national partners, navigating issues related to positioning presents both opportunities and challenges. In counties with large populations, there’s tremendous opportunity for diverse populations to have a first-time Extension experience through effective positioning. For those who are familiar with Extension, predominantly perceived images are generally limited to commodity agricultural and county fairs. All Extension statewide are invited to work with marketing and communications to serve their community.

Digital Assets 

CFAES Marketing and Communications
CFAES Brand Library
CFAES Flickr Library and Albums
CFAES YouTube

The Ohio State University Branding
University Photo Gallery
University Marketing Resources

Sources for free images (follow their copyright rules)