Portfolio
Pearson Institute South Africa
Roles
- Creative Direction
- Print Design
- OOH
- Multi-channel Campaign
Tools
- Illustrator
- Photoshop
- InDesign
Overview
Pearson Institute of Higher Education (PIHE) is a private university in South Africa and an anomaly in a landscape dominated by public universities. To kick start 2019, they wanted to launch a campaign at an opportune time — the moment high school students get their end of year results to gain a place at university. The aim? To leverage this timing to gain awareness, drive leads and increase enrollments for the upcoming year.
Challenge(s)
Public Higher Education has a tradition of being 1st choice for South African students, but only 15% of students earn a place at university. We needed to position PIHE as a better, feasible alternative and increase awareness of the still fairly unknown university. There were also key market insights to consider: high unemployment and concern about future jobs.
Approach
We created a tactical campaign which fully leveraged our insights and spoke overtly to the challenge that our audience was facing in the moment. Using the messaging, 'Keep the ambition. Change how you get there’ we recognized students' predicament, but reassured and suggested a solution — Pearson Institute, leading to the degree and career that they aspired to.
The use of a simple yet aspirational image of a winding road or path suggests a journey. It visually reinforces the campaign's key message, "Change how you get there" by illustrating that there isn't just one linear path to success. This visual metaphor directly counters the feeling of being stuck or having hit a dead end, offering a sense of hope and forward momentum. The phrases "Keep the ambition" and "Change how you get there" are distinct but visually linked, emphasizing the duality of the message—holding on to a dream while adapting the method to achieve it.
We landed our message at the right time and right places - front weighted to the week students get their results, with a mix of targeted media: radio, OOH and print to drive awareness, followed by social and digital to convert.
Result(s)
In a declining economy where most players are decreasing in enrollment numbers, PIHE had a R13.2M total revenue with 189 new students overall (vs 2018), 31 of which enrolled in the Foundation Program that was key in the communication. The website saw a 188% uplift in organic search driven from offline media, and online media delivered +141% leads, with a conversion rate 12% higher when compared to local campaigns benchmarks.
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