Brand Relevance
It is important that we adjust our core brand narrative to align to the interests and needs of specific audiences. By adapting the way in which we speak about ourselves, we are able to show how we are relevant to them, whilst also maintaining brand authenticity and consistency.
In this section we share the brand narratives and key messages for speaking with specific audience groups. We also share the insights from our research that explains what resonates most with each audience group.
Insight: what resonates with this audience? Prospective students
Prospective students like to hear about our commitment to teaching excellence and to the student experience.
They respond well to hearing about how we embrace different cultures, backgrounds and experiences in our community.
Positioning statement
Between the mountains and the sea of North Wales, you’ll find a close and compassionate community drawn together from around the world. Whether they stay local or explore the world, one thing remains constant amongst our graduates: the knowledge that they always belong at Bangor University. To join us is to belong.
Our excellent teaching is rooted in the real world and will challenge your thinking. You’ll be taught by passionate leaders in their field who are also deeply committed to your learning. You won’t just leave with a qualification. You’ll gain the perspective, wisdom and courage to make powerful decisions and have an impact on the world. And while you do so, you’ll have the opportunity to enjoy more societies and sports clubs than you can imagine, all of them completely free to join.
Priority key messages
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No matter where in the world you are from and where you choose to go next, Bangor University is a place where you will always belong. Togetherness. A compassionate community. |
Many people choose to stay here for a long time, and those that leave speak of Bangor with a sense of longing, belonging and nostalgia. Our alumni speak of their university as “home”. |
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We pride ourselves on the excellence of our teaching, which puts us amongst the finest universities in the UK for the teaching experience that you’ll receive. With many work experience and placement opportunities, your degree will get you on the path to the career of your choice.
Inspiring teaching. |
Many of our programmes offer placement opportunities to gain work experience, including placement years. Bangor Employability Award. Amongst the top 25 UK universities for job prospects (WhatUni 2020). In the 2022 National Student Survey 83% of students were satisfied with the teaching they received. |
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Any student is able to benefit from our exceptional range of We strive to remove the barriers that get in the way of any student from being their true selves. Students from all walks of life will find a community to make An opportunity to be part of a naturally bilingual community. |
All of our sports clubs and societies are completely free. The Bangor Fund supports students who need additional financial aid. Paid internship opportunities. Employ Autism Higher Education Network. International Experience Programme. 2nd in the UK for Societies and Sports (WhatUni? Student Choice Awards, 2020). |
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Sustainability here is so much more than an environmental Sustainability is a mindset that drives us to bring protection and prosperity to the planet, our cultural heritage, and the people and communities that live here. That’s why we are one of the leading universities in the world for sustainability. The natural world around us inspires many in our community to strive for sustainability in all its forms. |
We are 15th in the world for sustainability (UI GreenMetric, World University Rankings, 2021). Awarded a 1st Class University in the People & Planet University League, 2021. Our research is making significant contributions to protecting the planet, but our commitment to sustainability goes much further, including working on issues relating to equality, inclusion, healthcare, cultural heritage, and more. |
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UK Students are drawn by our location and our heritage. All of our students speak English, but many speak more than one language. We strive for the highest levels of commitment to equality in all forms.
The experience of studying at a bilingual university is valuable preparation for working in a multilingual and multicultural world |
Our overseas community includes almost 2,000 students from over 120 countries. Bangor University has held an Athena Swan Bronze award since 2011 (renewed in 2014 and 2018) showing our commitment to gender equality in higher education, and we are next applying for a Silver award. We are members of Advance HE’s Race Equality Charter. Our median Gender Pay Gap continues to reduce, from 7.2% in 2020 to 5.7% in 2021 (published in March 2022). The Bangor LGBTQ Network - set up to offer the opportunity for colleagues from all areas of the University to inform and collaborate on LGBTQ action and to increase the visibility of LGBTQ issues in the workplace. Dr Thandi Gilder has recently been appointed to a new role of Learning and Teaching Development Leader (Diversity and Inclusion) in CELT (the Centre for the Enhancement of Learning and Teaching). This role, funded by the Welsh Government, will address inclusive practice in teaching and assessment across the University and support our Race Equality Action Plan. |
Insight: what resonates with this audience? Our Current staff, students and alumni
Students and alumni respond very well to the ideas of belonging and togetherness, and to the concept of the Welsh heart. Messages about our community and how this reaches beyond academic studies and into other areas of life also resonate strongly with these groups. There is inevitably also overlap with the messages that resonate with our prospective students.
