From Simone Davies | Director of Marketing, Outreach, Recruitment & Admissions

Since joining Kent back in September 2019 I have had lots of discussions and conversations about our brand. Every one of us can point to something that makes Kent special – articulating that in a way that resonates with all our audiences from staff and students to partners and stakeholders isn’t quite so easy.  

What now seems like a long time ago – pre-pandemic we ran a number of workshops with staff and students which led to three key themes being identified: Connection, Collaboration and Community. The way these three themes come together to be more than the sum of their parts gives us a starting point to create a new brand identity for the university. They underpin everything we do and are very much linked to our key strategic priorities: Education and Student Success, Research and Innovation and Engagement, Impact and Civic Mission. 

We are on a journey and I’m excited that we’ll be able to share with you where we’re heading. The University of Kent brand is evolving and the work we’re doing now is about moving us on from the identity that was created over a decade ago to something that is reflective of who we now are and our ambitions for the future.  

This is very much about the way we present ourselves both internally and to the outside world, it’s about how we differentiate ourselves and stand out in what is an increasingly competitive landscape. It’s about people knowing who Kent is and what we stand for – it’s about communicating what makes us special. 

We have two groups of staff and students supporting and inputting into this work which includes staff across both central and Divisional teams plus undergraduate and postgraduate students. And we need to know what you think – there will be a face-to-face roadshow taking place on 16 and 17 June and this will be supported by a digital roadshow until 20 June. Plus we will be speaking to partners and stakeholders to make sure that what we’re saying is aligned to what they think about us. 

Who we are and how we portray that can be emotive but hopefully as we develop this narrative and visual identity it will resonate with what we’ve heard you say and will amplify our truth. 

I’m really looking forward to sharing where we’re up to next month and seeing what people think as this really important work gets closer to launch.