Welcome to Knight Talks, the University of Florida Colle of Journalism and Communication talk show produced by students for students.

I'm Ariana Silva a junior study production, management and techn And our guest today is Nicci Bro She is now the Assistant Vice P for Marketing of the University of Florida Offic of Strategic Communication and M Hi, Nicci.

Thank you so much for being here today.

Hi.

It's great to be here.

Thank you for having me.

What inspired you to study journ at the University of South Austr Well, it was a little bi of a circuitous route, actually.

I was in medical school studying to be a doctor, and I realized that what brought me t that was really being with peopl But I didn't like so much the di and things like that.

And so I was only 17 when I started university.

And so I decided to make the sw to journalism because it enabled to continue to tell people stories and work closely with pe And I realized tha that was the thing that I really So yeah, I joined the University Australia and had a really terri experience there.

Tell us about the program that you produced and anchored.

So the program that I produced anchored, and I started off as a and then moved to becom the anchor, was a current affair So it was a two and a half hour We started on air 8:30 in the mo but we actually started very ea because we had to gather our sto and this was in the 1990s, and so we didn't really have the Internet to the degree that we do now.

So we would come in, wed take at what the news of the day is.

We'd have a story lineup in som but then we'd be chasing stories and so the general rule was that after 7 a.m.

you could start calling people to come on the program.

So we do a lot of that work.

Then we would do some pre interviews at 8:00 in the mornin and send some of them out to our sister stations via satel and then we'd go live.

So the first half hour was very affairs, quick interviews 5 minutes each that were on very timely news subjects.

So we talked to politicians, law other leaders in the area.

Then we would move more into soc things that were to do with our and then we'd move into the sor and other color kinds of things.

So it was a great experience.

Sometimes we would get to travel and we would do wha we would call outside broadcasts So we'd be set up sometimes in f fields, telling stories that way, or we would go on location.

There was one time I went and did a story about southern right that were breeding just ahead of in the Great Southern Ocean.

So a lot of just very interestin it was a great wa to learn a lot about many things What led you to pursue your master's degree from Syracuse University in New I was doing my job at the Austra Broadcasting Corporation.

This was a radio program that we and one of our listeners came in He was a member of the local Rot and they have this really wonderful opportuni called an ambassadorial scholars to do our graduate study anywhere in the world.

And because I was interested in the United States really came ou as a place I wanted to go to.

I wanted to go somewher very different to my home state.

Sout Australia is about the size of T It's got a very Mediterranean kind of climate.

But the further nort you get because of course everyt kind of upside down, you get hotter and drier.

So I wanted to go somewhere that And Syracuse is one of the snowi in the United States.

It also has an incredible journalism program.

I like to say it's not quite as as the University of Florida now, though, so but it's pretty And so I applied ther and to a number of other univers I got in there and came over to and started my studies.

You produced and anchored Mornin for WAER Syracuse NPR Station.

Was it exciting being live on ra every day?

It was exciting.

You know, I'd done some of that when I was at the Australian Broadcasting Corporation so it was a continuation of that It was fun for me working white because I got to work with when I was there.

So we had student who were at the Newhouse School, which is the journalism school at Syracuse University, and so they would come in and do some of the particularl the sports section of the news b So I'd get to work with them.

And then after Morning Editio ended, I would work with student on collecting stories for the ne or for the afternoon edition.

And it's been really gratifyin because a lot of those students that I worked wit are now I'll see on national tel So it's very rewarding to see how they've progressed with the and careers and done really well You then held several leadership over your 20 year career at Syracuse University.

Will you walk us through each ro Sure.

So after I'd been at WAER I worked in the Central News Org for the university, and so prom of programs throughout the unive I had what we called “beats”.

And so my beats were law, journa and I think human services and health professions.

