This policy applies to all divisions, departments, colleges, groups, teams or individuals seeking to post, promote or use digital banners on Access UH to communicate or market to the UH community.

Access UH is a shared digital workspace intended to facilitate effective communications for the university. The use of banners on Access UH must be strategic, aligned with university policy and follow the below guidelines.

Restrictions:

The following uses are allowed to post digital banners on Access UH:

1. Emergency notifications affecting campus operations
2. IT incident notifications affecting services
3. Service driven announcements directly related to and originating within the Division of Administration and Finance

Additional restrictions:

• For departments within Administration and Finance, banners must promote only services offered to the university community. Promotion or communication not focused on services, such as events, academic notices, external or 3rd party partners or other non-administrative activities will not be allowed.
• For example:  UH Dining Services may communicate a reminder to replenish Cougar Cards. However, UH Dining Services would not be allowed to run a banner promoting a dining event on campus.  

UIT, Division of Marketing and Communications and Office General Counsel have the right to reject or remove any banners on Access UH that do not comply with the policy outlined here.

For questions or to request an exception to the restrictions outlined here, email UH Marketing at uhmktg@central.uh.edu.

Requirements:

Permitted departments and groups must follow the following requirements to display a banner on Access UH:

• Requests to display banners on Access UH must be approved by University Marketing and Communications prior to submitting to Branding approval and UIT
• Artwork for banners must be completed prior to submitting to UIT for display; UIT does not create artwork for departments. 
• Brand approval must be obtained before submitting files to UIT for display
• Artwork must contain a link to a departmental webpage for more information about the service
• Must adhere to the UH Protocol on Issuing Institutional Statements 

Submission Process:

• Any department wanting to post digital banners on Access UH must first seek email approval from University Marketing and Communications (uhmktg@central.uh.edu)
• Once approval is provided, departments will need to get Brand approval for the artwork
• After the artwork is approved by Brand, both approvals above need to be forwarded to UIT to request posting
• UIT will issue a response and/or post banners within 48 hours

Run Times:

• Banners have a maximum run time of two weeks
• If a banner needs to run longer than two weeks, multiple campaigns can be scheduled through separate requests, with a minimum 3-day gap between campaigns
• For more information on run times and other technical requirements, refer to UIT’s Access UH Banner guidelines

Guidelines and Best Practices:

• Simple is better – avoid having too many elements on the artwork
• Have a clear, concise message
• Include no more than 10-15 words
• Banners should be at least 2000px by 250px or maintain an 8:1 width-to-height ratio
• Include a URL; a short memorable URL is better
• Consider utilizing a UTM link to better track referring traffic
• If using a QR code, ensure the website URL is displayed near the QR code
• If a service is time sensitive, include action-oriented language to communicate urgency.
  • Example “Purchase a parking permit now! Spaces are filling up.”
  • NOT: “Purchase a parking permit before the start of class to guarantee a spot.”