Australian Computer Society reveals makeover plans

The Australian Computer Society's chief Bruce Lakin has revealed the industry body will launch a major overhaul of its image next month.

Addressing the society's annual conference in Canberra, Lakin said that ACS commanded 18.000 members - a bit less than five percent of the ICT workforce in Australia.

ACS had consulted with five advertising agencies about promoting professionalism in IT but was rebuffed over its dated image.

“They came back to us with a consistent message,” he said. “You (ACS) have a great opportunity and a great story to tell. But nobody’s listening. You have to look a little more 21st Century.”

Lakin said the society's budget wasn't "mega" but it was "smart.”

He told iTnews It would be three-phase exercise that included a much-needed rebrand.

“We’ll announce that in late April when there will be a new logo, new web page, new business cards. That will try to create a new imprint of being a bit more 'today', he said

He said the current logo represented a flow-charting template with "ACS" against a cathode ray tube outline.

“ A young non-ACS member will probably not even know what a cathode ray tube is. That’s just a small example of why we need to be more relevant to the market today," Lakin said.

The second phase would be an education campaign to promote the value of IT professionalism, to be supported by a national advertising campaign through May and June.

Lakin expected the campaign to continue ACS’ growth in membership. While the Canberra branch was going well, other branch memberships had flatter results. 

“We’d like to see [the numbers] kick up and to see some of the slower branches like South Australia have improved [membership] take up,” he said.