WHAT IS THE STATE WAY^®?

We’ve been called an “engine of social mobility” by the New York Times. Bill Gates has said “no other university has accomplished” what Georgia State has in the last decade. We’ve moved to the No. 3 spot in innovation in U.S. News and World Report (2021). The State Way^®is more than a tag line. It has become THE way our community encompasses the personality and difference at Georgia State. The State Way^® has become part of the lexicon here.

Our Strategy

In 2017, we gathered our creative, social, digital and content strategy teams and thought through how this idea could transcend individual communications channels and reach our various audiences in an organic way. By thinking holistically across media, we used earned and paid media to penetrate through the noise and create an idea our community has adopted and used. There have been about 18,000 mentions (uses of the hashtag) that resulted in it being seen about 86 million times.

By combining our social and storytelling strategy with our marketing strategy and advertising buys, we created an organic campaign that is true to the institution and our personality. We’ve seen a 50 percent increase in Twitter connections, 28 percent on LinkedIn, 22 percent on Instagram and 10 percent on Facebook over this past year.

THE STATE WAY^®

Our Communication

We have communicated The State Way concept in a variety of ways, including a website and landing pages, videos, digital ads, billboards, airport advertising, environmental stadium ads and other channels. We have also used it as an integral part of our content strategy and distribution, infusing it into our storytelling, university website, speeches by the president and other thought leaders, and in our brand ambassador program.