While I was working there, I had the opportunity to work on a couple of large pro A lot of them were to do wit national security and counterter We had a conference and I was i to apply for the inaugural posit of Director of Communication for the College of Law at Syracu So I moved over to that position Then I again was presente with some wonderful opportunitie to work on larger projects and to join the Chancellor's team.

So I worked in the Chancellor's initiatives and then moved into more managem So eventually I was Vice Preside for Marketing and Communications and Chief Marketing Officer.

So we had a team of probably about 50 people.

That was the universitys websi we did enrollment management mar we did advancement so a lot of fundraising marketin So just the range of things that we were able to do was incredibly interesting And I just got to wor with a ton of very talented peop What was your main consideration in managing the brand reputation at Syracuse University?

Syracuse University, at least when I was there, was quite wel for a lot of its sports programs But there are als some really exceptional academic So from a brand standpoint, wha to make sure that we were doing was balancing our athletic repu along with our academic reputati Another part of it is that it's I'd say, decentralized in the w that you have these very strong but you want to be abl to lift up the whole university.

So it's known as Syracuse, not the Newhouse School or the Maxwell Schoo or all of these individual progr So finding that unifying thread throughout the university was s that we were very interested in.

When it came to the wa that we visually expressed ourse orange is a big part of Syracuse University.

It's one of the few universitie that only has one official color and that color is orange.

And so we really kind of double on that as part of our brand exp We identified a font that was a part of the university's history So this is a bespoke font that w by Goudie, who is a very well known typeface designer.

And we were able to bring that times and make it an accessible So the university still uses tha So it's really gratifying for me that even though I've been away from the universi for some time, I'm still seeing the wor that our team created live on.

Do you want to share with us som of how you made an impact?

Oh, wow.

Well, I think when you work in communications, its very much a team sport, in my op There are moments where if you' you have to sequester yourself and really come out but then you work with others.

And so I think for me when I think about some of the p and the projects that we did, we were doing a lot of work in terms of fundra for the university.

So we had a very successful fundraising campaign that tripled the results of the last campaign.

So the physical manifestation o there are things like the buildi and everything else, but then t about the scholarships that we w to help generate through our wo you know, through the marketing the communications that we put t and then seeing the students wh graduated and gone on to great c For me those are the things that really From 2019 to 2021, you were the Chief Communication at the University of Vermont.

What did this position involve and was it challenging to work for a different universit after so many years at Syracuse?

Yeah, it was interesting.

I mean, University of Vermont i half the size of Syracuse Univer It's another Northeastern schoo of course, very old university, Burlington, Vermont, which is wh the University of Vermont is, is a really interesting, fun pla My role at the time I was part of the president's ca and so I directly reported to hi And again, there were a range of that I was doing, everything from overseeing media to writing speeches for the pres overseeing video productio when he would give video message So it was very gratifying in th I had my hands in a lot of thing I started there on November 2019 and of course COVID hit soon aft So we did a little bit of work that were priorities for the uni So our strategic plan for the un was something that I was very involved with, but really a lot of my time there was focused on getting eve through COVID and helping the university recru classes, helping make sure that everyone was on the same page.

When we first realized what was we would have daily calls with all of the communicators just so that we could understand an make sure that we were getting a information out to our student and our faculty and our families And then I worked very closely with our I.T.

departmen and our chief technology officer in standing up system so that we could make sure that COVID testing was happening app and we were able to communicate with people.

So a lot of that kind of work we So it was certainly not what I e but it was also a really good experience for me.

What led to you to Gainesville i and how did you get started at the University of Florida?

One of the reasons that I move to the United States in the firs because they had actually kept m for me back in Australi when I came here to study was th I met my husband when I was at and my husband was a professor t I was always quick to sa he was a professor, but not my p which first of all I was annoye because I thought he was really and I still do.

But it actually worked out that that he wasn't my professor.

So he continued in his career a University through all the years that I was there and then later at the University of Vermont.

And he was invited to apply for the role of Dean at College of Journalism Communi So he was offered that rol and it was a wonderful opportuni We were both really excite by the prospect of living in Flo especially after all those years with snow.

