April 6, 2026 Marketing and communications Update

Howdy, University MarComm Community,

April is a particularly special month for our university community as a host of events and ceremonies that bring to light the camaraderie only found among the Aggie Family. From Silver Taps on April 7, Family Weekend April 10-12 and Campus Muster at Reed Arena on April 21, our time-honored traditions bring Aggies from across the state, nation and world together in remembrance of those who’ve passed before us and to welcome those just beginning their academic journeys. These days of remembrance and celebration support authentic opportunities to showcase how Texas A&M stands together, in times of remembrance and in celebration, to serve as a force for good.

This month also brings the formal release of the U.S. News & World Report rankings for graduate schools and programs, the continued strategic placement of content to leverage our university’s expertise at the national level and more. Please read further for new content packages developed, the launch of a new community of practice and other resources and friendly reminders of upcoming milestones that our university community is actively working toward as we approach the end of the spring semester.

US News & World Report Graduate School Rankings

A new round of graduate school and program rankings by the U.S. News & World Report will be published tomorrow, April 7. Many schools and programs across our university are represented. Please reference the official brand ranking strategy on the MarComm website to help determine the best way to highlight the prestige of your respective graduate programs and schools. However, in recognition of Silver Taps, we encourage you to wait to post any content unrelated to Silver Taps until Wednesday, April 8.

Content Packages

Fast Co. Grill at SXSW and Grand Prix of Arlington

In our last newsletter, we shared context around two Texas-sized events that helped us shine a spotlight on how we are a force for good in Texas and how we are working to build a brighter, safer world. Content packages are now available to help you tie these unique university partnerships into your communications, strengthening the connections across our academic units, current and former students, faculty and staff as part of Texas A&M’s overarching brand.

Fast Company Grill at SXSW

At South by Southwest, Texas A&M utilized this national stage to show how Texas A&M researchers and graduates are creating solutions that drive impact for the good of society. Together, we showcased work that is building a brighter, safer world.

Java House Grand Prix of Arlington

From the Texas A&M–branded car, fire suit and custom helmet to billboards and a strong maroon presence in the stands, the university’s impact was visible across the highly trafficked area surrounding AT&T Stadium and Globe Life Field. By turning a statewide stage into a platform for innovation, education and community, Texas A&M underscored its role as a leader driving opportunity and progress for Texas.

How marketing and communications teams can use content packages:

• Storytelling and campaigns: Embed or link to elements in digital stories, email campaigns, social posts and presentations to illustrate Texas A&M’s national presence and thought leadership.
• Unit/program promotion: Use specific scenes, panels or themes that feature your college, unit or area of expertise to demonstrate how Texas A&M highlights our research impact, faculty expertise, student success, etc. on a national stage.

Reminder: Online Aggie Marketing Materials Store Now Open

It’s now even easier to get branded printed materials. We’ve added marketing materials to the existing Integ Punchout, making it simple to browse and order print pieces directly through AggieBuy.

Simply log in to AggieBuy, browse the available materials, select the quantities you need and check out. You’ll be able to see the cost before completing your order, and items will be delivered directly to the location of your choice.

You can find the materials by navigating to:
SSO >AggieBuy >Integ >Texas A&M University >Marketing Materials

Available materials include the following:

• Brand platform book
• Brand platform poster
• Recruitment publications
• Visitor guide

If you do not have direct access to AggieBuy, please contact your designated Finance and Business Services support team member or email aggiebuy@tamu.edu.

We will continue to add more assets to this store and share those assets here as they are added.

Save the Date for MarComm Summit

Marketing and communications professionals from across Texas A&M are invited to participate in the 2026 MarComm Summit on June 1-2, 2026. This day‑and‑a‑half gathering will feature strategic updates from the Division of Marketing and Communications, keynote speakers and breakout sessions led by university experts from across our campuses.

Please mark your calendars and make sure to join us! Additional details and registration information will be shared in the coming weeks.

