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Monday, 4 May 2015

As a Qualified Practising Market Researcher and a former shareholder and non-executive director of advertising agency JMG Marketing, the UWA Business School’s Winthrop Professor Tim Mazzarol knows a thing or two about market research and branding.

So, with the launch of UWA’s refreshed brand yesterday, who better to ask about what the change might mean for all of us.

“It’s an exciting time for the University,” Professor Mazzarol said. “The refreshed brand image, which is a bit quirky, is trying to shift the public’s perceptions from seeing UWA as a traditional, remote, Ivy League-type university to one where you can do the impossible.

“The refreshed brand can be a rallying point to bring UWA people together. It’s not just an artistic affectation, but is part of a revitalisation strategy aimed at encouraging more students.”

The Professor, who specialises in entrepreneurship, innovation, marketing and strategy at the University of Western Australia is, among other things, an affiliate Professor with the Burgundy School of Business in France, the President of the Small Enterprise Association of Australia and New Zealand (SEAANZ), Editor of the journal “Small Enterprise Research”, and Director of the UWA Co-operative Enterprise Research Unit (CERU). He is also a regular contributor to “The Conversation”.

In his varied career over more than 35 years he has been a teacher, a diplomat, a manager with one of Australia’s largest insurance companies, and the Executive Director of entrepreneurship centres at both Curtin University and UWA. His research and consulting has involved the international promotion of education services, and the development of innovation, strategic planning and marketing of groups around the world. He says that UWA – which is really a large professional service organisation – has to change not only to grow but also to help commercialise its valuable research.

In this growth, he says, UWA staff are key. “Staff are the most important bit. In big service organisations, up to 70 per cent of their marketing effort is internal, helping to bring staff on the journey.

“UWA does have beautiful buildings – such as Winthrop Hall, an iconic sandstone structure – and we are situated on a nice river, but it is the quality of the staff that matters. They are the people who have to engage with industry and government, they have to be useful, they have to teach and to carry out research.”

Professor Mazzarol said the 2013 Andrew Witty Report, which looked at the role of universities in stimulating economic growth in the UK, suggested that universities could be catalysts in their regions for management development, outreach, and research and development. Professor Witty is Chancellor of Nottingham University and CEO of GlaxoSmithKline.

“The internal change process we’re going through will hopefully encourage such innovation and engagement with industry,” Professor Mazzarol said.

For him personally, the aspect he most appreciates about UWA is his colleagues and their interest in each other’s work and publications.

“The good thing about UWA is that it can be democratic and collegial. People are here to open their minds and hearts up to a place where they explore, and engage in robust discussion. We have a strong sense of community.”

He welcomes the new brand for what it offers to UWA as a means of renewal, and regeneration of a common sense of purpose as we head into the future. However, he notes that for it to work it must be understood and embraced by all staff, students and alumni.

Tim Mazzarol has consulted to organisations that include Nokia Corporation, Wesfarmers Ltd, State West Credit Society, the Chinese National Offshore Oil Company, Co-operative Bulk Handling, Water Corporation, Landcorp, CSIRO, Small Business Development Corporation, Lavan Legal, RAC (WA), Synergy, Alcoa, Iluka, local, state and federal governments and the government of Canada.

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