This is an HTML version of an attachment to the Official Information request 'Evidence the University has consulted on its proposed name change with claimed audiences'.

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TO 
Madeleine Setchell, Director of Communications, Marketing and 
Engagement 
COPY TO 
Simon Healey, Director of Strategic projects 
Simon Johnson, General Counsel 
FROM 
Professor Grant Guilford, Vice-Chancellor 
DATE 
13 March 2018 
SUBJECT 
Brand 2018 – Project Scope and Focus 
Thank you for your memo of 1 March seeking clarification of the scope and areas of focus 
for the ‘Brand 2018’ project.  As requested, please note the following clarifications, 
viewpoints and decisions. 
Primary goals of the Brand 2018 project 
The three primary goals of the Brand 2018 project are to: 
 Better align the University’s name/brand with our positioning as New Zealand’s globally
ranked capital city university and with our global-civic university vision 
 Increase the clarity and distinctiveness of our name/brand internationally – an essential
step in increasing global brand awareness 
The principal downstream benefits expected from achieving these goals are enhanced 
international academic reputation, greater global research impact, improved international 
rankings, increased recruitment of international students, and improved ability to partner with 
leading international universities. Accordingly, the brand project supports Primary Strategies 
1, 2, 5, and 6 and Enabling Strategies 1-5. 


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Scope of the Brand 2018 project 
The broad areas of focus for the Brand 2018 project are: 
  Simplification of the University’s name 
  Reconsideration of selected elements of the University’s logo and style guide 
  Consultation and market research on the preferred option(s) 
  Considering the impact of the simplified name on sub-brands 
  Advice on legal aspects of simplifying the name  
  Promoting the University’s preferred name/brand 
 
 
 
The Brand 2018 project’s scope does not extend to: 
  Changes to the University’s positioning or brand expression 
  The activities and projects we undertake to bring to life our institutional distinctiveness 
e.g. academic distinctiveness themes, Te Reo, MOOCs etc. 
 
 
  The Know Your Mind Campaign – 
 
 
 
 
Components of the Brand 2018 Project 
The individual components included in the scope of the Brand 2018 project are outlined in 
more detail below. 
Simplification of the University’s Name 
There is now good evidence that simplifying the current name of ‘Victoria University of 
Wellington’ to the ‘University of Wellington’ will meet the primary project goals listed above. 
Specifically, the name ‘University of Wellington’ aligns effortlessly with New Zealand’s capital 
city whereas ‘Victoria University’ does not. Similarly, civic universities (including global-civic 
universities) are first and foremost about their city and are prepared to tie their fortunes to 
those of their city. Wellington is our city – not Victoria. The University’s low international 
brand awareness is not in keeping with its very high academic standards. Strong evidence 
has been gathered that suggests at least some of this international reputation vacuum is due 
to the lack of clarity and distinctiveness associated with our name. 
 
 
 
 
 


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Given the market research done to date, I am comfortable with the following: 
  The university’s name would be stated as the ‘University of Wellington’ rather than 
‘Victoria University of Wellington’. 
  I’m not entirely convinced about the need to include the word ‘The’ as a part of the name. 
While there are some modest advantages, there are also disadvantages including added 
complexity and a potential impression of ‘pomposity’ that does not fit with a pragmatic 
civic university.  
  Given our obligations under the Treaty of Waitangi, it is important we continue to use our 
Māori name in association with the ‘University of Wellington’. I have consulted with the 
Deputy VC (Māori) and we are comfortable we can delete the words ‘Te Whare 
Wānanga’ from our Māori name. This deletion ends our association with the politically 
contested word ‘wānanga’ but preserves our association with Wellington through the 
words ‘Te Ūpoko o te ika a Māui’.  
  Professor Higgins and I also believe there may be merit in including the Māori translation 
of Victoria or ‘Wikitōria’ alongside but separate from ‘Te Ūpoko o te ika a Māui’. The 
rationale for this is that it preserves the University’s historic association with (and 
whakapapa to) the word ‘Victoria’. In addition, the word ‘Wikitōria’ has been used for 
many years by Māori staff, students and stakeholders to describe the University and 
could potentially be used more widely in the future as more New Zealander’s embrace te 
Reo. 
Reconsidering of selected elements of the logo and style guide 
Advice will soon be required from external agencies on the logo and style guide. However, 
the following preliminary conclusions will help guide the briefing of the agency.    
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 


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  Given the importance of continuity when undertaking a simplification of the University’s 
name, I do not believe it is the right time to make major changes to other elements of the 
University’s brand guidelines including colours, fonts, the crest, general layouts etc. 
 
 
Consultation and market research on the preferred name/brand option(s) 
Thought is required to outline the best approach to stakeholder consultation and define the 
market research required on the preferred name/brand option(s) – over and above the 
Colmar Brunton work already undertaken off-shore.  My sense is that two consultative 
phases are required – first a series of discussions with stakeholders examining the rationale 
for change (centering on our poor international band performance) and secondly, more 
focused discussion of the preferred name/brand options.  
The first phase is effectively already underway given recent discussions with Council, SLT, 
Heads of School, CSU Directors, leading professors and selected civic leaders. The 
feedback from these discussions and others to come will provide an important validation (or 
lack thereof) of the Project and will be an important go/no-go decision point. 
Considering the impact of the simplified name on sub-brands 
Simplification of the University name to the University of Wellington will orphan a number of 
sub-brands that include ‘Victoria’. Some of these are significant business units of the 
University (e.g. Victoria Business School, VicLink, and Victoria University Press) and others 
are Trusts (e.g. Victoria University Foundation; Research Trust of Victoria) and student 
associations (e.g. VUWSA and numerous clubs and societies). Consideration will need to go 
into which of these sub-brands can be and should be changed and the timing of such 
changes. 
 
 
 
 
  
 


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Promoting the University’s preferred name/brand 
Once the preferred name/brand option has been identified, it will need to be promoted 
through both domestic and international channels. Advice will be required on the best 
approach to this including timing (‘big bang’ or ‘incremental’) and any variations for different 
market segments (international vs domestic) and stakeholder groups. It is possible 
information on the reason for the brand change may need to be prepared for external 
audiences as well as internal audiences to help stave off the almost inevitable criticism of 
‘tax payer’ expenditure. 
The key international channels for promotion will most likely include the publications of 
ranking agencies and various other higher education journals.  
The ranking agencies will need to be formally informed of the change as will the research 
databases like Scopus and Web of Science to ensure the correct attribution of research 
publications and citations. The ranking agencies have a formal process for such name 
changes and our Library will need to play a key role in managing this change. 
An early focus will need to be on updating the website. A more pragmatic approach could be 
taken to the refreshing of the current physical signage – noting that local audiences (around 
Wellington) will be unlikely to be confused by the gradual change over of physical signage. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
Other operational work streams 
As noted in your memo, there will be a range of other operational work streams that will 
need to be scoped including: 
  Legal – 
 
  Human Resources – contracts, role descriptions and recruitment 
  Library – especially research citations 
  International engagement – rankings and partner relationships 
  Alumni and Development – alumni and donor relations 
  Graduation and qualifications 
  IT and Research Office 
 
 


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Budget 
The VC’s 2018 budget will have limited freeboard for Brand 2018 and for the continuation of 
the branding work from 2016/17. Most likely, this will need to remain within a maximum 
spend of $200K during 2018 with additional budget being made available in 2019.