If You Hear Creative Calling...
20 Pieces of Advice Behind Some of Edu's Best Performing Marketing Campaigns
Over the past 10 years, I’ve been lucky enough to be a part of some of the most exciting creative work taking place in higher ed.
Whether it was concepting and executing SNHU’s heralded cross-country bus tour campaigns, or producing National University’s Emmy-award winning #My30 Campaign, I’ve prided myself on leading teams to develop beautiful brand creative that drives results.
Along the way, I developed a list of top tenets designed to guide creative teams as they concepted, developed, and produced fully integrated marketing campaigns for colleges and universities. As my career grew and I changed roles, I took these tenets with me, sharing them with each team as I went.
I called them “Creative Executional Considerations” and I would share them with each new team I inherited, when I arrived.
Now, for the first time, I’m sharing them publicly below.
CREATIVE EXECUTIONAL CONSIDERATIONS FOR HIGHER ED
Overarching
Our first competition is noise.
Focus on the positive, avoid the negative.
Emotion drives engagement, practicality converts.
Sell what the outcome feels like.
When we communicate to a broad audience, we communicate our broad offerings.
Tone and manner must be established and consistent.
Don’t position on ground we can’t hold.
Campus conveys credibility.
Probability is the primary barrier.
Leave room for testing.
Messaging-Specific
Don’t sell the industry, sell the institution.
If what we do isn’t different, how we communicate it has to be.
Don’t communicate cost, imply value.
No taglines, no slogans.
Messaging strategy has to be flexible, adapt by audience, and evolve throughout the decision making process.
Art Direction-Specific
Science drives design.
No bright/white stock.
Authenticity leads to relatability. Relatability builds trust.
Art direction must be both flexible and consistent.
Make room for value-prop led subheads.
Final Takeaway
Now it’s important to note that all good rules were made to be broken, so it’s rare you will find a campaign from my past that checks each of the 20 boxes above. That said, these are the bedrock of my best work and remain a cornerstone for creative development.
If you are venturing out into the brave dark waters of developing a new brand campaign, I hope these tenets serve you well.
If you’re looking for some company, Kanahoma is here to help.
Editor’s Note
This is the fourth installment of the Kanahoma newsletter. If you like what you read, please feel free to like, comment, or share.
Have a tenet of your own? I’d love to know!
Thanks,
Seth