We c   reate f   utures How the University of Twente reveals its unique world to prospective students.
Vandejong Amsterdam
005
Client
University of Twente
Assignment
Develop a bachelor’s degree campaign leading to a better image and a substantial rise in the number of applications.
Solution
Return to content. What matters is science and how it’s practised in Twente.
Brand concept
We Create Futures
An unacademic visual language makes science accessible
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de kracht van ik
> bachelor.utwente.nl
WAT IS JOUW ? KRACHT LEES DETZ! E KRAN
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100,000 special newspapers are distributed to secondary school pupils
09-07-2009 16:08:43
Short articles connect scholarship to pupils’ everyday lives
Online
Brochures
Study fair
Posters / adverts
from the world of science to the world of young people in twente
Activities
Information day
Radio
Newspaper
Campaign plan
Online poll
Posters
Banners
Schools
Business Administration
Poster / Advert Buses
Website
Free postcards
Meet-and-greets Business and IT
Business cards Banners
Banners Online test Advanced Technology Poster Mix ‘n match booklet
Poster
Creative Technology
Booklet
The most striking stand at the Netherlands’ annual study fair
We create futures
To increase the university’s name recognition and improve its reputation, the University of Twente wanted bachelor’s campaigns aimed at secondary school pupils that would work across different faculties and courses. The University of Twente’s image was overly determined by its not-very-metropolitan surroundings and traditionally strong technical character. But this relatively small campus university is also a young institution unhampered by entrenched traditions. The university is charting its own course with a mix of natural and social sciences. Multidisciplinary study and a strong enterprising streak are characteristic of its staff and students. Vandejong advised the university to return to content and use those qualities as a starting point for its
communications – to convey a message about scholarship in general and the way it is practised in Twente in particular. To develop the campaign concept, Vandejong did research and stayed on campus for a few days. There, we discovered a strong camaraderie among students, a relaxed atmosphere, and a scholarly but also practical and enterprising mentality. Science in Twente focuses on the future of the world. The concern for social relevance there is striking. People in Twente make a serious effort to work in a truly multidisciplinary way. The campaign concept seemed self-evident: We Create Futures.
Starting with your own strengths Our starting point for the campaign message was the university’s strengths: its future orientation, enterprising spirit, multidisciplinary mindset and concern for social relevance. The university’s active community and world of scholarship are central to the campaign. To emphasise the University of Twente’s special character, we looked among the various study subjects for multidisciplinary combinations of technology and social concerns. This yielded an endless supply of exciting, relevant material for the campaign. The We Create Futures concept has also had a cohesive effect internally. Most faculties took an active part in the central campaign and played a defining
role in it. Instructors and students were expressly involved in its execution. We determined the content of the bachelor’s campaign with help from professors, researchers, communications staff, science journalists and students. This created a strong internal involvement in the campaign.
Connecting science to pupils’ everyday lives We connect science to young people’s everyday lives by linking it to specific examples from their daily lives, social issues and the news. While this style may not look traditionally academic, it is substantively sound and emphasises the everyday relevance of scholarship. In plain language, we ask pupils: What can you contribute to the society of the future? A broad mix of materials and media was used in the campaign: the special newspaper, the Internet, billboards, bus adverts, print adverts, radio commercials and more. The University of Twente has an extensive bachelor’s course website providing information about the university, studying, and the various courses. Background information that deepens the campaign can also be found online. Pupils can read articles about subjects they encounter in the campaign materials on the university website, take part in online activities like the game Who Am I?, and use the final exams application on the Hyves social networking site.
A new campaign theme every year Each year, the campaign concept is expanded with a new theme and new subjects, publicised in a special newspaper distributed to pupils in a print run of 100,000. The 2006/2007 bachelor’s degree campaign, ‘Me in 2012?’, centred around identity (‘me’) and the individual pupil’s future. 2012 is the year when 2006/2007’s incoming students are expected to graduate and begin contributing to society. These future professionals’ choice of studies will have a decisive impact on their later lives. ‘Me in 2012?’ showed pupils that the University of Twente could help them to realise their dreams in a fun, relevant way. ‘I am, therefore I think, therefore I do, therefore I go to the University of Twente’ (2007/2008). This campaign took a stand by inverting Descartes’ famous statement ‘I think, therefore I am.’ Thus, the campaign was outstandingly suited to the kind of pupils the University of Twente was seeking to attract: independent, right-thinking young people who know who they are and what they want and like to convert their thoughts into actions. The University of Twente looks for students who want to come to a dynamic place where multidisciplinary thinking translates into concrete social actions. In other words, ‘I am, therefore I think, therefore I do, therefore I go to the University of Twente.’
