The University of Western Australia launches major brand refresh via The Brand Agency
Australia: The University of Western Australia (UWA), part of Australia’s elite group of 8 universities, has announced a major brand refresh via The Brand Agency Perth. A new brand identity and positioning will launch with an integrated marketing 
communications push starting on May 10.
The initiative includes an updated version of the UWA logo as well as a completely new brand positioning campaign based on UWA’s century-old mission to drive progress. The campaign will reveal a new brand proposition for UWA – “Pursue Impossible”.
Says Craig Buchanan, creative director at The Brand Agency: “The key driver for our creative idea was the insight that it’s those people who strive to achieve the seemingly impossible who keep the world turning.
“From the start, we wanted to portray a globally connected university with strong Perth roots. We’re really proud of the fact that it is almost exclusively a WA production, with significant input from talent at UWA itself.
“We realised that rising to these challenges is a journey, so we wanted to tell a story of one person’s quest using the metaphor of a global journey battling the challenges of climate, stamina and environment. All that remained was to bring to life the idea of keeping the world turning, so we showed that when our hero female runner stops pursuing her dreams, the world stops with her.”
Perth production company The Penguin Empire and director Grant Sputore produced 60 second, 30 second and 15 second TV formats as well as a 75 second extended cut for web use, with special effects by Last Pixel. Another key component of the film is the use of powerful percussion music using a custom score preformed by UWA School of Music students and directed by Soundbyte.
The campaign will launch initially to the local WA market within main media, and reach global audiences online. It includes television, press, out of home, online advertising and a new campaign landing page, www.pursueimpossible.com.au.
The media activity is supported by a completely refreshed logo and identity.
Says Dan Agostino, head of design, The Brand Agency: “It’s about evolving the core elements of the existing logo to be more relevant to today’s digital environment while retaining UWA’s history. We’ve looked at the structure of the entire brand, including a full redesign of their extensive suite of corporate collateral, building a unique custom typeface and a fully responsive microsite for the launch.”
The formal Coat of Arms that appears on degree certificates has not been changed.