Toughen Up! A New B-School Message

‘IT WAS JARRING AT FIRST, BUT IT GETS INTO THE NUTS AND BOLTS OF WHO WE ARE’

The line ‘Toughen Up’ grew out of the conversations with students and alumni. Meisner concedes the new Simon tag line is “jarring at first, but it gets into the nuts and bolts of who we are. It’s authentic and it clearly stands out which is what any great brand has to do. We all knew we had something special, in part because it was jarring even to us. but then it took on incredible life.”

Besides the positive reception from students and alumni, the faculty gave it unanimous support, believing it embodied the school’s analytical focus.

As Simon Dean Mark Zupan put it in a statement: “Toughen up is about being unapologetically honest about how challenging business is today. We know the road to success is extremely difficult, but we are making a promise that we’re going to be with our students every step of the way to help them succeed at Simon and to support them throughout their career.”

‘THE SIMON MBA IS LIKE A CONDITIONING PROGRAM FOR THE BUSINESS WORLD’

Zupan views the MBA curriculum at Simon “like a conditioning program for the business world. Training from top faculty coaches students to learn how to analyze problems creatively. Simon emphasizes business as a science, not just an art, with a no-nonsense focus on preparing graduates to succeed in today’s world of Big Data. Individuals who can leverage big data and show its return on investment in fields like finance, accounting, marketing, operations, consulting, pricing, and health care are prized in the global marketplace.”

The messaging can be seen on the school’s new website, which launched at 3 a.m. on Sunday. One iteration shows Class of 2014 MBA student Nicole Camarre with the line: “Toughen up. Because business is a science, not just an art.” Another pictures finance professor Toni Whited with the line, “Toughen up. Because business is competitive.”

Simon will also promote the new messaging through a digital campaign and updated social media channels.

DON’T MISS: WHARTON CROWDSOURCES ITS NEW BRANDING MESSAGE  or KELLOGG’S BRAVE NEW STRATEGY

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