Digital display signs at the School of Medicine Columbia (SOMC) are used to welcome students, faculty, and staff; celebrate the accomplishments of our community; promote upcoming events; and create awareness for campus programs and resources that support student success and involvement. Screens displaying digital signage at the SOMC are located in various locations on the VA Campus.

Any member of the SOMC community may promote university-approved events and official announcements. Learn more about the digital display program.

Keeping up with logos and branding guidelines can be a challenge, but we’re here to help.

Logos and branding – The university-wide branding guidelines are housed in the university’s online Brand Toolbox. School-specific logo files and branding guidelines are available on the Logos and Branding webpage.

Art approval – If you are ordering print materials, apparel or promotional items, please send your art to Emily.Miles@uscmed.sc.edu to verify proper brand/logo usage before printing. For printing and ordering, it is mandatory to use an approved internal campus supplier. That list can be found here: https://gamecocksonline.com/licensing/ 

Advertising – The Office of Strategic Communications and Marketing can help connect you with the appropriate resources for placing traditional or digital advertising.

One of the functions of the Office of Strategic Communications and Marketing is increasing public awareness of the School of Medicine through media relations. Media relations can take a variety of forms from pitching subject matter experts to press releases:

USC Daybook – The USC Daybook goes out weekly to nearly 400 reporters in South Carolina and surrounding areas. The email communication includes short entries about subject matter experts who are available to comment on current events and news.

The Conversation – The university is partnered with The Conversation, an independent, not-for-profit, digital media outlet that features articles written by academics for a lay audience. The format allows for more in-depth news coverage. Faculty work with professional editors to develop story ideas and craft easily digestible stories.

Targeted media pitching – Have you ever wondered how a media outlet came up with a particular story idea? Odds are the story was “pitched” to them by a communications professional. Our office has relationships with local, regional and national media outlets.

Press releases – Press releases (also known as news releases) are less common in today’s quick moving world, but a press release may be appropriate for more formal announcements.

Media training – Would you like to promote your work more broadly, but don’t know where to start? The Office of Strategic Communications and Marketing can help. We can schedule one-on-one media training or do a departmental training event.

Another valuable communication tactic is newsletters.

USC Today – The university's Office of Communications and Marketing also can help you share your news in USC Today, the university-level, internal newsletter. The School of Medicine regularly submits feature stories, news items, and faculty and staff notes to the editor of USC Today.

Additional Newsletters – Vitals is a weekly publication produced by the Office of Student Affairs. The Garnet Microscope is a monthly publication produced by the Office of Development and Alumni Relations. Some departments and centers also produce newsletters.

We regularly feature our faculty, staff, students and others on our School of Medicine Columbia website and social media channels. Please fill out our media consent form below so we can feature you and your outstanding achievements on our digital platforms.

There is a lot of emphasis on digital communications these days, but print publications and materials are still an important piece of the communications and marketing puzzle.

Brochures and other print collateral – Printed materials can be an invaluable asset for recruiting students and faculty. In order to ensure brand quality and consistency, we encourage departments to work with our office to design and print your print materials.

All product designs of promotional items must be approved by Emily Miles prior to ordering. She will then get additional approval from our trademark and licensing office on campus if needed. Please send all designs seeking approval with plenty of advance notice to ensure time for approval, and/or possible changes to your design.

Per University policy, our official University and SOMC logos can not be altered in any way. For example, changing the colors of our logo, or adding a specific group or department name.

Please consider using one of our primary and/or neutral school colors for your item.

For branding purposes, I encourage use of our official SOMC logos, or a university supplied sub-unit logo, on your product. Our official SOMC logos can be found HERE.

If your department would like a sub-unit logo, please email Emily Miles with your request.

For printing and ordering, it is mandatory to use an approved internal campus supplier. That list can be found HERE. 

Social media – Currently, the School of Medicine has an official presence on Facebook, Instagram, X and LinkedIn. If your department would like to launch a social media account, please coordinate with Emily Miles, the Director of Strategic Communications and Marketing.

If you ask someone where they get their news, they’ll most likely say online or social media. Having a presence in the digital world is increasingly important.

School of Medicine website(s) – The Office of Strategic Communications and Marketing oversees the development and content management for the School of Medicine websites with the assistance of departmental web liaisons. 

Please contact SOMC web developer, Joe Kepler, for website assistance. Joe's email is Joseph.Kepler@uscmed.sc.edu.

The Office of Strategic Communications and Marketing also offers graphic design, photography and videography for projects that align with the strategic goals of the school. If we aren’t able to assist you with your design, photography or videography needs, we can direct you to other campus or freelance resources.