“Brand representatives” now

Posted on | June 23, 2009 | 3 Comments

A message from the Vice Chancellor…

Senate approves University brand recommendations

Senate have considered the outcomes of our brand project and agreed to adopt the recommendation that our brand should position us within the community as an institution that lives out a life of the mind through active and energetic engagement. As a visual signal of our refreshed public image, Senate also approved the adoption of a new logo which, while retaining links with our heritage, is more modern and dynamic.

I believe this brand position accurately describes what is important to us as a community, as well as giving us some important aims to aspire to. It is not a “new” position, but rather articulates how we see ourselves and how we wish the community to see us. And it is a position which pays tribute to our most important asset – our people.

Further work is now being done to finalise the logo and determine how it will be used. We will officially start using it from 11 January 2010 but will be communicating the changes to you later this year. For all ceremonial purposes, we will return to using the original 1857 coat of arms design.

The new logo will not be the only change you will see. Adopting this brand position means moving away from our current over-reliance on sandstone and research income to communicate our message. From now on, we will emphasise the intellectual strength of the University and the impact we’ve had on the wider community through our research and teaching. This will mean changes not only to our marketing and communications material, but to the way we talk about ourselves and interact with our communities.

To help us achieve this, we will be inviting people to take on the role of brand representative for their faculty or department. Brand representatives will work with the brand team to identify what needs to be done in their area in order to adopt and implement the brand.

I encourage you to take some time to read through the updated brand website.* It details how the brand positioning was developed, contains full details of the next steps and will help you prepare for your involvement in the change since each of us will have a role to play by making sure our own activities demonstrate the strengths and qualities reflected by our positioning.

* For USyd staff only

Category: Academia

Comments

3 Responses to ““Brand representatives” now”

  1. Terry
    June 23rd, 2009 @ 11:44 am

    I wonder if they’ll get their act together on contacting alumni. I have been summarily ignored by Sydney Uni since getting my Masters there 20 years ago.

  2. melgregg
    June 23rd, 2009 @ 8:30 pm

    Terry, you’re the only person I’ve ever met who wants to be contacted as an alumnus :-) I’m sure they’d be happy to know of your current address.

    I received the latest alumni marketing exercise from Sydney the other day – an alumni CARD! It promises yet-to-be-defined benefits. I got it in the mail redirected from my old UQ address (my current office is just down the stairs from the alumni division).

  3. Terry
    June 23rd, 2009 @ 8:55 pm

    I only want an alumni card if it gets me a discount on the beef with black bean sauce in the Wentworth Building.

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