Style and Brand Manual
OCCC Style and Brand Manual
Introducing our Brand
- 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.
College marketing efforts should contribute to building the OCCC brand. OCCC is engaging, welcoming, affordable, valuable, and fun. 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.
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, how will this promote equitable outcomes?
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.
Brand Elements
College Logo
The College logo is available in a number of forms, including the primary vertical orientation, the horizontal alternate, and the supporting waves logo. In no instances shall the college logo be stretched, or squeezed to fit. The supporting waves logo may be used in addition to the primary logo formats.
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.”
For high resolution logo files, please contact Marketing.
Typography & Color Use
The OCCC logo uses Gil Sans Light. To complement the logo, typical use of typography in marketing documents can include Raleway Bold for headings, Raleway Regular for subheadings, and Arimo for body text – which are all available in Canva under the brand assets folder.
Main colors include:
Oregon Coast Teal CYMK (75, 4, 31, 0); Hex #00b3b8; RGB (0, 179, 184)
Reflex Blue CYMK (100, 89, 0, 0); Hex #001489; RGB (0 20 137)
OCCC Orange CYMK (0, 69, 100, 4); Hex #f64c00; RGB (245, 130, 32)
Shark Gray CYMK (4, 4, 0, 70); Hex #67686e; RGB (103, 104, 110)
Mascot
Waverly is a friendly, energetic, and entertaining shark, representing the student body at OCCC. When referring to Waverly, use either their name or gender-neutral pronouns. Waverly also represents the College at parades and special events throughout the community. To request Waverly’s presence at an event, email Marketing.
Communicating our Brand
Campaign Themes
- An Ocean of Opportunity
- Transfer Transformed
- Catch the Wave
- Start Here, Go Anywhere
Tone
College messaging and outreach should be:
- Professional
- Respectful
- Inclusive
- Empowering
- Inviting
- Humorous, where appropriate
Situation Analysis
Key Services We Promote
- Lower Division Credit Instruction | Certificates and Degrees
- CTE Programs | Trades & Technology, Nursing & Allied Health, Early Childhood Education, Welding, Business, Aquarium Science
- Basic Skills | GED, ESOL
- Student Supports | STEP, Tutoring, Etc.
- Community Education
- Small Business Development | Professional Development, Workforce Development, Economic Development
- College Advancement | Foundation, College Events, Community Engagement
Market Overview
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.
Marketing Activities
Policies and Promotion
The College website – oregoncoast.edu – was redesigned in 2026 to meet accessibility standards outlined by the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) version 2.1, level AA, including text alternatives for non-text content, improved navigability, logical headings and an accurately structured hierarchy. Read more about the WCAG 2 Overview.
The OCCC website runs on the WordPress platform. The Web Development Team offers web-editing training sessions as needed. 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. If help is needed, contact the Web Development Team.
Advertising Speciality Products
To request branded banners, post-up stands, displays, pens, or other advertising specialties, contact Marketing. The responsibility for these items fit within the budget of each area of the College, and is the responsibility of the appropriate manager and/or director. Advertising specialties and display designs will be approved prior to purchase.
Campus Digital Screens
Digital screens are available to share messaging to students, faculty, and staff upon request. Screen images are generally built to standard 16:9 presentation format.
Business Cards
College business cards are designed in-house. Business cards are available upon request with supervisor approval. Send name, title, office phone and email address to Marketing.
Photography & Video Services
Photography and video coverage of classes, events, or activities are available upon request.
E-Newsletters and Text Messaging
The College maintains lists for email correspondence. E-Newsletters are available upon request for outreach. The Office of Student Affairs may be capable of text messaging students. 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. 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 VP of Engagement and the Office of the President.
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.
Flyers and Posters
To request a flyer for an event or activity, email marketing, or follow the procedures below to submit your own design.
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.
Use of AI
College employees are discouraged from using AI to design flyers or graphics, mainly due to the inability to keep branded fonts, logos, and overall look consistent. Marketing is available to help design flyers if needed.
Promoting Your Event
Planning a special event or activity on behalf of your area at OCCC? A successful communications plan will include many of the following elements:
- Flyers posted at campus/center locations
- Flyers placed in faculty/staff mail boxes
- Table-toppers for commons areas
- Announcement in regular staff channels
- Email to students
- Email to faculty & staff list
- Banner in the Commons (often created with ASG support)
- Digital Signage
- College website
- College social media
- ‘Catch the Wave,’ when advance notice is possible
- Press releases
- Announcement at College Council, Town Halls, and other College forums
- Text to high schools for daily announcements
- Flyers to high schools for posting there
Media Communications
The College encourages staff and faculty to communicate with the communities we serve. 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. Responses should be made in collaboration with the VP of Engagement.
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 the Office of Engagement 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. Press releases can be issued to promote your event or share a story from your program or functional area upon request. Note that news regarding weather-related closures to OCCC facilities are first distributed via Paylocity (to employees) and 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.
- Refer to the College as “Oregon Coast Community College” on first reference, and OCCC thereafter.
- When referring to OCCC, capitalize the word College.
- OCCC has four locations – Central County Campus in Newport, North County Center in Lincoln City, East County Center in Toledo, and South County Center in Waldport. The Welding Laboratory is also located in Toledo.
For clarity, OCCC generally calls out location, ex: “…at the OCCC North County Center in Lincoln City.”
- OCCC prefers the use of the Oxford comma for lists.
- 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, and YouTube, addresses.* When listing social media channels, list them in that order.
*Note exceptions, such as the OCCC SBDC’s Instagram 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. Please consult the OCCC Social Media Policy supplement to this document below.
Social media policy introduction
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
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
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
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 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
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
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