The Ohio State University

Corporate brand

A major public land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio, combining broad academic programs, high-volume research, healthcare, extension services, and nationally prominent athletics.

Last updated October 2, 2026

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Overview

The Ohio State University is a public research university headquartered in Columbus, Ohio. Established in 1870 as the Ohio Agricultural and Mechanical College, it developed from a land-grant institution focused on practical and agricultural education into one of the United States’ largest and most comprehensive universities. The institution is Ohio’s flagship public university and operates within the University System of Ohio. Ohio State’s principal Columbus campus is supported by regional campuses in Lima, Mansfield, Marion, and Newark, as well as educational and outreach activity throughout the state. Its academic scope spans agriculture, arts and sciences, business, communication, education, engineering, law, medicine, nursing, public affairs, social work, veterinary medicine, and numerous professional and interdisciplinary fields. The university also provides graduate education, professional degrees, continuing education, online learning, and research training. Research is central to the university’s identity. Ohio State is classified as an R1 doctoral university and belongs to the Association of American Universities. Its research portfolio includes engineering, materials science, health and medicine, cancer research, neuroscience, agriculture, food systems, energy, public policy, space-related work, and other applied and basic sciences. The university’s research and innovation infrastructure includes the Enterprise for Research, Innovation and Knowledge, technology commercialization activities, and partnerships with public agencies, companies, hospitals, and nonprofit organizations. Healthcare is a major part of the brand through The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, which includes hospitals, outpatient services, clinical research, health-science education, and the Arthur G. James Cancer Hospital and Richard J. Solove Research Institute. The medical center extends Ohio State’s public-facing mission beyond degree education into patient care, workforce development, and biomedical discovery. Ohio State is also recognized internationally through its Buckeyes athletics identity. The university competes in the Big Ten Conference and fields 36 men’s and women’s varsity programs. Football is the most commercially visible program, while the broader athletics operation supports student-athlete education, fan engagement, sponsorships, ticketing, licensing, and community relationships. The university’s colors, Buckeye mascot, marching band, traditions, and alumni network provide a highly distinctive public identity. As a university rather than a conventional commercial company, Ohio State does not manufacture consumer products as its primary activity. Its brand offerings are educational programs, research capabilities, healthcare services, extension and engagement programs, athletic experiences, and intellectual property. Institutional marketing commonly emphasizes access, affordability, excellence, discovery, service, and Buckeye community. Current and recent communications have included undergraduate recruitment campaigns, summer-term awareness efforts, medical-center service-line and workforce campaigns, athletics marketing, and digital engagement across web, email, social, paid search, display, and streaming channels.

History

The Ohio State University was founded in 1870 as the Ohio Agricultural and Mechanical College under Ohio’s participation in the federal land-grant movement. Its original purpose was to expand practical higher education, particularly in agriculture and mechanical subjects, while serving the wider population of the state. The institution opened in Columbus and gradually broadened its curriculum beyond its initial technical and agricultural focus. In 1878, the college adopted the name The Ohio State University, reflecting its expanding academic mission. During the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, Ohio State added professional schools, liberal-arts disciplines, scientific departments, and organized extension work. Its land-grant role encouraged engagement with Ohio communities through agricultural education, applied research, and public service. The university expanded substantially during the twentieth century. New colleges, laboratories, libraries, residence halls, hospitals, and research facilities supported growth in enrollment and academic specialization. Engineering, medicine, business, education, law, veterinary medicine, agriculture, and the sciences became important pillars. Ohio State also developed a major intercollegiate athletics identity, with the Buckeyes becoming one of the most recognizable collegiate brands in the United States. Ohio State’s research profile strengthened after the Second World War as federal research funding, graduate education, and scientific infrastructure expanded across American universities. The institution became a member of the Association of American Universities and developed a broad portfolio spanning basic science, engineering, health, agriculture, public policy, and the humanities. Its statewide presence was reinforced through regional campuses and extension programs. Healthcare became increasingly central to the university’s public mission. The Wexner Medical Center and affiliated hospitals joined clinical care with medical education and biomedical research. The Arthur G. James Cancer Hospital and Richard J. Solove Research Institute became a prominent component of the university’s cancer-care and research activities. This integration gave Ohio State a major role in both higher education and academic medicine in Ohio. In the twenty-first century, Ohio State pursued a more integrated institutional model combining education, research, healthcare, innovation, athletics, and statewide service. The university established the Office of Investments to oversee long-term institutional pools and expanded technology-transfer and commercialization activity. It also increased the use of digital recruitment, audience analytics, paid media, social channels, and coordinated brand standards across colleges and administrative units. Recent institutional initiatives have emphasized access, affordability, student persistence, and completion. The creation of the Office of Student Academic Success consolidated enrollment and undergraduate-education functions with the aim of connecting recruitment and student support more effectively. Marketing activity has included campaigns for undergraduate admissions, summer-term enrollment, healthcare services, employee recruitment, academic programs, and athletics engagement. These efforts reflect a brand strategy that links academic excellence with practical student outcomes and a strong sense of institutional belonging. Today, Ohio State is a large, comprehensive public research university with a principal campus in Columbus, regional campuses across Ohio, extensive graduate and professional education, a major academic medical center, statewide extension activity, and nationally visible athletics. Its identity is expressed through the Buckeyes name, scarlet-and-gray visual system, Brutus Buckeye mascot, traditions associated with Ohio Stadium and the marching band, and a large alumni and supporter network. The institution’s central challenge is to maintain cohesion and public trust while operating simultaneously as a teaching university, research enterprise, healthcare system, statewide service institution, and major athletics brand.

