Better awareness is key to bring a change in perception: Chandan Deka

UPES (University of Petroleum and Energy Studies), which is traditionally known for its education and research in fields of energy & power, recently unveiled its new brand identity which reflects their transformation and vision for the future. 

The University has been expanding its offerings in the sectors like Information Technology, Transportation, Public Policy, Design, Architecture, Business and Legal Studies. 

Founded in 2003, the University provides multidisciplinary and specialised courses in oil & gas, transportation, power, computer science, information technology, international business, logistics and supply chain, infrastructure, Public Policy, Design and Legal Studies. 

The new logo unit of UPES comprises of a stylish red and yellow ‘U’ followed by initials of the university – ‘UPES’. While the red in ‘U’ depicts momentum, the yellow block symbolises a flame of knowledge. The new typeface lends a modern, clean look. While the logo and brand colors have changed to better represent what UPES is today, its value proposition remains the same – Relevant, Authentic, Future-focused, Contemporary and Transparent. 

In conversation with Adgully, Chandan Deka, Director - Marketing, UPES, shares more insights on the brand repositioning, becoming future-ready, and more. Excerpts: 

What was the reason and need for the brand repositioning?

UPES has been expanding and upgrading continuously to deliver on its commitment of providing most relevant and transformative education. In the last 14 years, we have moved on from being just a ‘petroleum’ university to a multi-domain university with more than 80 programmes in engineering, computer science, law, design, public policy, business and management. We have adopted the latest educational technologies to teach our students in the most interactive way. As we move forward, it is important that we reflect the aspirations of the evolving youth and connect with them better, while keeping our DNA and legacy intact. Our earlier brand identity was more suitable for our old avatar, but for the evolved and transformed UPES, we needed a new identity and hence the repositioning. We are confident that the new brand identity will truly complement our vision of developing the right talent who can lead the next wave of national development. 

Did you conduct any research to back the decision of brand repositioning?
Yes, we did conduct a research through a leading brand consultancy firm, but since it is an internal research, I will not be able to share all the details. However, what I can share is that the research indicated more awareness about our energy and petroleum sector programmes, but it was not the same for our other programmes in law, design, engineering, computer science and management. The research told us that our brand identity that got us so far might not be able to help us further as we have diversified and our TA has changed drastically. The organisation clearly needed a shift in its brand communication to appeal to the new age intender evaluating diverse career options. 

How has the vision of the university changed post the brand repositioning?
Our vision is to be an institution of global standing for developing professionally competent talent contributing to national growth. 

What all changes do you plan to incorporate going forward?
Alongside the visual redesign, we have also renamed our constituent colleges as School of Engineering, School of Computer Science, School of Business, School of Law and School of Design. We are also developing platforms that will give us an opportunity to connect better with our existing and potential students, industry leaders, other stakeholders and communities around our campus. 

What is your strategy to change the perception of the students?
More and better awareness is the key to bring a change in perception. We will be using judicious mix of digital channels, print, radio and electronic media, BTL and OOH activities to connect with our TA in Tier 1, 2 and 3 markets. Social media will also play a significant role as our TA is young and social media savvy. The programmes that we offer are unique, our placement track record is excellent, and we have hundreds of success stories of our alumni and existing students waiting to be told. 

What does the road ahead look like?
We are very excited about the repositioning and new brand identity. With the brand repositioning, we want UPES to be known as a multi-domain university that provides most relevant, transformative and student-centric education to develop future-ready professionals.