Executive Summary
Key Messages
- OCCC is Lincoln County’s college.
- Oregon Coast is a key driver of economic development in the county.
- Student success drives everything we do: We epitomize the student-centered college.
Marketing Campaign Themes
- An Ocean of Opportunity
- Transfer Transformed
- Catch the Wave
- Start Here, Go Anywhere
*Themes can and will change and be updated over time. Those listed here have appeared in print and digital marketing assets and campaigns in recent years.
Tone
The College aims to ensure OCCC messaging and outreach is
– Smart
– Professional
– Respectful
– Inclusive
– Inviting
– Entertaining
– Humorous, where appropriate
Key Services
- Lower Division Credit Instruction (Certificates and Degrees)
- CTE Programs (Nursing & Allied Health, Early Childhood Education, Welding, Business, Aq. Science)
- Basic Skills (GED, ESOL) and Student Supports (STEP, Tutoring, Etc.)
- Community Education
- Small Business Development (Professional Development, Workforce Dev., Economic Development)
- College Advancement (Foundation, College Events, Community Engagement)
Guiding Principles
Oregon Coast Community College’s credit students vary widely in age and background. There is not a “typical” OCCC student, nor is there a “typical” target for OCCC’s messaging. The College must be inclusive in its messaging and to be deliberate about outreach to the various communities throughout Lincoln County. Whenever possible, we adhere to the adage: “If you can’t measure it, don’t do it.” However, we operate in a community without a dominating media presence. Instead, the county is highly fragmented and its population spread across 1,200 square miles of area, and “traditional” media is challenging. Therefore, necessity sometimes dictates that OCCC’s marketing be conducted in a “strategic doing” approach. Whenever possible, we seek input from multiple sources internally and externally, to ensure wise, efficient, and effective investments in marketing efforts.
Goals
OCCC’s Marketing efforts are targeted as precisely as possible to support the College’s Five-Year Strategic Priorities. For each proposed marketing effort or expense, ask “How will this further the College’s pursuit of its strategic priorities?” Generally speaking, investments in time, resources, personnel and funds should be supporting Student Success, FTE growth, or revenue growth.
Building a Brand Community
College marketing efforts should contribute to building the OCCC brand. OCCC is engaging, welcoming, affordable, valuable, and fun. OCCC has an unflagging commitment to diversity, equity & inclusion. OCCC recognizes and appreciates the increasing population of students from Spanish-speaking households currently in the Lincoln County School District (K-12 system), and must be proactive about improving its accessibility. Students who join the OCCC family are surrounded by supports to help them succeed, whether they are pursuing a less-than-one-year certificate or if they plan to transfer to a four-year institution.
OCCC’s marketing efforts and outreach frequently hit these points:
• Support – Students at Oregon Coast are surrounded by supports. They don’t “go it alone.”
• Community – OCCC is an integral part of the Lincoln County community, and of its
economic development efforts
• Excellence – OCCC’s faculty are leaders in their fields and our innovative and challenging
programs compete favorably with those of much larger institutions
• Diversity, Equity & Inclusion – No message or campaign shall be deployed without being first viewed through the DEI prism, asking (among other things), how will this promote equitable outcomes?
Fiduciary Responsibility
OCCC’s marketing efforts will be conducted in the most cost-effective means possible.
Situation Analysis
This section will be periodically updated as circumstances change. Last update: September 2024
The pandemic drove reductions in enrollment of about 17% at OCCC in the year started Fall 2020. The years leading up to the COVID era were different. Oregon Coast Community College in 2017-18 experienced moderate growth in FTE over prior year, this in an environment of nearly-full employment (4.7% unemployment during Spring 2018). As low unemployment generally depresses community college FTE, OCCC’s growth suggests the College was on an upswing prior to the transition to online instruction in Spring 2020.
Chart at right shows enrollment growth from 2020-2024, in FTE (Full-Time Equivalent). As most OCCC students attend at well below full-time schedules, due to family, work, and financial limitations, actual headcount is far higher.
• Based on the FTE of comparator Oregon community colleges, and the populations of the markets they serve, it is possible that OCCC has historically under-served the county on an FTE-per-capita basis.
• Certain newer programs (business, teaching, welding) have proven popular, and with the near-doubling of Allied Health enrollment, thanks to the addition of the LPN-to-RN program, in 2023-2024, growth in CTE enrollment has been healthy.
• Enhanced marketing efforts: The College’s quarterly course schedule, “Catch the Wave,” has focused on engaging participation from all corners of the county and from people of all ages, interests and backgrounds. The College has also harnessed the power of geofencing and other location-based mobile marketing programs, plus TikTok, Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, Constant Contact, online publishing platforms, Google and other search promotions, outdoor advertising and other means to improve visibility and name recognition. Further, the growth of OCCC’s community education program has helped introduce the College to thousands of county residents of all ages and backgrounds in recent years.