2024
AU24 undergraduate recruitment campaign
[3]Paid Digital Advertising for AU24omc.osu.edu
The university deployed paid digital advertising in Ohio and selected U.S. markets to support undergraduate applications.
2018
Summer Term awareness campaign reports enrollment impact
[4]Summer Term Awarenessuniversitymarketing.osu.edu
An integrated marketing effort supporting summer courses was associated with a reported 3 percent increase in Columbus-campus summer credit hours.
2008
Office of Investments established
[9]Office of Investments establishedbusfin.osu.edu
Ohio State created an investment office to oversee its long-term investment pools and related institutional assets.
1878
Renamed The Ohio State University
[2]Ohio State Universityen.wikipedia.org
The institution adopted its current name as its curriculum and statewide mission expanded.
1870
Institution founded as Ohio Agricultural and Mechanical College
[2]Ohio State Universityen.wikipedia.org
Ohio established a land-grant college in Columbus to provide practical agricultural and mechanical education.
Office of Student Academic Success created
[5]Ohio State units merge to form new Office of Student Academic Successnews.osu.edu
Enrollment services and undergraduate education units were consolidated into a new office focused on academic success, affordability, retention, and graduation.

Products and positioning

A flagship, comprehensive public research university positioned around academic breadth, high-impact discovery, healthcare, statewide service, student opportunity, and the emotionally powerful Buckeye athletics tradition.

Higher education · 1870
Undergraduate education
Ohio State offers broad undergraduate study across arts and sciences, business, engineering, agriculture, education, communication, health, and other fields. Students can study at the Columbus campus and regional campuses, with options shaped by disciplinary majors, general education, experiential learning, research, internships, and public engagement.
Higher education
Graduate and professional education
The university provides master’s, doctoral, and professional programs across numerous colleges. Graduate education is closely connected to research laboratories, clinical training, professional practice, and interdisciplinary institutes, supporting careers in academia, industry, government, healthcare, law, and public service.
Research services
Research and innovation
Ohio State conducts basic and applied research in areas including engineering, medicine, cancer, agriculture, energy, materials, public policy, and the sciences and humanities. Its research enterprise also supports intellectual-property protection, licensing, startup formation, sponsored projects, and partnerships with public and private organizations.
Academic healthcare
Wexner Medical Center
The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center combines hospitals, outpatient care, clinical education, and medical research. It serves as a major public-facing expression of the university’s health-sciences mission and includes cancer-care and research capabilities through the James Cancer Hospital and related institute.
Intercollegiate athletics
Ohio State Athletics
Ohio State Athletics operates 36 men’s and women’s varsity programs in the Big Ten Conference. The offering includes collegiate competition, student-athlete development, ticketed events, fan communities, sponsorships, licensing, digital media, and traditions that reinforce the Buckeyes identity.

