A revolutionary modern brand supporting better futures

Insight
Brand awareness and perception research showed that prospective students struggled to understand what the University stood for or why it was the right choice for them. Negative perceptions about location and a lack of confidence in articulating the University’s strengths compounded the issue, creating brand inertia.

To uncover insightful solutions to these challenges we left no stone unturned. From UCAS events to sixth-form colleges, campus focus groups to in-depth interviews with ‘lost’ students, we searched to discover the hallowed ground between what the University did best and what would attract students most.

Three key principles emerged to form the foundations of the University’s story, collectively creating clear, defendable territory to differentiate the brand: a permanent push on innovation and pedagogy; a deep focus on supporting the individual; and a unique theory of change driving meaningful impact through the power of community.

Harnessing these traits and connecting with key audiences required a brand that was characterful, not corporate; one that represented a community lifting all, rather than every man for themselves; and one that brought to life next-level education and experiences that are future-facing, not backwards-looking.

Ideas
For the brand to succeed long-term and galvanise staff to get behind it, it had to feel meaningful and relevant, not something surface level or just another initiative.

We used heritage as a tool to signal that the rebrand was a deep-rooted, long-term change, reflecting the University’s revolutionary history to tell the story of who they’ve always been and always will be – a revolutionary modern university built around people, industry and community; a revolutionary modern university built for change.

With heritage as an anchor, the brand felt like an authentic fundamental inside-out change, avoiding the latest education bandwagon or trend. And by connecting heritage to the University’s forward-thinking strategy focused on people, place and pedagogy, we recaptured the spirit of innovation, reconnected with the region, and reinforced the inclusive, supportive community that make the University a distinct and compelling choice for students, staff, and partners alike.

To distil this strategy and story down further and capture the real spirit and energy at the heart of the new brand we created an organising idea: Possibility Realised. Two words that inject self-confidence and belief back into the team and the brand; two words that show what the University is aiming to do each, and every, day.

Through further co-creation, testing and refinement, we then translated this organising idea into an inspiring and meaningful proposition for each of the University’s key audiences. Possibility Realised becomes Your Place of Possibility – now an inviting and motivating call to primary audience of prospective and current students.

Identity
Having defined the key elements that made the University distinctive, it was clear that the existing visual and verbal identity were not telling this story. Corporate, lacking in character, and disconnected from innovation, inclusion and community, the brand identity didn’t reflect or represent the things we knew mattered in getting the next generation of students through the doors.

Once again, we turned to collaboration to tap into the power of the University’s passionate community. Together, with student and staff bodies we created a new identity that respects the University’s heritage by retaining the Stafford Knot. This local symbol of pride formed part of the logo as far back as the 1960s. We re-imagined it as a symbol of the community, deepening connections and coming together to create something new.

This knot then unravels to form a visual language that weaves in and out of the University experience, guiding and supporting students along their path to success. The University’s primary red is softened and warmed up to create a much friendlier, inviting feel. At the same time, the wider colour palette takes inspiration from contemporary and characterful content brands to add personality and diversity to the brand. By working closely with the University’s in-house typographer, we created an approach to type that walks its own path, differentiating the brand against competitors to create impact and connection.

So much of this work was about enabling the University to talk with genuine personality and authenticity, so we developed a tone of voice that would stand out in a sea of sameness and embody the kind, uplifting and open community so true and present at the University.

Finally, the name evolves from Staffordshire University to the University of Staffordshire. This simple change uses place as a platform, not a limiting factor, shifting perceptions of the University from the very first point of contact, so much so that 85% of prospective students said they were more likely to apply to the University if it changed its name in this way.

Impact
Testing for this project was incredibly rigorous – it had to be. The stakes for the University couldn’t be higher, and when the results came back, they couldn’t have been clearer. The new brand transformed how the University of Staffordshire tells its story and how it was seen by prospective students.

Testing showed that:

• 96% of prospective students were more likely to apply after seeing the new brand strategy, proposition and narrative.
• 96% of prospective students were more likely to apply after seeing the new brand strategy, proposition and narrative.
• 85% of students were more likely to apply based on the name change alone.

To launch the brand and signpost the fundamental changes taking place at the University of Staffordshire, we developed a bold brand activation campaign designed to connect with the next generation of students and act as a halo for all other marketing activity. This campaign combined carefully crafted messages and real student stories celebrating ‘place of possibility’, with new photography and the expressive creativity of the new brand identity, to successfully translate the new strategy into real impact from the moment of launch and beyond.

Through a tailored storytelling framework, we empowered internal team to demonstrate how the University is taking things up a level with a new name, new facilities and new opportunities, telling the stories they needed to connect with a whole new generation of students and prove that the University of Staffordshire is the place of possibility.