• The May 2024 bond election saw voters approve a $33 million bond to fund the new Oregon Coast Applied Technology & Trades (OCATT) Center and campus-wide modernizations, by a nearly 2 to 1 margin, suggesting these ongoing efforts have helped strengthen the connections between the College and the communities it serves.
• The College formed a ‘Marketing & Promotions Committee’ in the Fall of 2019. The group facilitated the production of a series of postcards targeting PSAT- and SAT-takers in the LCSD, among other projects. Meetings were disrupted by the Pandemic and, as of the start of the 2024-25 academic year, have not been meaningfully revisited, though such efforts to increase staff input in marketing from other functional areas of the college should be pursued as time and resources permit.
Major Color Palette
Typefaces
The College’s logo features the sanserif font Gil Sans Light, all caps. To complement but not compete with the logo, body copy should be a serif – or flourished san-serif – choice in most instances. Minion, Caslon, Raleway, and Garamond families are examples of acceptable choices; there are many other similar fonts from which to choose. For headlines and subheads, sanserif options like Myriad and Futura may be used at designer’s discretion, but care should be taken to avoid light or thin font choices, which may mimic the logo.
College Logo
The College logo is available in a number of forms, ranging from the “circle and waves” image alone, to horizontal and vertical layouts of the logo with text, to limited animated versions of the logo for use in video formats.
In no instances shall the college logo be stretched, or squeezed to fit. In some situations, the “three C’s” waves logo may be used alone; consult the Marketing Coordinator or the VP of Engagement for details. Occasionally (examples include Pride month events, or Breast Cancer Awareness month) the circle and/or waves featured in the logo may have their colors changed for use in specific digital formats or printed assets.
Area of isolation
When placed near text or other images, the logo must be surrounded by an area of isolation (white space) greater than or equal to the height of the words “OREGON COAST.” (Rule applies to use in horizontal or vertical format. Email marketing with questions.)
Logo Availability
Find these logos on the shared drive. To request a logo in a different format or with any other revisions, email marketing.
Website
The College website is a resource for promoting classes, programs, and more. It is a powerful way to reach the students, staff, and faculty of the College, as well as thousands of readers from throughout the Lincoln County community and beyond.
Becoming a Website Contributor
The OCCC website runs on the WordPress platform. The Web Development Team (webdevteam@oregoncoast.edu) offers periodic group, as well as on-demand individual, web-editing training sessions. Talk to your supervisor or email the team for details or to request a training session.
Deletions & Edits to Existing Pages
Things change, and our website needs to change with them. Generally, each functional area of the College is expected to delete outdated content and make other time-sensitive updates to their web pages within the College site. Sometimes, assistance may be needed: to request changes to existing web pages, or to request certain content be deleted or hidden from public view, email webdevteam@oregoncoast.edu.
Typefaces: Web Content
OCCC values thematic continuity, which can admittedly be difficult in a small institution where web-editing and updating duties are spread across multiple teams. Text, as well as headlines of various heading categories, should default to those available as standard choices in the “Elementor” design tool. Those typefaces include the text you’re viewing in this sentence and the heading options used throughout this page.
Mobile & paid search campaigns
The College periodically conducts targeted mobile marketing campaigns using tools such as geofencing and ‘web conquesting,’ among others. Regulations regarding targeted messaging of mobile devices and similar strategies are evolving. Anyone with questions about past, present, or proposed campaigns of this sort, including more traditional paid-search campaigns, are encouraged to contact the Marketing team.
Advertising Specialty Products
To request College-branded banners, post-up stands, displays, pens, or other advertising specialties, contact marketing. The responsibility for ensuring such investments fit within the budgetary constraints of each area of the College is the responsibility of the appropriate managers and directors. Advertising specialties and display designs will be approved by the Marketing Team prior to purchase. If your department is pursuing branded swag or giveaways, please ensure imprints and artwork are approved by marketing prior to purchase.
Digital Screens (On Campus)
The College has digital screens available to share messaging to the students, faculty, and staff.
Access to these screens is overseen by the College’s Marketing Coordinator. Contact the Marketing Coordinator to promote a message using the system. Screen images are generally built to standard 16:9 presentation format, and .png file format is preferred.
The College uses Canva to build many of its screen images, as well as other digital and printed marketing assets. To request an image be created for a class or event, contact the Marketing Coordinator or the VP of Engagement. Please provide five business days’ notice.
Business Cards
To control costs and maintain creative control, all College business cards are designed in house. Printing is out-sourced. Business cards are available to any faculty or staff with supervisor approval. Send name, title, office phone and email address to marketing. Turnaround time is approximately three weeks.
