Communications, marketing and advancement support at your fingertips

External Relations has developed a comprehensive online toolkit, complete with templates, tips and guidelines for partners throughout UM.

“External Relations is committed to supporting the excellent work taking place across the university to champion UM and our strategic priorities,” says Vanessa Koldingnes, vice-president (external). 

“These toolkits support best practices in advancement and provide faculties and units with practical tools to help them share UM stories and discoveries with our communities, on campus and around the world,” she says.

These resources are available on UM Intranet, including:

• a media relations guide
• communications plan
• project brief templates
• a writing and editing guide
• UM brand resources like digital and print design templates
• event planning resources
• access to market research including UM surveys
• fundraising and stewardship guides
• Have You Heard Alumni e-Digest plan and schedule

A newly developed  Strategic Communications and Marketing Catalogue provides a high-level overview of the scope of work and services provided by the Strategic Communications and Marketing and Brand teams in support of UM’s mission and vision.

Design resources

Accessible and on-brand design resources are a key component of the toolkits.

The newly launched Adobe Express Creator Platform is a new browser-based platform, which will allow marketing communications partners across the university to access and use UM brand templates more easily, intuitively, and economically, providing flexibility for tailoring content to specific audiences.

Revamped templates and assets, as well as Adobe Express sign up and training details can be found on the Brand SharePoint site.

Resources for digital communications

Training resources and opportunities also exist for digital communications.

Do you have a challenge with your Drupal or Intranet pages? Sign up for office hours and meet with a digital content specialist who can help you find solutions.

Interested in learning about digital best practices, technology and trends? Join the Digital Community of Practice, a forum to promote best practices and build common capabilities and overall understanding in digital technology across the university.

Content maintenance training is coming soon and will provide digital content owners with the tools and knowledge they need to maintain their Drupal or Intranet sites as the platforms evolve.

Up next: resources still to come

Additional resources are being developed and will be added to the Intranet in the coming months. Keep your eye open for:

• Speaking notes template
• Guidelines and parameters for all-employee and all-student emails
• Guidelines for creating video messages from the president when he’s not able to attend an event in person

Together, these tools will enhance our collective ability to reach our audiences through impactful advancement initiatives.

Questions? Please reach out to your faculty/unit communications support staff, who are familiar with the toolkit and resources as part of the UM Communications Group, a communications community of practice that they participate in. They will liaise with your Strategic Communications contact as needed for additional assistance. This approach enhances efficiency and coordination, enabling us to provide optimal support.