THE UNIVERSITY OF MANCHESTER - THE WORLD WORKS BETTER WITH US

Transcription

1 THE UNIVERSITY OF MANCHESTER - THE WORLD WORKS BETTER WITH US

2 The aim of The World Works Better With Us project was to develop a brand campaign and identity for the Engineering and Physical Sciences (E&PS) provision at The University of Manchester, that would engage a broad range of audiences, including potential and current students, staff, civic, the local Manchester community, industry and alumni and communicate why the area of Engineering and Physical Sciences (E&PS) at The University of Manchester is worthy of its global reputation.

3 Brief description of marketing communications objectives The project needed to demystify Engineering and Physical Sciences and make it relevant to all audiences. It also needed to establish what makes The University of Manchester unique and communicate that legacy. More specifically, we needed to: Make E&PS at Manchester exciting, relevant and accessible to potential students and current students at all levels. Ensure that the impact of the work of The University of Manchester is fully communicated to all external audiences in a compelling way, to continue funding and partnership. Clearly communicate some of the achievements of E&PS at The University of Manchester. Position the marketing function within the University s Engineering and Physical Sciences School as the communication experts across this influential community. Overall, we needed to create a brand campaign and identity toolkit that everyone could buy-into and be utilised by all within the School and, ultimately, University-wide, to support the University s 2020 Vision Strategy.

4 Demonstration of how these objectives were developed into a campaign We discovered that a key barrier to audiences engaging with the University was the idea that a fantastic academic reputation did not translate into tangible real world outputs. In fact, the opposite was true. Sciences at The University of Manchester have had a huge impact on how we live our lives for example, the splitting of the atom, the world s first stored-program computer, the isolation of graphene - all happened at the University. We knew what we needed to do then, was communicate these achievements in a compelling way to encourage audience engagement. We spoke with some of the academics and other staff to find out what the best discoveries and firsts of the University were, and developed a brand and creative campaign around The World Works Better With Us. The campaign ran internally at the University as a physical space/ambient campaign and linked to a campaign microsite, and featured objects that had been developed into something that had changed the world for the better. For example, developing airport scanner technology to create better landmine detection, developing carpets with fibres that detect elderly falls in care homes and using toy helicopters to detect nuclear waste. It featured as a physical campaign around the University including a carpet on wall, vinyls on staircases and toy helicopters in window displays and linked through to a microsite where the audience could find out more. The line The World Works Better with Us was rolled out across the University and was bought into by Manchester City Council as a way to promote the University and the city itself.

5 A range of applications were selected: Campus ad campaign: the new identity was applied to the North Campus itself, including external poster sites, lamp-post and bespoke banner fixtures on the main thoroughfares around the North Campus. This is supported with internal applications with posters placed on sites with heavy traffic, window displays and installations, including tangle wall fixtures. This activity signposts to the newly revamped website for Engineering and Physical Sciences at Manchester which supports more detailed story-telling, case studies, research profile and staff profiles etc. This is to be supported with corporate social media activity and a campaign hashtag. The concept is very flexible and was applied to a stand that the University took to the Big Bang UK Young Scientists & Engineers Fair in Birmingham (13-16 March) featuring helicopters and other mobile devices developed by the School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering.

6 Samples of the Creative Output

7

8

9 Detailed description of the Implementation planning We needed to deliver the campaign and identity - agreed by all the key internal stakeholders - by March 1, 2014 to then be rolled into the recruitment cycle, REF- Research communications plan, and the engineering relocation communications plan in April This involved tight project management by Havas People to deliver the creative strategy, artwork execution and print management. We started with a pilot research project in late 2013 by the School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering. Researchers reviewed a selection of communications materials (including those of their competitors) and interviewed key internal stakeholders, (including academics, admission staff and students). This revealed the lack of impact the school was making to key audiences due to confused messaging and representation.

10 Detailed description of the Implementation planning There were a number of recommendations from this initial study, which included: the creation of a multimedia story, to bring the department - and its role in the world to life. This would be for use across all communications channels. We needed to exploit global and social impact research stories; agree consistent message, brand and communications. With this in mind, we then conducted in-depth internal research with the University. Working collaboratively with the University s marketing team, we conducted interviews and fact-finding sessions within the E&PS provision to discover the best stories of success. Our Account Director took principal responsibility for overseeing and ensuring the success of the project; from the research that informed the creative, to the delivery of the all applications detailed below. A weekly project plan was created for both the agency and client to work from, with the agency taking responsibility for driving the campaign delivery. Regular meetings were held via conference call or in person.

11 Key Outcomes of the Campaign Existing students (within the capability of Engineering and Physical Sciences), have agreed that the brand campaign and identity is much more exciting and relevant than any communications created previously. The concept is also being adopted and used for other bespoke recruitment activities. A good example of early adopters of the new branding are colleagues looking to promote the Fashion and Textile-related courses based in the School of Materials. This will be driven by online learning package (SOC or small online course eg mini-mooc) featuring bespoke video material on employability. Design will be based around the new concept. Buy-in has been achieved at every level of the organisation. Any original resistance has been converted to advocacy, with the central team not only supporting the project but by recognising it merits, putting forward their own ideas for applications. Colleagues in the University s Estates team have also come on board with local managers acting as site consultants and proactively seeking places to put the creative work.

12 Key Outcomes of the Campaign A similar reception has come from the academic community who have welcomed the radical approach to story-telling. This has reassured the faculty marketing team that he project has created a sense of ownership and a sense of community identity. This was always going to a difficult challenge, having to find an almost one-size fits-all approach but the flexibility of the creative work has proved itself with adaption across a number of channels. The Marketing and Communications team supporting Engineering and Physical Sciences at Manchester, successfully delivered its brand toolkit (agreed by all the key internal stakeholders) by March 1, 2014 and achieved all project objectives. Collectively, this collateral would potentially be worth millions in brand value - our project aims to act as nexus to all this equity and create a unifying vehicle. Havas People 2015