Photography and Video Services
The OCCC marketing team encourages requests for photography and video recording opportunities. We cannot accommodate every request but the one way to ensure your event is not photographed or recorded is to fail to submit a request. Please email requests for a photographer or videographer to cover your class, event, or activity to marketing.
E-Newsletters & Texts
The College maintains certain lists for email correspondence, and support is available for College staff seeking to use tools such as Constant Contact for outreach. The Office of Student Affairs may be capable of messaging students and prospects in certain situations. These texts will be managed by Student Affairs to ensure compliance with FERPA and other protections surrounding student privacy.
Presentation Templates
Branded OCCC Canva presentation templates are available on request. Email marketing to request access to a template. Canva memberships are available with supervisor approval (monthly costs are assessed to participating departments).
Paid Advertising
The College’s paid advertising budget is limited. Authority to purchase advertising rests with the Marketing Coordinator, the VP of Engagement, and the Office of the President.
Flyers & Posters
To request a flyer for an event or activity, email
marketing, or follow the procedures below to submit your own design.
Self-Designed Posters
OCCC staff and faculty are encouraged to design their own flyers and posters as needed. Any printed marketing asset of any kind needs to be approved by OCCC Marketing prior to printing and distribution outside the College’s properties.
To receive approval:
• Build the document in Canva and share with the Marketing Coordinator
• Or, save document as PDF and e-mail to marketing
• Include details including the purpose and the audience it is meant to reach
• Always include a due-by date to facilitate timely response
• Remember that some materials will need reference to civil rights assurances, or particular grant funding information and disclaimers.
Why was my design rejected?
Any approval request that is denied will include a detailed explanation why. You can greatly increase your chances of having a design rapidly approved by:
• Ensuring logo is used correctly (not stretched, not modified, etc.)
• Proofreading for spelling and other typographical errors
Copyright
All college employees are expected to adhere to and respect copyrights, trademarks, rights of publicity, and other third-party rights in all printed marketing assets and releases, as well as online – including, but not limited to, photographs, video, art, logos, and graphics.
Waverly
Since the early 1990s, OCCC students and employees have been known as “The Sharks.” And, there is no more important shark than the College mascot, Waverly.
Waverly is a friendly, energetic, and entertaining shark. Waverly has no gender, and the College uses gender-neutral pronouns in reference to Waverly. Waverly represents the College at parades and special events – both internal and throughout the community. To request Waverly be present at a particular event, email marketing.
Communications with the Media
The College encourages staff and faculty to communicate with the communities we serve – and the media outlets that serve all of us. If you’re contacted by members of the press and they request information, the College’s preference is to respond promptly and with complete information. Please copy Marketing on any requests from local media, and to request permission to issue press releases directly to the media. In the event of natural disasters or other emergency situations, the College’s crisis communications plans are implemented, and only designated personnel authorized by the Office of the President are permitted to issue news and information on behalf of the College. Contact Marketing or the Office of the President with questions. The VP of Engagement serves as the College’s Public Information Officer (PIO).
Press Releases
The College has valuable relationships with print, broadcast, and online news providers throughout the county. To request a press release be issued to promote your event or share a story from your program or functional area, email marketing. Note that news regarding weather-related closures to OCCC facilities are first distributed via FlashAlert. Learn more about FlashAlert at flashalert.net, or contact Facilities & Safety.
General-purpose OCCC press releases* are sent to:
*Note that some of these outlets are better suited to some content than others. Consult Marketing with questions.
Style: Written Communications
AP Style is to be observed on releases and other printed media, except where noted. AP Style tips are available from the Marketing Coordinator.
• Refer to the College as “Oregon Coast Community College” on first reference, and OCCC thereafter.
• Avoid parenthetical acronym after first reference (ex: “…at Oregon Coast Community College (OCCC) on …”)
• When referring to OCCC, capitalize the word College.
• OCCC has four locations.
OCCC Central County Campus (Includes main building and Aquarium Science Program facility)
OCCC North County Center (“Center,” not “campus”)
OCCC South County Center (“Center,” not “campus”)
OCCC Welding Laboratory, at the Port of Toledo
For clarity, OCCC generally calls out location, ex: “…at the OCCC North County Center in Lincoln City.”
• OCCC uses the Oxford comma for lists in documents such as releases, flyers, and posters.
• Refer to the College website without “https://www.”; instead, use simply “oregoncoast.edu.”
• Phone numbers: Do not place the area code in parentheses.
(541) 867-8501 – Incorrect
541-867-8501 – Correct
Social Media
@occcsharks will generally suffice for reference to the College’s TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, and X/Twitter addresses.* When listing social media channels, list them in that order. Social media platforms update and revise their logos frequently. Only use logos if you have verified they are current iterations. *Note exceptions, such as the OCCC SBDC’s Insta and Facebook, @orcoastsbdc, as well as both the College’s and SBDC’s LinkedIn accounts.
