York St John University has always been proud to do things a little bit differently. To them, it's never just been about education. This is a place with 180 years of radical thinking under its belt – firmly rooted in the historic city of York. Here, the student experience is an all-encompassing one.
A refreshed university strategy, a historic student city – and license to go bold. After years of positioning themselves as ‘The One’, York Saint John were on the hunt for a flexible new creative concept to stand out in market. The campaign would have to work across multiple phases within the student recruitment cycle, and create clear cut through to different audiences. This was an opportunity to outthink, not outspend.
YSJ is a community of individuals. Entirely unique in their own journey and experience – but all brought together by this historic university. The campaign platform ‘Made by You & Us’ was created to celebrate this dynamic relationship. No one without the other. A connection that’s constantly in motion, evolving, never standing still. We used organic circles to house imagery that morphed together, showcasing the power of students and their university combined. A direct, personable approach that invites prospective students to be part of it, with messaging that dials up YSJ’s reputation for student support and community.
For the rollout of the campaign, we took into account how styling and colour can be used alongside the campaign's iconic bubbles, functioning across different social applications and adverts.
Creating awareness through ads on different social platforms, we were able to highlight the amazing community at York St John University. Leveraging peer-to-peer formats on social media, such as Instagram stories and YouTube, we helped build a community not only with prospective students but with everyone at York St John University.
