Behind the scenes, a big rebranding is underway for Taylor — led by the insight of a new marketing specialist, Holly Whitby.
Whitby started working at Taylor this past November as the vice president for enrollment and marketing.
As one of her first major projects, Whitby helped Taylor put together a rebranding campaign which launched on Feb. 10. This includes a complete brand study of Taylor with a marketing firm which will run until the beginning of June.
Enrollment is also an important part of Whitby’s job. Even as the current freshman class arrives on campus, the process and paperwork is already underway for the next year’s freshmen. Staff in the enrollment office are constantly working on ways to better promote and advertise Taylor to high school students.
“We have a ton of visitors (coming) to Taylor — there are more visitors at Taylor than I have seen at my previous school on any given day,” said Whitby. “The fact that we do the overnights where students host is different. I think it's very successful and fruitful, but that adds a whole other complexity to the campus visit and making sure that we schedule and care for those students well.”
Department Chair and Associate Professor for Business Jody Hirschy had a part in the interview process for Whitby and is excited for her role at Taylor.
“Knowing a little bit about her expertise in the background, that's exciting for me because she has a skill set that Taylor needs as we think about moving forward in the spaces of marketing and branding and admissions and recruitment,” Hirschy said.
Before coming to Taylor, Whitby graduated with a bachelor’s degree in business administration and a master’s degree in instructional design and technology from Trevecca Nazarene University and a master’s degree in business administration from Belmont University.
She has worked for decades in sales and marketing for various businesses as well as various positions at her alma mater, Trevecca.
Whitby wanted to take this position at Taylor because she had heard that Taylor does a very good job of encouraging community growth. Moving to a new setting was not without challenges, though.
“One of the challenges when you move universities is just learning all the new people and who is in each of the roles and building relationships,” Whitby said. “But that also can be invigorating, and exciting to meet new people. The people at Taylor are wonderful. They're smart, they're strategic and they care deeply about the university and I find that very refreshing.”
Some of Whitby’s most notable changes will start taking place this summer into the fall as the findings from the rebranding campaign comes into effect. The result, Whitby hopes, will help Taylor develop a marketing strategy as Taylor clearly tells its story and shows exactly what it stands for.