The College encourages faculty and staff to submit content for sharing on its platforms. To have something shared, please email marketing with:
• The details (for events, include time, date, place)
• One or more images (or request an image – describe in detail any image you have in mind but do not have available to attach)
• Explanatory text: Tell us why this event or activity should be of interest to the reader.
• Hashtags: Please include any hashtags you believe may be helpful in driving engagement for your post
Video is encouraged for social media posts. Staff and faculty have access to the College’s Digital Media & Marketing Labs (in Newport and Lincoln City locations). If you are familiar with video editing and production and would like to submit video for sharing, we encourage you to email marketing. The College maintains a channel on YouTube, though faculty and staff may enjoy creating shorter-form content for TikTok with Canva, or with the assistance of the Marketing Coordinator. The Marketing Coordinator can help capture, edit, produce, and post videos.
If you have experience using TikTok, Instagram or other social media platforms and would like to join the group of OCCC social media content creators, email marketing.
Please consult the OCCC Social Media Policy supplement to this document, below.
OCCC Social Media Policies
Introduction
Oregon Coast Community College relies on creative social media content, produced by a growing number of contributors, to maintain lively and helpful lines of communication with students, staff, faculty, and the communities we serve. The College appreciates that content published even briefly on the Internet lives on forever, somewhere, and thus must make every effort to ensure the College is always represented professionally and accurately in posts, and that posts respect the rights and privacy of others.
Responsible Parties
The President has granted the OCCC Marketing team, with support from the Information Technology team, responsibility for the oversight of all College social media outlets. Official users will be assigned by the Marketing team and will be issued login credentials. The VP of Engagement may, at their discretion, recruit temporary social media contributors, including staff, faculty, and students, using such tools as temporary passwords and login credentials.
Ground Rules
Official College social media accounts must be in compliance with any and all applicable OCCC Board Policies, Administrative Policies, and operating procedures. At no time shall a College employee or student create a social media account or web presence that represents or gives the appearance of representing the College without the approval of the Marketing team.
Official OCCC Social Media content editors shall:
• Represent the College in a professional manner
• Use good judgment when creating posts, and seek input from supervisors when questions arise
• Comply with OCCC rules concerning student confidentiality and FERPA
• Avoid infringing on the rights of others by publishing only photos, artwork, and videos created by the College or with the expressed written consent of the copyright holder. Consult the Marketing team with any questions.
• College employees who serve as advisors to OCCC student clubs and organizations and who may be granted access to College social media accounts are expected to follow these guidelines and discuss them with student members of the club or organization they counsel
Objectionable Content
Users may occasionally post content that may be considered “objectionable” to social media channels (on the College’s Facebook page, for example, or by tagging @occcsharks from an entirely separate feed). Objectionable content is defined as any content generated by users and publicly posted on social media that violates any OCCC Board Policy, Administrative Procedure, or code of conduct. Consult the OCCC Student Handbook or Course Catalog, or oregoncoast.edu, for more details about the College’s code of conduct standards. This list includes some of the content which is prohibited from College social media channels.
1. Threats or bullying
2. Gambling
3. Obscene language and/or imagery
4. Language or imagery depicting underage drinking, illegal drug use, or other inappropriate behavior
5. Harassment
6. Commercial use for personal financial benefit
7. Personal social relationships unrelated to college matters
8. Content in violation of federal or state law.
Comments posted to College Social Media posts may be unflattering to the College, but depending on language/images used, are most often not “objectionable.” That said, as the College “owns” and accounts for its postings, we
expect the same of those who comment on our posts. The Marketing & Foundation Coordinator, the VP of
Engagement, and others with Social Media responsibility, retain the right to hide or remove comments, esp. when those comments are posted by “bots” or otherwise obvious (as judged by the staff member) fake or unverifiable accounts. Every effort will be made to leave critical posts posted by verifiable county residents visible to the general public. Direct concerns about this subjective decision-making process to the VP of Engagement.
Assistance
New social media channels are created regularly. Some of these may have the potential to help OCCC better reach out to our students and the communities we serve. To request access to setting up and maintaining new social networking sites on behalf of the College, contact the Marketing team.
OCCC representation on personal Social Media
Oregon Coast Community College respects the rights of employees to use social media as a means of self-expression. However, references to the College’s programs or services, and/or an employee’s association with the College, could create liability on the part of the College for an employee’s actions online. Therefore, all College employees will:
• Be held responsible for their actions. Anything an employee posts that could potentially harm the College’s image or reputation will be that employee’s responsibility.
• Offer clear disclaimers when publishing on the Internet when referring back to their role as an OCCC employee that the views expressed by the writer are the writer’s alone and do not represent
the views of OCCC
• Comply with OCCC confidentiality policies and FERPA