Bangor University

Since 1884, Bangor University has been cultivating its academic contributions, vibrant community and relationship with the stunning natural landscape of North Wales. The university offers an impressive student experience, with more than 150 free clubs and societies as well as 50 specialist research centres for the Arts, Humanities and Sciences.

Offering a unique student experience in an unrivalled location, the university should stand out amongst its competitors. But the university needed to engage and connect with their core target audience – Gen Z. The recruitment team partnered with us to produce creative campaigns that aim to increase awareness of the university, student applications and open day attendance.

Growing up in a diverse, progressive and enlightened world, Gen Z – born between 1997-2012 – are not afraid to express themselves and stand up for what they believe in. Facing a lockdown in their youth and a bleak economic and ecological outlook in their future, Gen Z is keen to maximise experiences and continue the push for positive progression.

Considering this frame of mind, our messaging across the campaigns including Early Engagement, Open Days & Clearing focused on empowering young people, vibrant student life and a welcoming community. It was important that attention-grabbing statements and key messaging took priority, in order to stop the audience in their tracks.

To engage and positively influence the audience, we favoured imagery that focused on the individual and the community that they can build around them. Using the brand assets, we also developed a unique style for each campaign by carefully considering how the colours would evoke unique emotions. For example, we opted for calming colours for Clearing and warm and welcoming tones for Open Days.

When translating the concepts across multiple platforms and campaigns, it goes without saying that a ‘one size fits all’ approach wouldn’t cut it. We got creative, considering the target audience and their frame of mind at each stage of the recruitment cycle, to communicate the right message, at the right time, in the right format. In practice, this meant embracing the storytelling opportunity on YouTube, to focusing on dynamic content and in-app language on TikTok.

Ultimately, we created each asset to make the audience stop, engage, and act. By developing a consistent style for each campaign and placing Bangor’s unique selling points on full display, we gave the audience a newfound awareness and interest in studying at Bangor.