Since ucisa’s formation in 1993 as ‘the membership organisation for those working in information systems in UK higher education’, there has been a technological revolution in the sector. IT now underpins every aspect of university life.
Concerned that it was failing to attract sufficient numbers of younger professionals, ucisa wanted to ensure that it remained ‘fit for purpose’ and able to provide the support its broad-based membership required.
Hired by the Trustees, our brief was to examine existing perceptions amongst ucisa members and use the findings to help reshape the brand for future success.
Using a combination of quantitative and qualitative research we consulted representatives from ucisa’s wide stakeholder base.
Our findings illustrated that whilst ucisa had a good reputation it was increasingly being seen as cosy and old-fashioned, lacking the forward looking, innovative, thought-provoking approach required within the digital sector.
With the output from the research we redefined their brand strategy in line with the needs of a more ambitious digital membership.
Once agreed and signed off, we worked with ucisa to bring the brand to life, creating key messages, a new more inspirational brand narrative, together with an updated ‘look and feel’, applied to a suite of communications including their signature website.
Paul Butler Secretary, ucisa
Deliverables
- Comprehensive perception study detailing how the brand was viewed
- New brand definition (Vision, Mission, Values, Proposition, Personality, Reasons-to-believe)
- Set of key messages applicable to ucisa overall and its special interest groups
- New brand identity applied to key communications tools eg. letterhead, banners, presentations, conference materials etc
- Website (design and copy-writing)
- Design guidelines.
