Co-Branding

We are a collaborative college, and partnerships are one of the ways we advance many of our programs and projects. All partnerships are important, but they are not all the same. Clearly representing a partner's relationship to the college and/or university through co-branding is important in building and maintaining relationship value.

An event partner or sponsor is an individual or organization that underwrites the cost of a specific event in part or whole.

Regardless of the type of event you may be planning, all event sponsor support is considered public support provided in the form of a gift or donation. It is important to thank our supporters and recognize their contributions, but we need to do it in the right way. Step one is to identify what kind of event you are planning. 

Any event will typically fall into one of four categories:

1. Events provided by CFAES, for CFAES with only college- and/or university-related event sponsors.

2. Events provided by CFAES, for CFAES with one or more non-university event sponsors.

3. Events provided by others, specifically or exclusively for CFAES.

4. Events provided by others, at a CFAES or university location.

If you are unsure of how to think about the relationship between your event and event sponsor, please contact CFAES_BAT@osu.edu.

 

1. by CFAES, for CFAES

An event that is led by, organized by, and managed by a CFAES unit, or as a collaboration between one or more units within the university system, is considered to be a CFAES event.

  • An event coordinated by an individual CFAES unit (CFAES, CFAES Wooster, OSU Extension, or Ohio 4-H) should use the master logo or mark for that unit. 
  • When the event is coordinated by CFAES and one or more unit within the university system, the university logo should be used and sponsoring units should be listed in alphabetical order text. 

co-branding examples

 

2. By CFAES, for CFAES with non-university event sponsor(S)

If your event has one or more non-university sponsors, follow the standard branding guidelines outlined above and then identify the partners by:

  • visually separating them from CFAES’s logo and from the event name. Event names should not include sponsor name or logo.
  • incorporating “thank you” as part of the recognition statement.
  • displaying all partner logos equally in size and color. Use one-color logos whenever possible. If logos are not available for all event sponsors, then all partner names should be listed in text. Do not use a combination of logo and text files. Choose one of the following options:

     

SPECIAL THANKS TO [SPONSOR NAME IN TEXT] FOR THEIR GENEROUS SUPPORT.


THANKS TO OUR SPONSORS [INSERT IMPACT HERE] IS POSSIBLE.
SPONSOR “A” NAME IN TEXT
SPONSOR “Z” NAME IN TEXT

 

Co-branding for CFAES and one or more non-university partners


Note: When the in-kind donation provided is a non-university venue, referencing the sponsor’s location in text using an “at” statement is permitted. 

In-kind location as donation branding option


If your event is large and has multiple non-university groups or organizations supporting it at a variety of different levels, tiered levels should be used to identify sponsors/partners. Click here for more information. 

 

3. Events provided by others, specifically for CFAES units

These are events provided by a non-university venue specifically for CFAES students, faculty, staff and/or alumni. The event is fully coordinated and managed by the sponsoring venues. An example of this type of sponsorship would be Ohio State Day at Cedar Point. 

  • The CFAES unit or university is represented in name only.
  • The SPONSORING VENUE may be represented in name or with their logo.

 

4. Events provided by others at or for CFAES

Often events such as an individual or company’s lecture series, book tour, etc. may align with a CFAES unit’s mission. CFAES may provide resources to assist in promoting information about the event to its key audiences, supporting event registration, and/or providing the venue for the event. Regardless of your level of involvement, these are events provided by others and do not constitute use of any Ohio State trademarks, including use of the logo.

  • CFAES may be referenced by name only in the location/time information.
  • There is to be no use of university trademarks without written permission.
  • CFAES and its staff may not promote or endorse the presenter’s product or services beyond the context of the event.

Non-university or college event branding identification