Marketing campaigns

2024AU24 Paid Digital Advertising
Ohio · Selected United States markets
A coordinated undergraduate recruitment campaign led by Scarlet Studio and Strategic Enrollment Management. Messaging highlighted campus life, academic experience, affordability, and the opportunity to earn an Ohio State degree at campuses across the state. Media and retargeting activity supported early-action and regular application deadlines.
Outcome. The campaign was designed to increase awareness and motivate applications; the supplied material does not provide a final application or enrollment result.
Source
2018Summer Term Awareness
Columbus campus
University Marketing worked with the Office of Academic Affairs to explain summer course structures, tuition, and academic benefits to current students. The campaign used coordinated owned and paid communications.
Outcome. Ohio State reported a 3 percent increase in summer credit hours taken on the Columbus campus.
Source
Care for Life and A New Level of Care
United States
Television creative associated with Ohio State and the Wexner Medical Center presented healthcare services and the institution’s patient-care proposition. Available reference material identifies the spots but does not provide complete dates, budgets, or performance results.
Source
Buckeye Pride employer branding
Ohio · United States
The Wexner Medical Center used television, digital, social, and employee-testimonial content to support workforce recruitment and strengthen staff identification with the Buckeye community.
Outcome. The supplied source describes the campaign approach and testimonial production but does not provide a quantified outcome.
Source
Statues on Campus
Newark, Ohio
A social campaign from Ohio State Newark and Central Ohio Technical College used the shared campus’s Gary Lee Price sculptures to encourage interaction on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.
Outcome. The supplied material describes the campaign objective and channels but does not report a quantified result.
Source

Brand decisions

2024
Data-informed undergraduate recruitment media strategyStrategy
Background
The university’s enrollment team had used multi-year campaign learning to improve outreach to prospective students, families, and retargeting audiences.
Action taken
Scarlet Studio deployed paid digital media in priority markets, with separate messaging and deadline reminders for early action and regular applications.
Aftermath
The campaign broadened awareness of Ohio State’s statewide campus network and affordability proposition; no final conversion figures are supplied.
Source
Consolidation of enrollment and undergraduate-success functionsStrategy
Background
Ohio State sought to connect recruitment, enrollment services, undergraduate education, affordability, retention, and graduation support more closely.
Action taken
The university merged relevant units into the Office of Student Academic Success under Beth Hume.
Aftermath
The new structure was intended to provide a more continuous support system from initial contact through graduation; the supplied source does not provide final performance data.
Source
Landmark JPMorganChase athletics partnershipM&A
Background
Ohio State Athletics sought a broad commercial and educational relationship that could support all varsity programs and student-athlete development.
Action taken
Ohio State designated Chase as official bank sponsor and jersey-patch partner across its 36 men’s and women’s varsity programs.
Aftermath
The agreement added resources for NIL opportunities, financial education, student-athlete financial councils, and academic partnerships. The supplied announcement does not disclose the contract value.
Source

Recent events

2024
Ohio State’s AU24 paid digital advertising campaign[3]Paid Digital Advertising for AU24omc.osu.edu
Campaign
Scarlet Studio and Strategic Enrollment Management used paid digital media in Ohio and priority U.S. markets to build awareness, communicate campus-life and affordability messages, and encourage applications by early-action and regular deadlines.
2018
Summer Term awareness campaign reports increased credit hours[4]Summer Term Awarenessuniversitymarketing.osu.edu
Campaign · Product launch
University Marketing and the Office of Academic Affairs promoted summer courses through integrated owned and paid channels. The university reported a 3 percent increase in Columbus-campus summer credit hours.
Ohio State establishes the Office of Student Academic Success[5]Ohio State units merge to form new Office of Student Academic Successnews.osu.edu
Leadership change
The university consolidated enrollment services and undergraduate education functions into a new office intended to connect recruitment, academic support, retention, affordability, and graduation outcomes.
Ohio State Athletics and JPMorganChase announce a landmark partnership[6]Ohio State Athletics and JPMorganChase announce landmark partnershipnews.osu.edu
M&A · Campaign
The agreement named Chase the official bank sponsor and jersey-patch partner across Ohio State’s 36 varsity programs, with stated support for student-athlete financial education, NIL opportunities, and academic collaboration.

Sources12 sources

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