AGSM @ UNSW Business School Rebrand

CLIENT

AGSM @ UNSW Business School

INDUSTRY

Education

SERVICES

Brand story and identity, Intranet microsite, Presentation and Proposal templates, Program materials, Advertising and Comms collateral, Brand language guidelines, Motion animation

Positioning AGSM as a force of empowerment for today's leader

For more than 40 years, AGSM has been Australia’s leading school of management and has an enviable global reputation. But its fragmented history had caused confusion about where the brand belonged within UNSW’s Business School. The Garden Agency took AGSM on a strategic branding journey to find its united voice, articulate an assertive position in the market – and fully engage its highly valuable alumni of more than 12,000 business leaders.

A clear voice, consistently connecting and engaging as one AGSM

AGSM needs to engage with diverse audiences in a consistent and powerful way, and it also needs to stand out in the rapidly evolving education sector. Internally, the brand architecture was confused. Its communication was out-dated and inconsistent – and alumni were increasingly disengaged.
The AGSM came to The Garden Agency with significant ambitions: to be known to be one of the best graduate schools of management in the Asia Pacific region, to retain its #1 position in Australia and to be in the top 50 globally. First, it needed to clearly define its unique competitive advantage.

Asking what are you made for, is the first step to living the answer

Through stakeholder interviews with alumni, academic staff, current students and industry partners, we identified some key issues – and also standout ideas that set AGSM apart.
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The central idea is one of ‘preparation’ – AGSM prepares people to achieve great things in life, whether as a CEO, entrepreneur or by changing the world. We extended this further, to challenge people to really think about what they want to do – what are they ‘made for’. We then brought this challenge to life in a very powerful way, by telling the stories of AGSM’s alumni. How they had a vision, and were prepared by AGSM to make the leap and boldly achieve it.
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Asking ‘what are you made for?’ is seen as an intellectual challenge, and this is now embedded within the AGSM application process. It’s also part of the AGSM’s internal values, and used externally in recruitment ads, on the website and beyond. Working within the UNSW brand guidelines, we developed a bracket device to graphically represent each side of the story: having the vision, putting it into action.

“When The Garden Agency presented the results of their Spark sessions, you could literally feel the spark of excitement in the room. Their insights immediately resonated. The investment in time they make to understand our business, industry and context is invaluable and it’s a true partnership approach.”

Alison Avery, Director Stakeholder Management – Student Portfolio

An inspiring call to action

The project began in 2013, but is still going strong today – and has cemented AGSM’s position as a pioneering thought leader.
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This one idea provided the foundation for building every other aspect of the AGSM’s business. In 2016, the school had a 100% uplift in part-time enrolments, and significant growth across all programs. It also completely re-engaged the alumni.

What are you made for?