Re-branding any product or
service can be a challenge at the best of times, depending on your target
market and the budget you have available. When it’s a not-for-profit
organization, in the strict business sense, and its existing title is already a
bit confusing, the task is that much harder.
That’s the challenge facing Neuroscience Research Australia.
Not heard of it? Not surprising. Until a few weeks ago it was known to staff, the medical research world and medical media, as POWMRI, for short. Still not heard of it? Or maybe you have but you’re not quite sure what it was, or is?
Maybe Prince of Wales Medical Research Institute rings a few bells.
Ah, yes, the hospital out at Randwick, just around the corner from the world famous Randwick racecourse, and a few blocks over the hill from the University of New South Wales.
In fact, POWMRI is literally less than 100 metres from the hospital and very often confused with it. The Prince of Wales Medical Research Institute is one of the world leaders in brain research including Alzheimer’s, motor-neurone disease, dementia, falls, nerve and spinal cord injuries and schizophrenia, to name but a few of the areas of its work.
Brain-related diseases and disorders afflict more Australians than any other single medical ailment. The research work and outcomes at POWMRI over the past two decades have been acknowledged worldwide.
And it continues under the new, and hopefully more easily remembered, title Neuroscience Research Australia (the new website is here).
Through 2009, Lighthouse Communications worked with CEO Prof. Peter Schofield and members of his extraordinary research teams, to bring stories of their research and fund raising activities to the public notice through a number of media and public relations activities.
Stories we brought to various media were about research into the dangerous impact of binge drinking, prevention of and implications of road trauma on children in cars, the cause and implications of falls in the elderly, extraordinary advances in brain-mapping, and the need to “use it or lose it” (our brain) when it comes to fighting off the insidious affects of dementia.
During that period, the board of POWMRI, Lighthouse Communications and other creative advisory bodies wrestled with the words for a new name. A name that would represent exactly what POWMRI did, was direct and simple to remember.
A decision on “Neuroscience Research Australia” was arrived at earlier this year and unveiled at a relatively low key event at Parliament House in Macquarie St., Sydney, just a couple of weeks ago.
But while the name may be a little “sexier” in marketing terms, its challenges remains the same – finding medical solutions to some of the most common brain disorders and diseases in the community.
It’s also vital to understand that this level of medical research takes considerable time and vast sums of money.
With the rebranding of POWMRI under the Neuroscience Research Australia banner, and the construction of a new multi-million dollar research centre on the site at Randwick, millions of Australian, from toddlers through to octogenarians will have not only life changing but, in some case, life-saving experiences.
On behalf of Neuroscience Research Australia, (Remember the name, check out their website and make a donation!), Lighthouse Communications urges you to support this remarkable and truly priceless research centre.
That’s the challenge facing Neuroscience Research Australia.
Not heard of it? Not surprising. Until a few weeks ago it was known to staff, the medical research world and medical media, as POWMRI, for short. Still not heard of it? Or maybe you have but you’re not quite sure what it was, or is?
Maybe Prince of Wales Medical Research Institute rings a few bells.
Ah, yes, the hospital out at Randwick, just around the corner from the world famous Randwick racecourse, and a few blocks over the hill from the University of New South Wales.
In fact, POWMRI is literally less than 100 metres from the hospital and very often confused with it. The Prince of Wales Medical Research Institute is one of the world leaders in brain research including Alzheimer’s, motor-neurone disease, dementia, falls, nerve and spinal cord injuries and schizophrenia, to name but a few of the areas of its work.
Brain-related diseases and disorders afflict more Australians than any other single medical ailment. The research work and outcomes at POWMRI over the past two decades have been acknowledged worldwide.
And it continues under the new, and hopefully more easily remembered, title Neuroscience Research Australia (the new website is here).
Through 2009, Lighthouse Communications worked with CEO Prof. Peter Schofield and members of his extraordinary research teams, to bring stories of their research and fund raising activities to the public notice through a number of media and public relations activities.
Stories we brought to various media were about research into the dangerous impact of binge drinking, prevention of and implications of road trauma on children in cars, the cause and implications of falls in the elderly, extraordinary advances in brain-mapping, and the need to “use it or lose it” (our brain) when it comes to fighting off the insidious affects of dementia.
During that period, the board of POWMRI, Lighthouse Communications and other creative advisory bodies wrestled with the words for a new name. A name that would represent exactly what POWMRI did, was direct and simple to remember.
A decision on “Neuroscience Research Australia” was arrived at earlier this year and unveiled at a relatively low key event at Parliament House in Macquarie St., Sydney, just a couple of weeks ago.
But while the name may be a little “sexier” in marketing terms, its challenges remains the same – finding medical solutions to some of the most common brain disorders and diseases in the community.
It’s also vital to understand that this level of medical research takes considerable time and vast sums of money.
With the rebranding of POWMRI under the Neuroscience Research Australia banner, and the construction of a new multi-million dollar research centre on the site at Randwick, millions of Australian, from toddlers through to octogenarians will have not only life changing but, in some case, life-saving experiences.
On behalf of Neuroscience Research Australia, (Remember the name, check out their website and make a donation!), Lighthouse Communications urges you to support this remarkable and truly priceless research centre.
John
Yes, its a challenge, but hopefully our new name 'Neuroscience Research Australia' and tag line 'Discover. Conquer. Cure.' will make it easier for people to know what we do and why we do it.
Thanks for your kind comments. To other readers, this was an unsolicited comment from Lighthouse, who we have had the privilege to work with in guiding and developing our communications strategy.
Peter
Posted by: Prof Peter R Schofield, Executive Director & CEO, Neuroscience Research Australia | June 15, 2010 at 05:26 PM