Messages about our collaborative ethos resonate with our staff community. They like to see the evidence of our excellence, particularly when we focus on areas that are less often in the spotlight. They respond well to messages that demonstrate the positive impact of our Welsh nature.
Positioning statement
You are an important part of our purpose. Our “why”, which is driven by our Welsh heart and our international community.
Our spirit of courage, community and belonging is rooted in the real world. This is evidenced in the way in which we come together to solve real-world problems, and how we create excellence and relevance through our teaching.
When we collaborate - bringing together our students, our staff, our alumni and many others - we all win. And we create prosperity for our communities and our planet. Those who study and work here speak of the power of collaboration, and the commitment that the global Bangor University community has to using that collaboration to improve the world for everybody.
Even after you leave our University, you will always belong here and receive the warm welcome that you’ve come to know from our Welsh heart.
Priority key messages
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Our Development and Alumni Relations team are here to serve our past and present students, and 90,000 graduates of Bangor University wherever they are in the world. Wherever you choose to go, our Welsh heart will always go with you. You belong. |
Dedicated Alumni Relations team. Many staff who join Bangor University fall in love with the community and the location. Many students choose to remain in the community. People who leave experience “hiraeth”, a sense of longing for Bangor and a desire to return. |
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You are the reason that we are able to create such a positive impact on the world. Together, we are all playing a role in creating a more sustainable and equitable world.
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Commitment to sustainability. We are 15th in the world for sustainability (UI GreenMetric, World University Rankings, 2021). We are uniquely situated between the mountains of North Wales and the sea |
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Togetherness. Community. Collaboration. We work together, we support one another, and we cross boundaries and disciplines in service of a goal that’s bigger than our individual selves. |
Our work to remove inequality in healthcare to marginalised communities bridges medical science, languages and the humanities. Our work to support the sustainability of the seas and the oceans bridges the natural sciences, engineering, business and law. Our work to develop novel testing techniques to discover the presence of the Covid virus in wastewater blends the natural sciences, medical science and politics, also showing our agility in applying research with haste to a pressing need or crisis. |
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Purpose-led research.
Impact-led research.
Rooted in the real world.
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85% of our research is world-leading or internationally excellent (REF 2021). Students experience their tutors as being accessible and highly committed to their studies. Almost all of our research academics are also teachers, ensuring you will benefit directly from the knowledge created by our research. |
Insight:what resonates with this audience? Local and national business and industry
This group responds well to messages about how we have helped business, directly or indirectly. Local businesses value having an international university close by, one that has global reach but with an understanding of what is important in Bangor and the surrounding area.
The national business audience responds well to hearing about Bangor’s excellence in different specialisms. Messages about collaboration and innovation resonate well with this group, as they like to visualise the benefits of working with us and the ease with which they can achieve this.
Positioning statement
At Bangor University we are committed to ensuring a prosperous and sustainable future for all. Partnerships with businesses are an important way in which we make a difference to our local community and the wider United Kingdom.
We work with businesses to design our teaching programmes, shaping graduates and placement students that help your business to flourish. Our doors are open to all kinds of partnerships to benefit your business, from providing facilities and consultancy, to creating bespoke research projects with you, or creating innovations and novel techniques that you can use.
Our work is underpinned by research that is world-leading. And we take particular pride in getting to know your business, and finding the best way to support you.
Priority key messages
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We work hard to understand the problems and challenges that you face so that we can help you to overcome them. We thrive on being presented with challenges and working with you in order to solve them. |
Dedicated Collaboration Hub, with access to funding to support knowledge exchange activities. Our research is highly ranked for the impact it has on the world, including businesses. For example, our research in Earth Systems and Environmental Science is ranked 1st in the UK for research impact (REF 2021) |
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We bring the heart to business partnerships, creating impact for your business by seeking to fully understand you.
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Our team of innovation specialists in the Collaboration Hub are there to understand business challenges and navigate solutions. Funding opportunities for business support. |
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| Finding the right solution for your business doesn’t have to be hard. Our team of innovation specialists are there to help you navigate the many opportunities available. |
Our team of innovation specialists in the Collaboration Hub are there to understand business challenges and navigate solutions. Funding opportunities for business support. Business leaders cite how easy it has been to work with Bangor University. |
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Our research and expertise might be world-leading, but we ensure that it benefits the communities closest to us. We bring world-leading innovations to the communities and businesses of North Wales. |
Research and expertise that connects to local industries and communities, including mining communities and fishing industries, amongst others. We apply world-leading research to a local context, for example:
Our Menai Science Park (M-SParc) brings academia, business, industry and enterprise together in collaboration for local and global benefit. |
Insight: what resonates with this audience? Research audiences (partners, funders and policy makers)
Messages about our research excellence resonate well with this group. They are most interested in evidence of our innovation and impact, especially through cross-disciplinary projects.
