The University of Oregon will use its Jan. 1 Rose Bowl (Pasadena) appearance to kick off a four-year branding initiative handled by the Newport Beach, Calif., office of Philadelphia headquartered 160over90 shop.

The push is to promote the idea its academic program is equivalent to the excellence of its athletics.

The campaign will highlight UO's history of experimentation, innovation and collaboration designed to make new discoveries and bring fresh thinking to the Beaver State, nation and world.

The branding program relies on a mixture of traditional, social and guerilla tactics.

UO's Duck mascot has made pop-up appearances throughout Los Angeles this week., while UO messages run on 20 digital billboards in the city.

A TV ad will debut during the Rose Bowl football match-up between the No. 2 ranked Ducks and No. 3 Seminoles of Florida State.

A Twitter campaign will launch Jan. 2 to get more mileage from the TV spot.

The university of 24K students expects the branding drive will position it as a top-tier university to attract students and donations to the $2B fund-raising drive that launches in 2015.