Rebranding an Australian university: Assessing the espoused benefits

This paper examines the espoused justifications for the rebranding (change of name and logo) of an Australian University. Design/methodology/approach: The data was obtained from press releases in newspapers, the online reports of the Australian Department of Education and the online annual financial reports of the Western Sydney University. The records of the years 2013 to 2015 (pre-test) were used for the comparison against the years 2016 to 2018 (post-test). The brand strength model formed the basis of evaluation - in which consumer preferences were determined by assigning a rank derived from the application rates of the universities in the same state (New South Wales). The financial data were also used to assess whether any significant benefits could be attributed to the rebranding. Findings/Results: The results for brand strength pre-test versus post-test showed no statistically significant difference. The results for revenue trends pre-test versus post-test also showed no statistically significant difference. These results lead to the conclusion that rebranding had no actual tangible benefits. That is the espoused outcomes/benefits stated as justification for the rebranding failed to eventuate. Originality/value: The paper provides a model/framework for assessing return on investment conceptualised by assessing brand strength in the higher education sector.