I had grown tired of it, even t I wanted it in the first place, and just the opportunit to work at the University of Flo It's such an exceptional school.

Hub, my husband, came here in 20 and I was fortunate enough to g here, as well, working in commun So as Executiv Director of Integrated Communica what type of content did you get to oversee?

So when I was in that role I was primarily overseeing our v I also did a lot of wor working with schools and college and really trying to find ways to weave together what the goals of the Office of Strategic Communications and Marketing ar and were at the time with what the goals of our colleges are on and other units as well.

So it was the kind of thing tha that I love because you're inter with a lot of different peopl and then trying to find common c in promoting the university as a Listeners may recognize your voi from UFs awar winning “From Florida” podcast.

What goes into creating a progra that encompasses the huge footprint of Gator Nati A lot of work.

I was very fortunate that I wor with a really terrific colleague very strong producer, Brooke Ada So she would do a lot of researc as to subject matter that we thought would be We'd keep our eye on the news.

And so wed think, okay, what is at the University of Florida that might align with a newswor that our listeners might be inte And also I think really helps pe to understand how much of an impac the university has on our daily We would also think about thing that our listeners might find fu We did some fun programs about the band, the university band here, which if you've ever been to a game and they're play they're just incredible and the But a lot of people don' think about all of the many thin into getting such great performa there.

That was a great episode that we We did things about AI, about b research, you name it, we do tha So I think in answer to your que just really keeping an eye on what are the storie that we're hearing at the univer A lot of people would volunteer those stories, but also keeping an eye o what the news items were as well And we also worked with a really team here at CJC who helped us with the producti and made us sound good as well.

So you're now the Assistant Vice for Marketing in UFs Office of Strategic Communication and M What are some of your to priorities, initiatives and goal Wow, we have a lot.

The big one really for us is advancing and defending, I wouldn't say we're under attac but advancing and defending.

Protecting is probably a better The brand of the University of and we're incredibly well known.

And as I said, we're such a vib and thriving kind of community.

But to make sure that our many a understan the impact that the university h This is a land grant university.

The University of Vermont was as It's also a member of the Spac Grant Consortium, and it's a Sea University.

So the impact that this place h is something that we want to be to communicate effectively to not just our alumni and prosp students and families and others but also lawmakers and corporations that might fun some of our programs and support Those are all really important.

Of course, we like to be ranked and so we want to be able to mak that others who are in higher e who sometimes have quite an impa on what those rankings are, understand what we're doing and in my mind, understan how good we are at what we're do So for us, it's very importan that we tell stories about our f excellence, that tell storie about what our students are doin undergraduate research or thing are happening here at the Colleg of Journalism with the Atlas Lab for social media listening.

So all of those are the kinds of that we look to communicate.

We also do things like making sure that people, when they're representing the University of Florida, they're doing it in an appropri because we do have a very strong and we want to make sure that we that brand integrity.

And that can be everything from we use when we describe ourselve to the colors that we use to our That's part of our group as well the main central website, making sure that we work closel with our colleagues in UF I.T.

on thing like accessibility for our websi So really all of those things ar of what we do.

You lead UFs video operation, working with university college and units on campaigns and proje So what have some of your favori We have done some really wonderf high impact kind of messaging talking about artificial intelli and why it's important and the that we have here at the univers We're really quite unique in th we have AI across the curriculum and so we say that we're buildi university, which when you think AI cuts across so many differen and is such a part of our future that it's really importan that our graduates are literate in AI and understand not just the very many advantages that AI poses for us, but also the things we need to be carefu about when we're moving forward That's not just critically impor for our graduates, it's critically important for our nat and beyond that.

So those are the kinds of storie that I love doing.

Right now we're working on what we call th It's a public service announcem but it's basically the :30 piece that the university gets to play during the NCAA broadcasts.

