Make Your World Bigger Here
For the University of Oregon
What makes a school worth the cost? Students tell it best.
The University of Oregon wanted to boost enrollment among out-of-state students. In this campaign, students tell their own success stories to show UO is a smart investment.
Research
Uncovering the value
To connect with students and families, we had to understand their needs, concerns and perceptions of UO. What did they value that UO offered — and that wasn’t being communicated to them? We designed a strategic discovery process to uncover insights. Then we led interviews and focus groups and pored over UO marketing materials, survey data, and social media posts. Key selling points emerged: UO’s beautiful campus and location; a sense that UO was “the right fit”; and career-preparation opportunities. We also learned prospective students wanted to hear from current students. The Ducks had a powerful brand, but students weren’t seeing themselves as a part of it.
Concept
A sense of expansion
The research pointed to one big idea: At UO, out-of-state students’ landscape expanded in a few ways. That landscape included the nearby wilderness, ocean and mountains that felt almost otherworldly to students from outside Oregon. It also included students’ personal landscapes, as learning and career opportunities extended their reach. That big idea — expressed as “Make Your World Bigger Here” — served as the framework for the campaign.
Video advertising
Centering students
UO came to us looking to communicate its return on investment for students. But we realized we also had to connect with students and families on an emotional level at a crucial time in their lives. With UO’s support, we brought our concept to life in a student-centered, personal-storytelling approach and a strategic media buy. Together, the videos and the buy worked to reach students and families who’d been admitted by UO but hadn’t accepted their spots. To tell the stories, we chose current out-of-state students with diverse experiences and identities who’d enjoyed exceptional growth and career-preparation opportunities. Each ad featured just one student, creating space for their story to unfold — creating stronger connections with viewers.
Landing page
Connecting the message to the CTA
Our team partnered with UO’s web team to create a campaign landing page connecting storytelling directly to key resources and the campaign CTA. We used the page to layer in data putting student experiences into concrete terms — the ROI offered by the university expressed in numbers. We added quick, clear links to counselors, financial aid information and more, ensuring families had the right information at the right time to help them make their big decision. And we made it easy to follow up on UO’s call to action — simply by clicking “Confirm Your Decision.”
Student mailer
A tangible connection
To reinforce what our audience were seeing on their screens, we created a mailer that supported the messaging but also the sense of growth and possibility we wanted students to feel. In other words, we made it big. As recipients unfolded the mailer, the design, copywriting and photography worked together so that the story — and that sense of expansion — unfolded too.
Financial aid flyer
Showing the ROI
We created this numbers-focused piece for UO to mail along with students’ financial packages, providing families with important information about the university’s value as they crunched their numbers and weighed their options. This piece demonstrates the financial value of the university’s tuition guarantee and highlights other tangible benefits of a UO education, illustrating UO’s strong return on investment.
