Australian Catholic University Marketing Rebranding Strategy Report

This report analyzes the rebranding strategy of the Australian Catholic University (ACU). It explores the reasons behind the rebranding, highlighting the importance of adapting to market competition and catering to customer needs. The report details the specific changes made to the ACU's brand, including modifications to its logo, typeface, and color scheme, and assesses the effectiveness of these changes in reflecting the university's unique identity and ambition. Furthermore, the report examines how the university positions itself, emphasizing its welcoming environment and commitment to inclusivity, and how this positioning is communicated to its stakeholders. The report also discusses the impact of empathy in the rebranding strategy, aligning with the university's values and goals. The report concludes by referencing the key literature used in the analysis.

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MARKETING
Name of the Student:
Name of the University:
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Rebranding Needed
Sometimes rebranding is important as it keeps the company in the track of the market
competition. Rebranding always caters the customer’s need and takes a strong image to the
consumer’s mind (Völckner and Sattler 2013). The rebranding is needed because it is the
company’s brand strategy. It is important because it is associated with the ACU’s image,
logo, advertising and the marketing strategy. After an acquisition, the ACU needs to rebrand
their products and it helps in keeping the new products with its existing lines of products.
It is important because it helps them in maintaining how all the stakeholders
experience them. The ACU’s new brand strategy will help them to keep their commitment in
high performance of teaching and learning, researching, engaging students, partnership and
excelling their services.
Ways of Changing the Existing Brand
ACU believes that brand is much more than a logo. The ACU’s existing brand has
changed in a way it has introduced a clearer and stronger typeface and made an important
visual connection between the trefoil and the typeface. They have done this to make the logo
more distinct and interesting. The ACU has also changed the logo color for expressing and
reflecting better empathy and impact on the mind of the customers. The impact has created by
keeping the red color, which is distinct and unique for ACU. It also creates a connection with
the uniqueness of the ACU red. The expression and reflection of empathy is shown by
introducing a dark purple color. The company has evolved their logo as the rebranding
project; however, the new one is closely similar to the existing one. The changes in the logo
imply a necessity to improve the functionality of its usability. However, the changes add an
extra layer to its confidence (Singh, Tripathi and Yadav 2012) .

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Effectiveness of the Changes
The changes are effective in a way it reflects the unique identity of the ACU. The
changes might imply the notion of who they are and what they are stand for. This is the first
time when they have invested so much money to express their true and sole identity. It is
associated with their ambition of who they want to become in the future. It will also have an
effect on the culture of the organization. It adds in improving their functionality (Roy and
Sarkar 2015). It is effective in a way that it creates deeper sense of confidence and the
authority knows it well that it could foster a new work culture. The overall impression is
determined by the rebranding strategy as it has influencing power. As ACU is a university,
they have very interesting and exciting story to tell. However, these changes will allow them
to do it with their unique voice.
Positioning the University
The Australian Catholic University is positing itself in a way as this university offers
a welcoming environment to all its students, staffs and teachers irrespective of the socio-
cultural and geo-political backgrounds. The door of the university is open to all and they
invite everyone to their campus. It wants to provide a shared identity among the students,
staffs and teachers. It wants to inspire everyone in the spirit of embracement. It wants to
inspire the personal growth of the students and teachers (Morgan and Rego 2013). It wants to
inspire the spirit of curiosity and generosity. It wants to engage in providing the environment
that is worth living. However, each of the members of the university can exercise his or her
rights. The university wants to position itself in a way that can help the members of the
university to engage in bigger commitment with life.

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Position Communication
The positing needs to be communicated among its students, teachers and staffs
(Völckner and Sattler 2013). The clarity of focus, which is one of the ways of positioning, is
being communicated by acknowledging the people who has natural attraction to the ethos of
the university culture. Inclusion of all students and members of the university irrespective of
the socio-cultural and socio-economical background are communicating the sense of shared
identity. The university wants to build a diverse community, which allows everyone and pays
respect to everyone’s cultural values. The communication is done by stimulating everyone
that they are the part of this university. The university wants everyone to practice the
intellectual and human potential fully and for this purpose, the university wants to provide the
appropriate environment to all the members of the university. This university has grown
recently in research output. However, the growth in research excellence is not compromised
with effective changes in the diversity policy. The university wants to remain inclusive in
nature and supportive for everyone, everyday. The positing is being communicated by
providing more benefits and opportunities to the students, teachers and staffs. The central
components of its curriculum involve to the involvement to the real world and it encourages
its students and staffs to participate in the problems of the real world. The Australian Catholic
University is deeply engaged and connected to the society and industry. The university wants
to communicate the bigger purpose of the education for the humanity with their students.
Impact through Empathy
The university wants to be the agent of changing the world. The university wants to
play a role that would inspire the students to make a difference by cultivating the ability of
the students to act. However, for this purpose, the students need to think empathetically. The
sense of empathy comes from the heart of the human being. As this is not only concerned

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with mere emotion, it has complex intellectual framework, which is associated with
conviction, courage and integrity (Smith 2017). It has capacity to push people from their
comfort zone and fall into somewhere great. The brand essence, Impact through Empathy is
the effect of the catholic values, on which the university has been established upon. It defines
the purpose to move forward. It also provides inspiration to connect to the international
community in a more meaningful manner.

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References
Morgan, N.A. and Rego, L.L., 2013, May. Brand portfolio strategy and firm performance.
American Marketing Association.
Roy, S. and Sarkar, S., 2015. To brand or to rebrand: Investigating the effects of rebranding
on brand equity and consumer attitudes. Journal of brand management, 22(4), pp.340-360.
Singh, A.K., Tripathi, V. and Yadav, P., 2012. Rebranding and organisational performance-
some issues of relevance. American Journal of Sociological Research, 2(5), pp.90-97.
Smith, J., 2017. What is empathy for?. Synthese, 194(3), pp.709-722.
Völckner, F. and Sattler, H., 2013, May. Drivers of brand extension success. American
Marketing Association.

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