CQU rebrand recognised

CQUniversity and creative agency Brother & Co have been awarded Best Agency Partnership at the HE Fest 2025 Awards, recognising their collaborative work on the university’s brand refresh and student recruitment campaign.

The award celebrates a partnership that redefined the traditional client-agency model, delivering a bold new brand identity and creative platform that has already driven measurable impact across student recruitment, engagement and accessibility.

HE Fest is Australasia’s premier conference for higher education marketing, recruitment, advancement and strategy. Hosted by Deakin University and developed by Future Campus, the 2025 event brought together university leaders, marketers and creatives from across Australia and New Zealand to share best practice, explore new ideas, and celebrate outstanding work through the HE Fest Awards.

The winning project included a refreshed visual identity, positioning, updated tagline Be. With CQU, and a national campaign featuring real students and alumni. It was developed through a deeply integrated working model between CQUniversity’s in-house brand team and Brother & Co.

Piet Human, Executive Creative Director and Co-owner of Brother & Co, said the award reflects the strength of the relationship between the two teams.

“It’s great to be able to share the success with CQU. They’ve taken the time to invest in us, and that trust and partnership has helped us develop a greater understanding of their business, and the role we can play to ensure the CQU brand is distinct, relevant and engaging to modern audiences.”

Kylie Devine, Acting Director, Global Brand and Marketing at CQUniversity, co-presented the winning entry with Human at HE Fest 2025.

“This award is a testament to what’s possible when you move beyond transactional relationships and build something truly collaborative. Our teams worked side-by-side to deliver a brand that reflects who we are, what we stand for, and how we support our students. It’s a proud moment for everyone involved.”

The project, launched in January 2025, was delivered within a 12-month operational budget and included over 140 campaign assets and nearly 1000 refreshed creative assets. It has already helped CQUniversity exceed its Term 1 2025 student recruitment target and deliver on accessibility compliance.

Key contributors to the project included:

• CQUniversity Brand & Campaign Team: Kylie Devine, Tshinta Harbort, Sophie Baker, Lisa Tuppack, Claire Zittel, Di Zhang
• Brother & Co: Piet Human, Jacob Lancaster, Kurt Viertel, Melanie Rogers, Nicole Bartlett, Will Carlisle

Watch the HE Fest submission video here.