FAQ
Strategic Communications
Find your answers.
Searching for brand resources, logos, and photos? Want guidance on writing for our brand? Need to know more about how the Office of Strategic Communications works? Explore the variety of FAQ topics, and if your question isn’t answered here, don't hesitate to get in touch with us.
Working with Us
Our office is leanly staffed and focused on the university’s top priorities. We produce strategic communications and digital solutions that fit within and support those priorities. Potential projects must be submitted by a university employee who is authorized and responsible for the project and has the authority to make decisions regarding content, costs, schedule, distribution, and other relevant matters.
The Vice Chancellor for Strategic Communications evaluates project requests and determines whether the office will accept them.
At the outset of a project, we will determine task assignments, responsibilities, content, deadlines, and costs. Parameters may change throughout a project as university priorities evolve.
Please contact the Office of Strategic Communications to discuss a potential project.
Once a project request is accepted, the Office of Strategic Communications will work with you to meet your desired delivery deadline; however, an expected delivery date may not always be feasible.
As your project is being considered, we will take into account the variables that will affect the overall schedule. All projects are prioritized based on several factors, including institutional impact, project or initiative readiness, complexity, and the number of current projects already in the pipeline. Once a project has been accepted, a project manager will be assigned.
We place a higher priority on projects that support the university's priorities, such as alumni engagement, development, and university-wide initiatives.
Please note that our team also manages crisis communications for the university, and any project may be delayed due to unforeseen circumstances that necessitate a critical response.
Brand Resources and guidelines
Find information about the value and importance of brand identity in the university's Brand Guidelines.
Logo lockups—also known as cobrands—are developed by our office and are permissible for any administrative or academic unit that reports directly to the chancellor, a vice chancellor, or a dean. All vice chancellors and deans have been provided a full set of cobrand logos in various formats. No other cobrands or logos are allowed. For other questions, please refer to the university’s Brand Guidelines. (There is a separate brand resource guide that pertains to Intercollegiate Athletics, maintained by Enrollment Management and the Student Experience.)
Download brand resources and templates from Libris (PhotoShelter), the university's digital asset management system.
Yes. Check out information about our university's writing style. You can also download the Brand Guidelines and start on page 24 to learn how to create on-brand writing you can be proud of.
Follow the university’s Editorial Style Guide, which addresses everything from commas (Oxford, always the Oxford comma) to campus building names, from grammar to employees’ titles.
Digital Strategy and Websites
The Office of Strategic Communications has a dedicated digital strategy team responsible for the university’s website. The team oversees the site's administration, manages the content management system (Drupal), and provides training for university publishers.
The Office of Strategic Communications produces websites and microsites for high-priority university projects and initiatives, including new or reorganized academic and administrative units, student recruitment, fundraising campaigns, and strategic initiatives. Please note that the digital strategy team does not produce or support websites outside the university's web content management system.
The Office of Strategic Communications offers a training program for employees designated by their units as new website publishers. We also offer a Drupal Support website. Additionally, we provide weekly office hours via Teams. Don’t hesitate to contact the Office of Strategic Communications for any extra support.
Yes, we can create short vanity URLs to substitute long web addresses. Please contact the Office of Strategic Communications to request a vanity URL.
Contact the Office of Strategic Communications to request access to the Events Calendar.
If you would like to request changes to the People Directory, you can use the Changes to People Directory Form hosted by Purdue Information Technology. Note that the length of job titles is limited to 255 characters.
The Academic Program Finder is one of the most-visited sections of the university’s website. It allows students and their family members to browse nearly 200 majors and minors offered by the university. Site visitors can explore details of academic programs and career information, including job titles and projected salaries.
Please contact the Office of Strategic Communications to request a Google Analytics 360 report for your department website.
We are retiring dotCMS, effective June 30, 2026.
University offices can request that a designated publisher have access to the Digital Display Network. Publishers must first complete training and accept the terms of the Service Level Agreement (SLA).
Multimedia
The small team in the Office of Strategic Communications produces photography and video. Our top priority is to produce compelling products that support the university’s strategic communications, including websites, digital screens, print pieces, multimedia, media releases, and internal electronic newsletters.
While university departments may request photography coverage of their events and activities, these requests are often given lower priority. Our photographer does not cover office gatherings (such as retirements and birthdays), produce office décor, or provide documentation services. Video production is limited to high-priority projects of the Office of Strategic Communications and is not offered to the broader university community.
Find photography, university logos, and branding components in Libris (PhotoShelter), the university's digital asset management system.
University Communications
The best topics tend to focus on student achievement, especially when it’s happening in a group setting. That can be part of a classroom experience, a lab, or the field. Faculty and staff expertise can also be a valuable starting point. Regularly, work that involves contemporary topics and/or community engagement is appealing to multiple audiences, including members of the media.
As one might expect, the presence of visual elements can be very beneficial.
Inside PFW Tuesday edition: 2 p.m. on Monday
Inside PFW Thursday edition: 2 p.m. on Wednesday
Don Life Wednesday edition: 2 p.m. on Monday
Story ideas related to events, approaching deadlines, or other time-sensitive issues should be submitted at least two weeks before the target date, taking into account publication schedules.
Special editions of the newsletters are distributed only when necessary.
For garden-variety topics, the days and times most accommodating to local newsrooms, based on their staffing and deadline considerations, are Monday through Thursday, 10 a.m.–2 p.m. Friday can be hit-or-miss. Still, it’s usually wise to avoid gatherings that begin after noon on that day of the week.