Brand Campaign
The Mizzou brand campaign “Can’t Be Tamed” is a strategic, targeted communications effort that is meant to increase the awareness of Mizzou and elevate our brand perception.
How Is This Different From the Mizzou Identity and Brand?
The Mizzou identity consists of long-term identifying elements including signatures (logos), primary colors (black and gold) and the stationery set (business cards, letterhead, envelopes, etc.)
The Mizzou brand is the foundation of how we express Mizzou through marketing and communications. The brand is home to the core components needed to build cohesive messaging that enhances Mizzou’s reputation with our audiences. This includes the Mizzou archetypes (personalities), band narrative, key messaging and supporting visual assets.
The Mizzou brand campaign is a specialized expression of the Mizzou brand with specific goals. While everyone can create on-brand messaging and marketing materials, campaign-specific materials are meant for niche communications and have a narrower focus overall.
Can’t Be Tamed
Our overarching campaign theme and unique selling proposition — Can’t Be Tamed — is the lens through which we engage with and address our audiences. It captures the tenacity and excellence we bring to everything we do.
Campaign Storyline
The campaign storyline may be used across all audiences when appropriate but is mostly intended to act as our internal guiding declaration to capture the spirit of what it means to be a Mizzou Tiger.
The tiger — our symbol of courage, determination, originality and the never-ending pursuit of greatness. The world will always have obstacles, but we have leaders and visionaries, dreamers and doers. We aren’t satisfied with the status quo or wishful thinking — give us your problems, your complexities, your most burning questions. Ours is a restless mind, an unquenchable thirst, a spirit that can’t be tamed.
Campaign Messaging
The Can’t Be Tamed messaging is a flexible, expandable part of our verbal identity. In some cases, simply stating “Can’t Be Tamed” is far too broad to encompass the breadth of all that Mizzou is and has to offer.
Groundbreaking Innovator
Our relentless pursuit of innovation can’t be tamed.
Championing
Leader
We have the expertise and courage to challenge the status quo and inspire others to do the same. Our drive to lead can’t be tamed.
Unflinching
Investigator
Our insatiable curiosity drives us to explore and break boundaries in ways that can’t be tamed.
Tagline Expansion
The “Can’t Be Tamed” tagline is expanded for messaging by using the following format: DESCRIPTOR + “That Can’t Be Tamed.” Descriptors should always be a quality that the brand embodies. By pairing a descriptor and “That” with “Can’t Be Tamed,” we can more effectively describe attributes of our community, offerings, organizations and more. The following are examples of approved descriptors that may be used by communicators:
INNOVATION THAT CAN’T BE TAMED
ORIGINALITY THAT CAN’T BE TAMED
GREATNESS THAT CAN’T BE TAMED
CREATIVITY THAT CAN’T BE TAMED
OPTIMISM THAT CAN’T BE TAMED
COURAGE THAT CAN’T BE TAMED
EXCELLENCE THAT CAN’T BE TAMED
CURIOSITY THAT CAN’T BE TAMED
TENACITY THAT CAN’T BE TAMED
DISCOVERY THAT CAN’T BE TAMED
PASSION THAT CAN’T BE TAMED
EXCITEMENT THAT CAN’T BE TAMED
DRIVE THAT CAN’T BE TAMED
EXPLORATION THAT CAN’T BE TAMED
Tagline Expansion Misuse
The following examples show misuse of the tagline expansion. The descriptor used does not meet the requirement of being “a quality that the brand embodies.”
Don’t use academic disciplines or descriptors of areas of study.
Don’t use the mascot’s name or a person’s name.
Don’t use general professions, job positions or titles.
Don’t use any part of a school/college name, including acronyms.
Design Guidelines
The Can’t Be Tamed campaign may be applied at the following levels:
- Institutional level recruitment and advertising.
- School and college level recruitment and advertising.
The Can’t Be Tamed campaign should not be applied at department or program level.
The “Can’t Be Tamed” campaign uses a specific iteration of the Mizzou brand. More guidelines on designing within the campaign will be available in April 2025.
Use of “Can’t Be Tamed” as a standalone element must include a TM symbol.
Campaign Material Approvals
All campaign-related materials and uses of “Can’t Be Tamed” must be approved prior to use or production. Please factor in approval times and updates to your timeline. To submit materials for approval, fill out the Branded Material Review Form.