Enhancing delivery of internal email communications

Last Friday, information regarding the first phase of work to improve how the university can communicate with its employees — a comprehensive effort looking at the systems, tools and data that support communications, as well as other university functions — was shared with our university community. Starting April 9, all current employees will receive their official communications at their NetID@tamu.edu email address, which will be reflected in Workday and cannot be altered by individual employees. A wide group of units are working together to address these challenges, including Human Resources and Organizational Effectiveness (HROE), Technology Services, the Division of Marketing and Communications, and the Strategy and Insights team, as a direct response to results outlined in the 2025 Employee Engagement survey.

Reminder: Digital Content Accessibility Deadline Is April 24

Take action if you haven’t already: We all have a shared responsibility to ensure university websites and our online presence meet federal accessibility requirements for each individual who engages with our digital content. As a reminder, digital content includes websites, online services, PDFs, social media graphics, videos and any other digital content your unit produces or publishes.

The deadline to remediate inaccessible digital assets in accordance with the June 2024 update for Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and Texas House Bill 5195 (HB 5195) is April 24. We encourage you to review the information shared in the Feb. 9 newsletter about these requirements and to learn how Aggie UX 2.0 can help you and your teams produce responsive, regulation-compliant websites and online services as you move forward. Additional “how-to’s” and step-by-step guides are available through itaccessibility.tamu.edu.

Community Resources Available to You

Design Counsel

Design Counsel is a creative space for Texas A&M’s visual storytellers — a place to share ideas, spark inspiration and help shape what’s next for creativity and collaboration across the university. Each meeting dives into a new topic in marketing and communications, with lots of room to learn from one another and offer support.

The next meeting is Wednesday, April 8, in the Memorial Student Center Rm. 2404. Kara Humphreys and her team at the Texas A&M Engineering Extension Service (TEEX) will be presenting on what TEEX is and why it’s so unique, the latest research on EV-Lithium-Ion battery fires and safety, new print services at their print shop and the use of AI for powerful video production on a tight budget. Please RSVP using the link below.

For more information, please contact Melissa Loudermilk, Designer for Brand Services, at mloudermilk@tamu.edu or via Slack or Teams.

Register for upcoming meetings

Internal Communications Community of Practice

Internal communications covers a wide array of responsibilities and expectations among our faculty, staff, students and even external affiliates, and we are here to help! Join us on the first Wednesday of each month, unless it is a university holiday, where we will rotate key topics and offer flexibility in the second half hour to troubleshoot, answer questions and identify ways to support your needs. We will discuss the available channels, best practices for each, what to avoid and overall, provide an opportunity to bring forward questions to help bolster our university community’s toolkit for supporting awareness of important initiatives among our internal audiences.

Join internal comms office hours

Aggie UX Training and Support

The Division of Marketing and Communications Web team hosts virtual office hours every third Thursday from 10 to 11 a.m. These sessions include a different demo every month for using Aggie UX in Cascade, WordPress and Figma. Other practical advice for creating web content, applying best practices and using the Aggie UX design system is available on the MarComm site, including a list of on-demand online trainings. Be sure to sign up for Aggie UX-specific communications by joining the Aggie UX email list.

View Aggie UX Office Hours

Research Communicators Network

The Divisions of Research and Marketing and Communications cohost a biweekly meeting for communicators to connect, share updates and collaborate around promoting Texas A&M’s research enterprise. These meetings are a valuable opportunity for everyone who attends, and we encourage you to send a representative if you do not have someone already participating from your unit, college or school.

When: Every other Tuesday, 10 a.m.

This informal virtual gathering is open to all communicators supporting research initiatives and researchers themselves. It’s a chance to ask questions, get feedback and align on research messaging across the university.

Contact Tim Doty, Assistant Vice President for National Media and Public Relations, or Rusty Cawley, Director of Research Communications, to be added to the calendar invitation.