‘The power of me’ (2009/2010), the theme of the 2009/2010 bachelor’s newspaper, was inspired by Charles and Ray Eames’ 1977 documentary Powers of Ten. The newspaper took readers on a trip, from the universe down to the tiniest particles of the human body, zooming in at different levels. In this way, pupils became acquainted with the vast breadth of research carried out at the University of Twente.
Marketing the courses In addition to the general bachelor’s campaign, individual courses have plenty of room to promote themselves on the basis of content. We have developed different campaign variants, including ones for Business Administration and Business and IT. ‘I’m for/I’m against’, the Business Administration campaign, features various statements of position. It demonstrates that Business Administration regularly operates in a field of tension between two extremes, in which a solution must be found to satisfy all parties. The campaign materials are printed on both sides, forcing the user to make a choice. ‘The BIT Society’, the campaign for Business and IT, shows today’s pupils that they could be the Bill Gateses of tomorrow. The BIT Society was established to help them get a head start on networking with the right people. Pupils who sign up receive business cards
and a chance to take part in meet-and-greets with contemporary BIT heroes all over the country.
Brochures While the bachelor’s degree campaign always speaks in the first person singular, the informational materials use ‘you’. Each brochure features a student who shows pupils around the student world. The students share their own photographs of the university, studying, sport, and, of course, parties. Pupils are thus addressed directly and given a glimpse inside the university. When they come to an information day, there is a good chance they will meet the student from the brochure, so the tour can continue live.
Better reputation, more applications The University of Twente has been using this new campaign concept successfully since 2006. Application for places on bachelor’s courses rose by 13 percent in the first year, and the number of active accounts rose to 15,000 (a 40 percent increase). In 2009, a study by the research firm Newcom found that the special newspaper had achieved maximum effectiveness with the target group. Pupils rated the newspaper 7.6 out of 10 on average and said they found it appealing, interesting and fun. Seventy percent had a positive first impression of the newspaper and only 4 percent had
a negative one. Strikingly, the newspaper was viewed equally positively by both sexes in both the sciences and humanities. A considerable share of the target group had a more positive view about the University of Twente after reading the paper.
Vandejong & knowledge The Netherlands seeks to stimulate the growth of knowledge and take initiative in finding ways to apply innovations in the business world. Scholarship needs to return to society. For a knowledge institution, this means returning to content and communicating it clearly. To help people understand the often complex activities of a knowledge institution, you have to feel at home in the realm of knowledge and science as well as the everyday world of the audience. Vandejong regularly immerses itself in complex material in order to translate it to a broad target group. We make complex messages accessible and present them to the world in an inspiring way.
Ryan Mc Ginley
hiet kan een bijschrift komen en het kan zel fop meerdere regels
Students promote their courses
Hallo,
ik ben Emma van der Veen, 2e jaars Technische Wiskunde Ik heb lang getwijfeld wat ik wilde studeren, ik wist alleen dat ik wiskunde op de middelbare school een leuk vak vond en ervan hield om puzzeltjes op te lossen. Zo kwam ik erbij om naar de open dag van Technische Wiskunde te gaan. Nadat ik in Enschede was geweest, stond mijn keuze vast: ik ging wiskunde studeren. Veel mensen denken dat wiskunde een suffe studie is, maar niets is minder waar! Het leuke van Technische Wiskunde is, is dat je leert wat je allemaal met wiskunde kan. Er zijn zo veel verschillende vakgebieden waar wiskunde gebruikt wordt! Door al deze mogelijkheden weet ik nog niet precies wat ik later met mijn wiskundekennis wil gaan doen, ik hou me nu gewoon lekker bezig met studeren!
IK BEN ER
Adenosine
WORD ! KER WABEKPA AL JE EN TOEKOMST
NOG NIET UIT
E AAN EEN DUS IK BEN TOJD ENS EEN TI KOP KOFFIE G DA OP LO MEE Kijk op: bachelor.utwente.nl ik ben, dus ik denk, dus ik doe, dus ik studeer
Course-specific campaign based on the same concept
Content-based campaign
Outdoor campaign creates visibility on the streets
Online marketing
About Vandejong
University of Twente
Vandejong is an enterprising, strategic, creative communications agency. We like to work with people who dare to forge new paths and believe in mutual inspiration. Vandejong stands for honest, sincere communication with a distinctive style. Our strategists and creatives work closely together on brands and campaigns. We bring in additional experts when necessary. We therefore contribute in a broad way, from brand concepts and creative strategies to concrete campaigns, materials, and even new services and products.
Strategy, concept and production Vandejong
In collaboration with: Illustrations Fons Schiedon Bachelor’s newspaper copy Monique Punter (Kijk), Heleen Suèr and Marco Krijnsen Bachelor’s brochure copy Renson van Tilborg Game design Baster Sound Bram Meindersma
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