Amanda Wendt

By Amanda Wendt, vice-chair of the RI Communications Committee and a member of the Rotary Club of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

I recently saw a story on television about a West Papuan woman who received life-changing facial surgery to fix a deformity which had caused her a lifetime of struggling to eat, drink and speak. Members of the Rotary Club of Liverpool West and Bendigo Strathdale flew the woman to Australia for the surgery. I was instinctively moved to share the story immediately with my network, congratulating the team involved and expressing how truly proud I was at that moment to be a Rotarian.

I’m sure many of my fellow Rotary members can relate to this feeling. We’ve all experienced pride when our Rotarian friends locally or abroad have helped change the world. But this instance made me realize that we have something else that communicates that sense of pride and it is valuable to preserve and promote.

Since Rotary’s inception 115 years ago, our Master Brand signature, the Rotary wheel, has generated an untold amount of goodwill from people who have seen it displayed in connection with Rotary projects that have brought clean drinking water to a village, prevented diseases, improved local economies, or otherwise changed communities for the better.

The wheel is the purest, simplest visual representation of all that we have achieved and all that we are yet to accomplish. The opportunity to represent my club and its efforts under the same icon is my way of honoring my fellow Rotarians for their amazing achievements.

How do we preserve and promote the Rotary wheel?

In today’s world, individuals are constantly bombarded by thousands of advertising messages. It’s vital that we have a consistent, high-quality visual representation of our brand to cut through all that noise.

As a Rotary club or district, when you apply our brand correctly and consistently across all channels you ensure:

• your projects are recognized as Rotary at a glance
• you are able to instantly tap into the hard-won goodwill and credibility of an international 115-year-old movement
• you look professional and worthy of the time and resources of supporters

How can your club benefit from the Rotary brand?

We all have an important role to play in being custodians of the Rotary brand. The great news is it’s very easy to ensure your club or district is using the correct logo. Through the Rotary Brand Center, you can create a free, professional and on-brand logo within minutes!

You can then update all of your existing collateral with your new logo. To assist you, here is a checklist of some of the places where you can resolve in the new year to place your new logo:

• Online platforms such as websites and social media
• Email signatures
• Slideshow presentations
• Flyers
• Brochures
• Posters
• Advertising and editorial
• Banners
• Signs
• Merchandise

Digital platforms are always a great place to start and if you need a budget for new banners or merchandise, as an example, make a plan with your club’s leadership to assign a budget for these items as soon as you practically can.

As diverse as we are, collectively, we are all connected. With all of us displaying the same wheel, we can ensure every Rotary project benefits from the achievements of every other. Rotarians not only serving the community but helping other Rotarians serve the community as well! By taking pride in the way we display our brand, we know there are other Rotarians taking pride in what we have delivered, as we look forward to our next 115 years of service.