UCL Engineering
How a disparate university faculty became a powerful brand
The Faculty of Engineering Sciences at UCL was just an administrative unit for the 9 departments that formed it. We were asked to turn it into a brand. After talking to people in each of the departments, we were able to tease out consistent themes which distilled their social impact into three words: Change the World.
This is the essence of what engineering at UCL is: the practical application of science to make a difference in the real world. With this message we had the foundation on which all the communications could be built.
We renamed the faculty UCL Engineering, developed a new logo, and created a coherent visual look and tone of voice to ensure a cumulative effect. This has provided the foundation for communications we have created across multiple channels, a selection of which you can see here.
All this has built a powerful brand from scratch, helping recruitment of staff and students, raising morale internally, and building awareness with research bodies and industry. The transformation has been so impactful that UCL Engineering is now one of the biggest financial contributors to UCL’s bottom line.
An extra dimension in university marketing
Universities are big businesses, and in very competitive markets – for research grants, for business partnerships, for staff and especially for students. What can you do to give yourself a competitive advantage? One edge can be with innovative marketing.
This is sent out to potential students who have received an offer from departments within ucl engineering. It brings to life the practical, applied nature of engineering in general, and at ucl engineering in particular. It is also, obviously, a rather more interesting and engaging piece of communication to receive. And this then becomes part of the wider brand picture which we have worked with ucl engineering to create. You can real the full story here.
