ACU has produced an original music video to accompany its new branding campaign, We Light the Fire Within.

“ACU has a special spark that carries beyond the classroom,” said Linda Bonnin, senior vice president for marketing and strategic communications, who created the brand story. “The impact our graduates have on their communities through their personal and professional lives is extraordinary, and we want to tell that story in a fuller way.”   

Bonnin co-wrote a song, We Light the Fire, with two professional songwriters, Joe Beck and ACU alumnus Billy Sprague (’75) and an assist from Michael Blanton (’73), a music industry veteran and ACU’s 2019 Alumnus of the Year, who connected the three after hearing Bonnin share her vision for the project.

Three other alumni – Gary Pigg (’76), Chris Harris (’77) and Jan (Heimermann ’77) Harris – sang background on the song, with the Harrises also contributing to the musical arrangement. An a cappella version and one with instrumentation were both recorded in a Nashville studio in October 2020. 

The song, We Light the Fire, morphed into a music video, with footage shot by filmmaker and music video producer Randy Brewer (’93), another Nashville-area alumnus. Brewer created the concept for the video. Blake Condra, video specialist at ACU, was producer and also contributed footage.

“ACU lights the fire in each of us in a very personal way, but there’s also this shared belief that we’re all part of something really special here,” Bonnin said.

The new branding campaign will launch this fall through digital, print and broadcast advertising, as well as social media.

– Robin Saylor

Sept. 1, 2021