Brand Journey

• Feedback from our members and stakeholders tells us the term ‘public participation’ does notresonate with the Australian and New Zealand markets. Our members prefer “community andstakeholder engagement” as it aligns better with the practice in our region. The proposed new brandalso addresses the need for a clearer and more approachable authority when reaching an audienceoutside of those close to the heart of the organisation – a brand that is understood.
• Our members shared that while those who know us, love us, the name IAP2 Australasia doesn’tresonate locally without additional context.
• Most organisations (75%) and individual members (89%) do not use the IAP2 Australasia logo in theirmarketing or communications, despite many referencing their membership and training. Awareness ofthe association is very low among decision-makers and among those that do have awareness,understanding of what the organisation does is very low.
• Most members (84%) prefer the term “community and stakeholder engagement” over “publicparticipation” to describe their work and have indicated a desire for change to better reflect the workbeing done in engagement practice.

• Following a brand tracking exercise in 2023, an external strategic brand agency, Principals wasengaged in November 2023 to help IAP2 Australasia determine if there was a mood for change amongour members, and if there was, gain insights that would support the development of any new brand.
• To ensure any change to the IAP2 Australasia brand was evidence-based and based on engagementwith our members, a focus group with 22 key stakeholders, including Honorary Fellows, Fellows,former Board members and Trainers, all being senior practitioners with a deep history and connectionto IAP2 Australasia was completed in April 2024.
• We also undertook a survey across the whole membership.

• Market Disconnect: “Public participation” is not widely recognised or used in Australia and NewZealand.
• Member Feedback: 84% of members prefer “community and stakeholder engagement” to describetheir work.
• Brand Recognition Issues: The current name and logo lack resonance, requiring constant explanationto stakeholders.
• Advocacy Needs: A new brand allows for more effective advocacy with decision-makers.

While IAP2 Australasia may be a well embedded brand with many practitioners, the Australasian membership has indicated that there is a strong need for change as the acronym is not easily understood by those who are not members and requires constant explanation – and not well-known or recognised to those outside engagement practice.

The terminology of ‘public participation’ is also not widely used within this region. This is particularly important in raising the profile of what the organisation represents in industry to those who are not practitioners. In order to elevate the value of engagement and support our members, it is important that there is an easily understood brand for the industry organisation which represents practitioners and engagement practise in our region.

IAP2 Australasia has engaged members several times to date and has broadened engagement by seeking feedback on the potential new brand with the wider membership.

To date we have:

• Engaged with members and stakeholders to understand the case for change.
• Engaged with the IAP2 International Board and the IAP2 Region Chairs Committee to consult on theproposed rebrand.
• Engaged via focus groups with 22 industry leading members of IAP2 Australasia including formerBoard members, Honorary Fellows and Fellows, Trainers and others.
• Surveyed our membership at strategic junctions.

Currently, we are engaging with members via a series of face-to-face workshops, webinars and an online survey to capture all feedback.

IAP2 Australasia has engaged with our membership over the past 18 months and received feedback which strongly indicated that there was a need for change felt by the Australasian membership, this potential rebrand is an outcome of the further feedback we received. We are also engaging with key stakeholders and members. We feel that by responding to the feedback and needs of our Australasia members that we are being responsive and holding to our values.

We worked under the following parameters to ensure the name met the needs of our organisation and stakeholders:

• Clarity: A name that is immediately understood and resonates with our purpose.
• Simplicity: It shouldn’t require explanation to convey its meaning.
• No Acronyms: Avoiding acronyms to keep the name accessible and clear.
• Searchability: Prioritising key terms like “Engagement” to ensure it is easy to find online and relevant toour work.
• Availability: Ensuring the name was available for registration as a domain and didn’t conflict withexisting trademarks or organisations.

We explored other terms but found they lacked the balance of professionalism and clarity provided by “Institute.” Many alternatives either felt too casual or did not fully capture the depth of our mission.

The “Engagement Institute” brand positions our organisation as an approachable authority that aims to:

• Elevate engagement to a strategic level.
• Build confidence and trust in engagement outcomes.
• Work well across the spectrum of engagement.
• Be credible and talk to all audiences in a positive way.
• Embody a membership of problem solvers and connectors who lead the industry.
• Have authority, as well as being approachable.
• Champion better decisions informed by community and stakeholder input.

• A key driver for the proposed new brand identity was to express credibility, similar to an organisationlike the Australian Institute of Company Directors, but with added warmth, that enables us to be seenas a trusted brand with approachable authority.
• The letters E and I from the name have been used to create a logo that in an abstract way showspeople coming together and linking together to create positive outcomes.
• The new logo works in multiple ways – it works in printed and digital spaces and can also be separatedfrom the brand name to be used as a stamp or accreditation mark and show membership at differentlevels.
• The new colour palette is warm and works well with human photography and abstract graphicelements to enable storytelling.

Members can expect:

• A name and identity that better aligns with their work.
• Continued connection to the IAP2 global network.
• Enhanced credibility and visibility for their profession.