CQUniversity kicks off 2025 with elevated brand and creative campaign via Brother & Co

CQUniversity Australia is starting 2025 on a bold note with the launch of a refreshed brand, striking new visual identity and new creative campaign developed in collaboration with award-winning creative agency Brother & Co.

Anchored by an updated tagline, Be. With CQU, the brand refresh features a reimagined contemporary logo, colour palette and design system that pays homage to the University’s regional Queensland heritage while delivering an accessible, engaging and future-focused brand.

Rolling out nationally from mid-January, the refreshed brand is the centrepiece of a powerful student recruitment campaign that shares the aspirations, dedication and success of CQUniversity students.

Brother & Co co-founder and executive creative director Piet Human said the brand campaign was drawn from student insight and featured real CQUniversity students and alumni: “We know the students that choose CQU are pragmatic and grounded, with a real desire to change their immediate world. This platform allows us to showcase and celebrate these many and varied ambitions: from the nurse who wants to deliver the best care she can during the late shift to the teacher who goes beyond the classroom to inspire the next generation.”

The campaign platform was developed in tandem with the brand refresh and rolls out across FTA and connected TV, cinema and OOH in Queensland, with coverage expanding nationally via an array of digital platforms.

Brother & Co was appointed CQUniversity’s creative agency in 2020 and Human said the collaborative relationship the two teams developed over that time was integral to the successful rollout of both projects: “Brother & Co is a brand and creative agency in equal measure which gives us a unique understanding of the brand and communication needs at every stage of the student journey.”

CQUniversity deputy director, campaigns and brand, Kylie Devine said the research-led project was funded within the annual marketing operational budget and marked the University’s first major brand refresh since 2008 and its first since the advent of many modern digital and social platforms.

It also positions the University – which has the largest footprint of any Australian university with locations in five states and 10 campuses in Queensland alone – to remain competitive nationally and internationally.

Says Devine: “CQUniversity is Queensland’s only dual-sector tertiary institution – there are few brands that have the diversity of audiences, geographic expanse, product portfolio, number of communication touch-points and challenge of management as those faced by CQUniversity.

“This was a complex and ambitious project that we would not have attempted without our well-established ways of working and bespoke agency and in-house approach. There’s a high level of trust, expertise and respect between teams that makes it a truly collaborative partnership.

“Our brand identity is firmly entrenched in education being for everyone, where accessibility and inclusivity are fundamental. We recognise how critical it is to deliver a visual identity that can be seamlessly applied across all platforms and strives to meet the highest standards of accessibility.”

The new Be. With CQU call to action is an updated expression of the University’s former tagline, Be what you want to be, and exemplifies its vision for accessibility, flexibility and inclusivity.

Brand Refresh
Client: CQUniversity Australia
Deputy Director Campaigns & Brand: Kylie Devine
Lead Designer, Brand & Creative Production: Tshinta Harbort

Creative Agency: Brother & Co
Creative: Piet Human & Jacob Lancaster
Brand Strategy: Kurt Viertel & Melanie Rogers
Account Service: Nicole Bartlett
Research Partner: Tom Morris – Brand Health

Student Recruitment Campaign
Client: CQUniversity Australia
Deputy Director Campaigns & Brand: Kylie Devine
Manager Campaigns & Content: Sophie Baker
Lead Designer, Brand & Creative Production: Tshinta Harbort
Senior Marketing Officers: Lisa Tuppack and Claire Zittel
Senior Multimedia Producer: Di Zhang

Creative Agency: Brother & Co
Creative: Piet Human and Jacob Lancaster
Comms Strategy: Kurt Viertel
Account Service: Will Carlisle

Production: Light + Shade
Director: Matt Bamkin
Producer: Emma Horne
Cinematographer: Jason Hargreaves
Photographer: Corey Schweikert
Head of Post, Offline and Online Edit: Rohan Cooper
Motion Graphics: Jono Shaw

Sound Design: Rosco Audio
Colourist: Dan Stonehouse – We Are Crayon
Music Composition: Ryan Walsh & Pete Jones – RANRUN
Retouching: John English – Solvent Image