EM is looking for a motto – and you get to come up with it!

Every self-respecting organisation (‘brand’) reinvents itself every few years. For laundry detergent, this results in ‘innovations’ More value in every drop. For universities, it leads to slogans such as Praesidium Libertatis or Sharing science, shaping tomorrow (feel free to look up which institutions these belong to).

The media world has slogans too—pay-offs, brand promises, if you will. Think of Wij zijn voor (We are in favour) from BNNVARA, or Tendentieus, ongefundeerd & nodeloos kwetsend (Tendentious, unfounded & needlessly offensive) from GeenStijl. On the other end of the spectrum, there’s Lux et Libertas from NRC and Democracy Dies in Darkness from The Washington Post—a motto that, a year ago, might have seemed a bit dramatic, but now feels eerily accurate.

Erasmus Magazine also wanted one of those snappy brand promises. But what was our motto? We could debate for hours about what EM, as an editorial team, stands for, but we do have a clear idea. This is what we believe in: EM produces independent journalism that is urgent, compelling, and informative, and EM provides a platform for debate. After a few pizza-fuelled discussions, we also settled on our core values: newsworthy, trustworthy, independent. That’s who we are and what we strive for—but it’s not exactly a catchy tagline for our new website, which is expected to launch this summer.

A few more sandwiches, coffees, and brainstorming sessions later, we decided to let it rest. We’re journalists, not marketers.

But this university is full of people training to become marketers, communication professionals, or CEOs. Surely, someone can come up with something?

So, here’s our challenge: create the best pay-off for Erasmus Magazine, and who knows—you might soon see it across all our media channels!

A few ground rules: the slogan should be engaging and usable. You’re welcome to think we’re a shitty little publication, but that’s not exactly the vibe we’re going for. So, take a look at our mission and core values, and turn them into something great.

I’ll think about the prize—maybe a day as editor-in-chief (be careful what you wish for), a bottle of wine, or perhaps we’ll name our meeting room after you?

So, be creative, commercial, and sharp—or, as another well-known brand says: Just do it!

Send your brilliant pay-off to [email protected]. I’ll be waiting by my inbox.