Brand Awareness Campaign for a Top Public University
Known as the birthplace of public higher education in America, the University of Georgia (UGA) had become known for its athletic prowess and instead sought to elevate its academic profile.
Challenge
Nationwide, UGA had been known as a premier athletic institution, but research showed that UGA could benefit from increased awareness around innovative academic programs, highly recognized faculty and student scholarship. As the land-grant institution for the state of Georgia, UGA is a key driver of higher education and economic development, is recognized year over year for student successes like Rhodes Scholarships, and for bringing research to the commercial market. A recent survey showed that UGA could benefit from increased awareness of the academic and research accolades.
Frankel worked with UGA to launch a nationwide effort to elevate their awareness and perception. Then, we built a strategic, cost-effective, and ultimately successful campaign that has adapted over time using campaign insights to deliver key messaging to the target audience.
Approach
Effective campaigns hinge on insights gathered through research. Primarily, they need to answer these three questions:
- What are the compelling stories that set the university apart?
- What messages will resonate with your target audiences?
- What are the best channels to utilize to reach the audience?
To answer these questions, we conducted primary qualitative research, which was key in developing and running an effective campaign. This included a targeted digital campaign, augmented with direct mail, purchasing space in key print publications, and strategically placing outdoor ads to capture audience attention.
To further cut through the clutter, we created a robust assortment of messages that conveyed UGA’s research and academic prowess to a wide range of relevant audiences. Our team wrote and designed over 420 unique pieces of creative across the entire campaign.
Results
