Q: How far are you with the branding of the three campuses?

A: Since the incorporation of our new unitary corporate colours, we have been working closely with the Space and Utilities Management section to ensure that all the campuses are branded correctly – inside buildings and outside. The branding is not 100% complete, but we have made good progress and will continue the implementation in phases.

Q: Is the brand only about visual elements such as the colours and logo?

A: No, it is about what lies at the heart of the NWU – what we as a university can offer our stakeholders on an emotional level. In other words, it includes those things that can shape their perceptions about us.

Q: What mechanisms do you have to ensure consistency of the brand?

A: We have recently finalised a first draft of the Corporate Identity Manual, which is available on the staff intranet. You can have a look at it by clicking on the round icon in the purple bar above. (You may have to sign in with your staff number and Novell password.)

Besides the manual, we also have a DIY (do-it-yourself) brand management system in the pipeline.

Q: Let’s start with the Corporate Identity Manual. What is its purpose?

A: It tells employees, students and suppliers how to apply the brand. It includes topics such as the logo, corporate and faculty colours, typefaces, business cards, email signatures, signage and stationary.

Q: And the DIY system?

A:  We want staff and students to use the brand correctly  on all documentation. The DIY system will offer a number of newly branded templates for posters, brochures and email banners.

Q: Why is consistency so important?

A: Disjointed messages will confuse our stakeholders.

We have to use the same distinctive NWU look and feel and convey the same messages. This will help our stakeholders to differentiate the university from our competitors and positively influence their perceptions.

For instance: We use the NWU’s five brand attributes consistently in our messages. These attributes are academic excellence, vibrant student life, relevant graduates, social responsiveness and being value driven.

We promote them on different communication channels to ensure that the NWU brand and all it stands for remain at the top of our stakeholders’ minds.

For more information about the branding, you can send an email to ilse.beyers@nwu.ac.za or musa.zanempi@nwu.ac.za.