- A new research institute has no record to signal trust, so its brand has to show what it stands for before its results can.
- Two Vantage cases, the Asia Centre for Health Security (ACHS) and NUS ADVANCE-ID, share three jobs: involve the founders, state one position, express it consistently (Exhibit 1).
- ACHS built its position with directors from both founding universities, and ADVANCE-ID built one identity that many partner hospitals can adopt.
- Founding committees can test their own brief with the five questions in Exhibit 2.
What is research institute branding?
Research institute branding is the strategy, positioning, identity and messaging that distinguish a research body from its parent universities, its funders and its peers. The parent university’s brand serves students and the whole campus. A research body answers to a narrower audience of ministries, funders, hospitals and fellow researchers, who decide whether to take part.
A first-time author submitting a paper offers a useful comparison. Reviewers cannot rely on a reputation, so they judge the clarity of the claim and the consistency of the method. A new institution is read the same way.
Exhibit 1: Two Singapore research bodies, side by side
| Asia Centre for Health Security (ACHS) | NUS ADVANCE-ID | |
|---|---|---|
| Starting point | A think tank established in 2024 at NUS with NTU, with no brand system | A clinical research network at NUS, established in 2022 with Wellcome Trust support, with no shared identity |
| Audiences | Governments, healthcare and policy partners, the public | Partner hospitals, funders, regulators, clinicians, the public |
| Brand job | Authority without a history | One face for many partners |
| What Vantage built | Research with directors from NUS and NTU, the position "Asia’s authoritative voice on health security", a shield identity, a tagline and a website | The idea "Nurturing a vibrant research network", a friendly wordmark, a purple palette and a connected-dot system |
| Outcome on the case page | A defined position and a unified visual and narrative system | One coherent identity uniting partner institutions |
Exhibit 1. Source: Vantage case studies for ACHS and ADVANCE-ID. Outcomes are as the case pages state them.
A new institution cannot borrow history, so it earns authority through the clarity of its position and the consistency of its expression.
Involving the founders in the research builds the position
For ACHS, Vantage began with structured brand research and focus groups with directors from both NUS and NTU, so the foundation reflected the multidisciplinary nature of the centre. When two universities found a centre together, the brand has to be one both can stand behind, and the quickest route is to ask them early.
Naming alone seldom differentiates a think tank. A 2021 analysis published by On Think Tanks mapped the names of the 225 US and 153 UK think tanks listed on Wikipedia and found descriptive names the most common, by some distance, in both countries (On Think Tanks, 2021). "Asia Centre for Health Security" is a descriptive name, which leaves the position to do the differentiating.
One position names the gap the institution fills
NUS describes ACHS as a new academic think tank, based at the Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health and working in close partnership with NTU’s S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies, that aims to forestall and reduce the impact of future biological threats in Asia (NUS Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health). The case study records the gap it fills: the global conversation on health security had long been shaped by American and European institutions.
The position follows from that gap. ACHS presents Asia as an active contributor, "Asia’s authoritative voice on health security, grounded in regional insight yet globally relevant". The case page records that the brand created the conditions for partnerships across governments, healthcare and policy sectors. The wider point about precise scope for institutions without a record is set out in Vantage’s guide to public institution branding.
A network needs one identity that many partners can adopt
In November 2022, the NUS Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health described ADVANCE-ID as a network of more than 30 hospitals across Asia, supported by the Wellcome Trust, working to improve the evidence base for prescribing antibiotics to seriously ill patients with infections associated with antimicrobial resistance (NUS Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health, 2022). Vantage’s case study records the network at more than 50 hospitals.
A network is branded for adoption. The identity has to work as readily on a trial site in one country as in a grant proposal or a scientific conference in another. Research networks are often seen as technical and institutional, so Vantage built the identity around warmth and collaboration: a friendly wordmark, a confident purple palette and connected dots that stand for the many hands behind the science.
Exhibit 2: Five questions for a founding committee
| # | Question | What it settles |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Who must be able to stand behind the brand? | Which founding leaders join the research before design starts |
| 2 | What gap does the institution fill that existing bodies do not? | The position |
| 3 | Who decides whether to take part, and what do they need to see? | The audience and the proof it expects |
| 4 | What must partners be able to apply without asking permission? | The identity system and its rules |
| 5 | What stays constant as the institution grows? | The consistency that builds recognition |
Exhibit 2. Vantage framework based on professional judgement.
How this applies in Southeast Asia
Both bodies face the region. ACHS is built for Asia-centred research and policy, and ADVANCE-ID connects hospitals across Asia. Singapore hosts institutions whose partners sit in several jurisdictions, so the brand has to be read the same way across institutions and borders. That is the reason the position and the identity are agreed before any partner produces its own materials.
Related Vantage insights
- Read the principles in public institution branding.
- See when a change of name is warranted in institutional renaming.
- Explore the sector work in healthcare branding.
- Read the full ACHS case study.
- Read the full ADVANCE-ID case study.
About Vantage Branding
Vantage is a Singapore brand consultancy specialising in brand research, strategy, and identity design for ambitious organisations across Southeast Asia, with particular depth in healthcare, finance, government, and cultural-institution branding. Vantage builds brands that work as one system for established organisations, pairing research rigour with senior craft across strategy, identity, experience and activation. PMC-certified, with EDGE grant support for overseas expansion. For a conversation about how we could help your brand, get in touch.