Policymakers and influencers respond well to hearing about the impact of our work and our presence in different communities. Messages about our Welsh's heart and how we demonstrate this in real-world situations will also resonate with this group
Positioning statement
Bangor University brings the courage and compassion of a Welsh heart to a mission to create a better world. Starting in our location between the mountains and the sea of North Wales, our research extends globally, creating impact on businesses, industries and policy decisions in Wales, across the UK and around the world.
Our research is underpinned by a culture of courage and collaboration. Our staff bring a spirit of togetherness to their work, transcending disciplines and departments.
Our facilities and geography provide space and freedom of thought. We are far enough away from major cities to be free of distraction, but close enough for connection.
Our research is also truly international. We have the boldness to specialise, and that in turn means that our research is often even better known on a global stage than it is locally.
Priority key messages
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Our research brings together the skills, expertise and facilities of multiple disciplines and departments.
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Our work to remove inequality in healthcare to marginalised communities bridges medical science, languages and the humanities. Our work to support the sustainability of the seas and the oceans bridges the natural sciences, engineering, business and law. Our work to develop novel testing techniques to discover the presence of the Covid virus in wastewater blends the natural sciences, medical science and politics, also showing our agility in applying research with haste to a pressing need or crisis. |
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We look at real and emerging problems that the world is facing, and we focus our research there.
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85% of our research is ranked in the Research Excellence Framework as world-leading or internationally excellent. (REF 2021). |
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| Here, our academics support one another, working across disciplines and academic fields to collaborate and find solutions together |
Emphasis on funding inter-disciplinary research. Research themes focused on problems,
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Insight: what resonates with this audience? Local and regional community
The community audience likes to hear about how our work has a real impact on the city and the region. They are proud of having a university that projects Bangor into the wider world, as long as the regional and local benefits of that presence are also demonstrated.
Positioning statement
Bangor University is an international community with a Welsh heart.
Our University was funded by the slate mining and farming communities of North Wales in 1884, and we remain committed to being of the community and for the community.
We offer more programmes in Welsh than any other university, and play a leading role in protecting and nurturing the culture and heritage of North Wales. Through our teaching and research - which is deeply rooted in the real world - and our support for local and regional businesses, we provide the skills, knowledge and services that help protect the economy, the environment and the prosperity of North Wales.
We also serve as a beacon of our community, showcasing the brilliance of our region to the rest of the world. We attract students and staff from around the globe as well as from right here in our region. Our research tackles problems that affect the UK and the whole of the world, but especially the industries that serve North Wales.
Priority key messages
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We bring opportunities and growth to North Wales through the creation of jobs and by attracting the funds to drive exciting developments in the region. We support economic growth in North Wales by providing teaching, training, research and business collaborations that are rooted in the real needs of our local industries. While our research might be world-leading, we constantly strive to ensure that it brings significant benefits to our own community |
We will open the first medical school in North Wales in 2024, bringing world-class medical research and healthcare to the people of North Wales. We are researching how climate change will impact the local industries of North Wales, and ensuring that our research benefits those businesses. We are working with the Welsh government to improve broadband throughout Wales.
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Your ancestors funded our foundation, bringing higher education to North Wales so that we could ensure a thriving future for centuries to come. We wouldn’t exist without the courage and vision of the quarry and farm workers who created our university so that their community could flourish. Many facilities have their doors held wide open to our local community and exist for you to use and enjoy. |
Bangor University was funded by workers in the local community who wanted to bring higher education to North Wales.
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We have a Welsh heart. We might be an international community, but we are powered by the pride, compassion and courage of a Welsh heart. We believe that the language, landscapes, and cultural heritage of North Wales bring a beauty that must be protected, celebrated and nourished. |
We offer more programmes in Welsh than any other university.
Over 2/3rds of our staff have Welsh language skills and we encourage them to use their skills within the workplace. |
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| Our research brings about changes around the world, including right here in our own communities. |
Our research into the impact of language in healthcare is designed to improve the lives and medical care of Welsh-speaking communities.
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| We bring economic prosperity to the region by creating jobs, new skills and innovations. |
We will open the first medical school in North Wales in 2024, bringing world-class medical research and healthcare to the people of North Wales.
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