Using the “Boldly NOVA” Tagline

The “Boldly NOVA” tagline was originally created specifically for the “Settle For…” campaign. As such, it wasn’t intended to be treated as an overarching brand tagline for use in all brand marketing and internal communications.

As soon as the phrase was shared, though, it captured the enthusiasm of the NOVA family in ways the marketing team did not anticipate. We love that, and we are thrilled to empower the College community to use the phrase as a brand rallying cry!

Still, without clear direction and consistent use, we could unintentionally water down the phrase over time or use it in ways that confuse our external audiences. So, this section is meant to clarify a few rules and offer guidelines on how you can use the “Boldly NOVA” phrase for internal purposes, along with some resources to help you.

The Relationship Between “Boldly NOVA” and the “Settle For…” Campaign

One very important rule is that the hand-drawn treatment of “Boldly NOVA” should only be used by the central marketing team in the context of the “Settle For…” campaign. The reason is that the hand-drawn style, which is intended to appeal to a specific set of audiences, only makes sense in the context of the hand-drawn style of the campaign itself.

There may be occasions when the central marketing team uses the hand-drawn “Boldly NOVA” treatment outside of a “Settle For…” ad, but only when targeting external audiences for marketing purposes and only when the specific audience and specific message closely aligns with the “Settle For…” campaign.

“Boldly NOVA” as an Internal Tagline

For the purpose of messaging to internal NOVA audiences, though, we have designed the following “Boldly NOVA” treatment to be used at your discretion for internal marketing and communications purposes.

A few guidelines for use:

• Use this tagline only in creative pieces that are meant for internal audiences, like current students, faculty and staff. It is meant as a rallying cry for those already within the NOVA family who understand our brand essence and as an affirmation of the pride we feel our institution.
• In your design work, avoid using this “Boldly NOVA” treatment in close proximity to the NOVA logo, to avoid the verbal redundancy when the NOVA name is repeated in close succession.
• At this time, it’s best to avoid using “Boldly” as if it is a central word in a larger messaging system, substituting other words for NOVA (e.g., “Boldly Annandale”). While we truly appreciate the enthusiasm for the brand essence that this implies, this type of proliferation of “Boldly” usage can dilute the unifying power of “Boldly NOVA” as a single, central brand mantra and can also risk obscuring the ultimate meaning of boldness as NOVA’s brand essence.