HMRI Brand Evolution

Hunter Medical Research Institute (HMRI) entered its 25th year with exceptional scientific achievements and more than 1,700 researchers, yet its brand no longer reflected the organisation’s scale, ambition or regional impact.

A full brand evolution was needed to realign HMRI’s identity with its mission to improve health outcomes for the region.

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Creating the Healthiest Million People on the Planet

The Brief

The objective was to develop a contemporary brand strategy and identity that could:

Elevate public understanding of HMRI’s purpose
Strengthen relevance across the Hunter New England community
Improve donor confidence
Support corporate partnerships
Unify staff and researchers under a shared vision

The Insight

Extensive research across staff, researchers, donors, government, partners and the wider community revealed a clear gap:

People who knew HMRI loved it, but most of the Hunter New England community didn’t know what HMRI actually did.

We heard:

HMRI was seen as trusted, expert, and humble…but not always visible, relevant or connected to everyday life, especially among younger and healthier audiences.

If we wanted people to support medical research before illness touched their family, the brand needed to become more accessible, more human, and more regional.

The Strategy

What truly set HMRI apart was its connection to community and its down-to-earth, get-it-done attitude.

We built a brand position anchored in a simple, powerful idea: “We’re taking healthy further.”

It spoke to:

Taking research out of the lab and into real life
Improving the health of the entire region, not just people living with illness
A bold, unashamedly regional vision
HMRI’s role as a bridge between evidence, community and impact

This positioning became the foundation for every piece of brand, fundraising, digital and partnership work that followed.

We evolved the visual identity to reflect who HMRI truly is: curious, grounded, regional, and relentlessly focused on improving health.

Core elements included:

A refreshed logo built from the DNA of the original brand
A warmer, more open colour palette
A design system that feels scientific and human
Photography and language centred on people and community outcomes
Staff-led brand challenge workshops to build ownership internally
Community testing to ensure the brand reflected local values and needs

Mike's Role

Mike’s led several areas essential to delivering this campaign:

Led the overall brand and campaign program from direction to delivery.
Developed the brand and campaign strategy and key messaging.
Managed stakeholder and executive engagement to secure alignment and approvals.
Managed the supporting agency to ensure clarity, pace and quality of outputs.
Oversaw implementation to ensure a consistent and effective rollout across all channels.

x16

ROI on rebrand investment

+21%

Increase in donations

🏆

2025 AMI Award for Excellence