As part of the Department of Institutional Advancement’s ongoing strategic management of the University of Pretoria (UP) brand, we continuously check whether the brand still maintains a strong presence in the market, represents the values it proposes to stand for, and whether it is aligned with the institution's strategy. We therefore conduct brand audits and perception surveys of the University of Pretoria brand on a regular basis.

The results of both the audit and the survey in 2021 were presented to the Executive and, based on the audit findings, the Executive approved a follow-up to this project for 2022/23 to ascertain whether the brand line “Make today matter” is still relevant to the current market and is aligned with UP’s Destination 2026 and Beyond strategy.

As we refined our brand strategy, we identified our brand’s purpose as to create, apply and share knowledge. The work that we do has an impact, not only for today but also for the future through the graduates and research that we produce.

The education landscape has many role players, both traditional and non-traditional, who often seem very similar in their offerings. As UP, we needed to identify areas where we can distinguish ourselves in the market by identifying five reasons to believe in our brand. These reasons are strongly supported by proof points and we believe they provide us with the opportunity to start building on this in the market.

Reasons to believe in our brand:

1. UP has over a century of proven academic excellence.

2. We are global leaders in impactful research.

3. Our transdisciplinary hubs transcend the boundaries of traditional academic fields of study.

4. We have state-of-the-art facilities and we drive digital leadership.

5. Our global community of alumni are leaders in their fields and positively impact their communities.

Click here to watch our brand video and find out what our brand essence and positioning line “Make today matter” means.