The Hunter Medical Research Institute (HMRI) has revealed its new brand and strategy, to ‘Take Healthy Further’.
Hunter Medical Research Institute (HMRI) has launched a new brand, a key milestone, on its mission to make the Hunter New England community the healthiest on the planet.
Professor Frances Kay-Lambkin, Institute Director and CEO of HMRI explains the significance of the launch “We’re implementing an exciting, ambitious and bold new business strategy, positioning HMRI to lead change and support the health and wellbeing of our communities. This new brand helps us on this journey as we confidently reconnect with the one million people across Hunter New England.”
HMRI is well known within the local medical and charitable communities, however, market research revealed a huge opportunity to grow brand awareness with more diverse audiences.
“We’re so thankful to our amazing supporters who’ve been with us for 25 years, shaping who we are today. As we aim to expand this support, we conducted research for this project, revealing that there is a significant segment of our community that we have yet to reach. This means they might not know they can participate in our research, partner with us in business, donate to fund local research with global impact or see how our work is relevant to their daily lives. Our new brand and strategy allow us to connect with and involve more people than ever before,” says Kay-Lambkin.
Head of Marketing and Communications, Mike Collins, is buoyed by the opportunities the new brand brings, “HMRI is a brand for people who want to be their most healthy, we want HMRI to be their choice because we turn our world-leading research into simple, practical and helpful advice so they can live their best lives.”
“We are transforming HMRI’s brand strategy from being clinical and complex to becoming approachable, relevant, and demonstrating our dedication to community and collaboration. This transformation is reflected in our new brand identity and position ‘We’re Taking Healthy Further’,” Collins explains.
The new brand has been developed with collaboration in mind and embodies the values of curiosity, human connection, humility and trailblazing impact in partnership with the University of Newcastle, Hunter New England Local Health District and the Hunter New England Community.
Professor Kay-Lambkin believes this is the secret to HMRI’s enduring success, “We’re working in the lab and beyond. We’re thinking long term and we’re always listening and learning from our community to help us shape our research priorities, so we can make sure we’re providing impact where it’s needed most,” says Kay-Lambkin.
Mindful of the responsibility and expectations to use funding wisely “HMRI’s in-house marketing team created the new logo, colours, fonts, images, and messaging to truly represent what HMRI is and can become, for and with our community. This was done within our own marketing budget, as we are mindful of how we spend our precious funding,” explains Professor Kay-Lambkin.