Push. Forward.

With the unprecedented challenge of attracting new students in the midst of a global pandemic, the University of Cincinnati aimed to ramp up their strategy for recruitment. UC’s current mission—Next Lives Here—is a call to action for the impact of their institution: to empower students to impact the world in a positive way. UC students aren’t waiting for next to happen; they are working, solving, and breaking through every day to make next happen right now, for the good of all. Our goal at heavy was to bring that mission to life in a campaign that would energize and challenge potential students to answer that personal call to change the world, beginning today, when the world needs it most.

Our goal at heavy was to bring that mission to life in a campaign that would energize and challenge potential students to answer that personal call to change the world, beginning today, when the world needs it most. Out of the gate UC's PSA had the opportunity to have the broadest reach, so we built our strategy around it, utilizing it as the most versatile definition of what it means to push forward at UC. When developing it, we channelled our inner Bearcat to capture the kinetic energy that only exists at the Queen City's namesake university. That required us to literally push our script, VO, and animator to keep the accelerator floored from start to finish. Knowing that connecting with millennials demands nearly constant contact, we needed to develop a communication strategy that would extend through the whole year. Previously, UC had only released a single PSA per year on average. With COVID-19 impacting their primary content vehicle of fall football, we knew a different approach was necessary.

It's no secret that the admissions cycle is constantly changing. Millennials demand entertaining communication tailored to their interests. We mapped those interests to the three stages of UC's admissions funnel: Lead Generation, Lead Nurture, and Lead Commitment. The “Push. Forward.” campaign was born from the frenetic and purposeful energy of the UC “Next Lives Here” ethos. UC students are fast-moving, never-stopping, always thinking, doing, solving, achieving, without ever looking back. To meet our goal of consistent contact, we created a series of 15 and 30 second spots for potential students to communicate that UC is the place where their unique drive is charged with energy for positive impact. We extended the campaign through a pay-per-click (PPC) campaign to ensure every potential student throughout the year would be exposed to UC. This thoughtful strategy extends our admissions campaign from lead generation through enrollment without increasing the budget. The “Push. Forward.” campaign shows potential students that, even in uncertain times, there is certainty in taking hold and becoming the solution. If you always Push. Forward, you are becoming what’s next, starting right now.

UC Bearcats always push the limits of what’s possible, letting nothing stop them on their way to create a better tomorrow, every day. When you’re a UC Bearcat, you push forward. Push boundaries. Push progress. You’re forward thinking. Forward looking. Forward moving. Never stopping and never settling. You. Push. Forward.

Within the first four months in market, the campaign was showing success as Lead generation applications were up 40% than the previous year. That nearly doubles the top of the funnel for the university which makes for a more distinguished class of 2025. Not bad for any year let alone one with a pandemic.