University of Leeds: Think Beyond
Inviting potential students to 'Think beyond'
The challenge
With the launch of the University’s strategy for growth, came an opportunity to review approaches to student recruitment — to understand what's important to the next generation of students and to attract high calibre candidates to the University of Leeds.
Students heading for university, whether they’re embarking on undergraduate or postgraduate study, have a wide choice of institutions to choose from. Not only in the UK, but internationally. To encourage students to make the University of Leeds their first choice, the University needed a clear and compelling story to tell about life in Leeds and messaging that would resonate with students’ ambitions for their own academic futures. This would need to be supported by a visual scheme that stood out in the market for higher education, one that made a promise to students about their experiences at the University of Leeds, but one that paid due respect to the identity and reputation of a leading Russell Group university.
Our approach
For some time, the University had been inviting students to ‘Think beyond’ when considering their next move into higher education. But the message had not been applied consistently and over time, had lost relevance. We recognised an opportunity to explore what ‘Think beyond’ could mean for the next generation of students and to build a messaging framework that would directly address the needs and priorities of undergraduates and postgraduates.
This provided the core structure for a student recruitment playbook. More than just a set of guidelines, this substantial document provided practical guidance on how to apply the key messages as well as inspiration to help create compelling content. The visual scheme we developed for the playbook itself, and for the campaign materials featured inside, employs key assets from the University’s main brand – but amplified and enhanced in order to create a distinctive and vibrant campaign identity that communicates more effectively with potential students.