It's a lot of work.

There are a lot of balls in the We're doing it in a really fast a very tight timeframe.

So there's a little bit of nerve wracking going on there, but it's also a really creative So I love that part, too.

Where do you see the futur of communication and marketing h I think that technology is alway to play a role in what we do.

I don't want to date myself, but I used to write things out by hand and then I'd put them into the c because I wasn't used to using a when I first started off.

Now I'm luck if I can write a greeting card without composing it on my compu right away.

So that's how much things have c Access to the Internet, all of things in the course of my caree We had social media come about.

Now that such a huge part of wha It's hard to predict where we're I'm sure that AI will have an impact.

And I think what we need to be ready to do is to assess some of these new technologies and make sur that we can use them in smart wa but also always keeping that human part of marketing.

But really, I call it storytell because that at the end of the d is what it's all about.

In the course of your experience I'm sure that you meet like really interesting peopl so you can tell me something abo Sure.

I have had the opportunity to w such a range of people and inter Everyone from the Wiggles you know, the children's televis that was one of the people we in right through to meeting with Bono and David Bowi and Lou Reed, those sorts of peo So it's been this amazing exper just getting to know these indiv Syracuse University has a lot of who end up in the media.

What you realize, though, these people who are at the top of their game and they blow your mind with what they've At the end of the day they are people and they just wa live their lives as well.

So I think being able to interac with them on that basis is really something that I learned as well.

Was it a difficult transition when you moved to the US?

You know, it was difficult in so and not in others.

The cultures are very similar.

I would say Australia in a wa is a cross between England and t just in terms of the wa that we interact with one anothe My husband sometimes joke that we're separated by a common because Australia, we do speak but we have really weird little and I don't know, they weird until I say them and people loo like, What are you talking about Yeah, so exactly that kind of th Australia, a lot of people don' that it's actually quite an urba It's a very large country about the same size as the conti So if you take off in Alaska but most people live on the coas and most people live in large ci So my home city Adelaide, is about 1.3 million p The next largest city is about 20,000 people.

So in that sort of state the size of Texas.

So there are very large distance where you won't see anyone when you're driving along So I think that was a change for You miss being with your famil when you're away and your time timezones away.

I mean, Australia at the moment the time difference is 12 and a hours ahead.

So that was a change for me.

But I will say too that as a kid I moved every few years.

My dad worked in education.

For me that made it easie to transplant to other places.

I just saw it as a bigger move.

And I always like to say I' like a weed grow wherever you pl So I've enjoyed my time here.

What advice do you have for any want to work in strategic commun The number one focus, it' always going to be on your audie And so trying to think about how they'll be receiving the message that you're putting and why they should care about i We're all busy.

Little things like workin at a university, we have so many departments and divisions and un and all of these things.

Our audiences don't care about t They see us as the University of They don't see us as Universit of Florida's Office of Strategic Communications or University of Enrollment Management division.

So when we speak with them we speak with them as the univer and really try and figure out w that we can connect with our aud So I think that's incredibly imp From a career standpoint I think always being open to opp is that something where it is certainly served me well.

And not being fearful of thing that are a little bit new or dif because it can end up being exce Not being afraid to fail.

I mean, no one's perfect, but ev if it doesn't work out perfectly it's going to teach you somethin And I think being on live radio TV, certainly you got to do it so you can lose that perfectioni of your personality.

I mean, you always strive for pe or the best you can be, but at the same time, you've got to that it's a journey as well.

And I think enjoying the team that you work with, I get to wor with some of the most exceptiona both within the communications but also the people that I work with on a daily basis, be the fa and researchers and students.

It's fascinating.

And there's not a day where I'm and I really, really love that.

So I think just being open to ev and being ready to pivot at the last minute and keeping a positive attitude and enjoyin it is really a good way to go.

It was a pleasure to talk to you thank you for your insight today And thank you to our viewers for joining us.

So until next time, goodnight.