What's in a name? £115,000 to change Falmouth University branding

The new logo, which reflects the change in title from “University College Falmouth” to “Falmouth University” took nearly two years from tendering to delivery and cost a total of £114,752 – equivalent to the annual fees of 12 students, or four three-year honours’ degrees.

The cost of the exercise is |broken down thus: Design fees, “including background research and |competitor analysis” - £58,800 Travel expenses and printing - £8,737 Launch items, including stationery - £11,692 “Brand campaign” - £22,025 Design and licence for |exclusive Falmouth font - £13,500 The implementation of the new image will be carried out largely in-house, although it is not known if any of the students themselves – many of them |specialising in art and design – tendered for the rebranding work. The university said the branding project was subject to a rigorous procurement |exercise to ensure value for money and the contract was won by Atelier Works.

The University, which merged with the former Dartington College of Arts in 2008, defended the cost, saying the expenditure was necessary.

A spokesperson said: “University College Falmouth was granted full university title in December 2012, following a rigorous application process. This was a really exciting time for the university and staff, |students and stakeholders are very proud of this achievement and its importance for Cornwall. Our celebration to commemorate university title took place in Falmouth in May 2013.

“As part of the move towards university status, a branding project was initiated to prepare for the change of name to Falmouth University. This piece of work was essential for the university to make the most out of its new status and to promote itself as Cornwall’s university in the increasingly competitive market for university students.

“This work concentrated on the need to announce to the world this exciting change. Since the launch of the new brand, we have worked with staff and students to develop our marketing materials and |messages for the 2014 student entry to further enhance the perception of the university. Marketing materials have been updated over the past six months.”

The President of FXU |students’ union, Isis O’Regan, also defended the expenditure. “This hasn’t been an issue at all,” she said. “It’s a very positive investment in the university brand and I’m sure it will help the university recruit even more students. I joined as a student of the University College, Falmouth and will be graduating from Falmouth University. I’m very proud of that.”

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