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Until now, unions in Australia have had tremendously conservative names—universally following an “industry category + union” formula.

But on March 1st 2011, one of the biggest and oldest unions, the LHMU (sometimes known as the Liquor Hospitality and Miscellaneous Union) became United Voice.

The old name was holding the union back. The new name better reflects the diverse membership of the LHMU and goes to the essence of why people join and are active in unions.  And in adopting a new name for its second century, United Voice will also more clearly align its political efforts with the interests of all hard-working Australians, many of whom may not be traditional members of the unions.

Make Believe worked closely with United Voice on the name change. The union wanted a comprehensive process that reflected the seriousness of changing the organisations’ name, but didn’t want an elaborate multi-million dollar re-branding the likes of which a corporate might go through.

We helped craft a process, conducted stakeholder interviews, developed a criteria against which new name ideas could be judged, and worked up a range of options. United Voice was ultimately chosen based on the clear feedback of LHMU members. Make Believe has also collaborated closely with United Voice’s own team on the changeover practicalities and a launch video re-introducing the union to the world—as anything but miscellaneous!