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Branding and Marketing the Integrated Employment Institute to Increase Name Recognition

Francine M. Bates, EdD, LPC, WIP-C
Assistant Professor
Integrated Employment Institute, Department of Psychiatric Rehabilitation and Counseling Professions, School of Health Professions (SHP)
Email: batesfm@rutgers.edu

Francine M. Bates, EdD, LPC, has been providing career counseling for 25 years. Early in her profession she manager of a supported employment program providing services to individuals with mental health conditions.  In 2001 Dr. Bates was hired as faculty in the Integrated Employment Institute, Department of Psychiatric Rehabilitation and Counseling Professions, Rutgers. Dr. Bates specializes in the expansion of evidence-based employment services and employment parity for individuals with mental health conditions. She has authored several peer reviewed articles, manuals, and workbooks. She serves on the NJ Board of the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) as First Vice President.

Project Sponsor
Ken Gill, PhD
Associate Dean of Faculty (SHP), and Department Chair, Department of Psychiatric Rehabilitation & Counseling Professions, Department of Psychiatric Rehabilitation and Counseling Professions, SHP

Abstract:
The Integrated Employment Institute (IEI or Institute) is a program of the Department of Psychiatric Rehabilitation and Counseling Professions, School of Health Profession, Rutgers Biomedical Health Sciences, Rutgers University, the State University of New Jersey. The Institute was founded in 2001. State funding for this program has not increased since then, diminishing its ability for expansion and self-sustainability. The trainings, technical assistance and consulting IEI provides are all provided free of charge to all New Jersey Division of Mental Health and Addictions Services funded programs, the Institute’s primary customers. Lack of additional funding limits the expansion of services and over time the need to eliminate Institute faculty became necessary further impacting the ability for growth and ability to reach additional audiences who could be new funding sources. The long-term goal of this project is to find additional financial resources to assure the Institute’s self-sufficiency and support the expansion of services. This proposal focuses on the initial shorter-term goals of increasing the Institute’s national name recognition, the promotion of IEI’s areas of expertise, and the development of a preliminary, step by step plan to expand services and reach a larger and more diverse audience.  Development of a branding and marketing strategy will focus on ways to reach targeted audiences. These audiences include organizations and businesses outside of the field of mental health and outside the state of New Jersey. A national marketing campaign reaching additional state mental health systems, and non-mental health organizations and businesses is part of this plan. The most efficient first step will be to update IEI’s Web site, brand, and image.