Recruitment campaign for a leading Top 10 UK university

Brand

Lancaster University is a global university with an international reputation for combining world-leading research with academic teaching. The University regularly ranks in the Top 15 UK league tables and has been named the best university in the North West by The Sunday Times and The Guardian.

The University appointed us to look at their 2023 undergraduate and postgraduate campaigns to attract high-quality prospects and encourage them to pick Lancaster as their first choice.

Industry

Education

Location

Deliverables

Brand Strategy
Campaign

Approach

Lancaster wanted to keep things simple. A lot of competitors use cliché headlines about ‘belonging’ or use themes about ‘future’. With high rankings in league tables, a fantastic campus and incredible facilities, Lancaster wanted to let the detail do the talking.

We created a campaign named ‘Focus’ to focus in on what’s uniquely Lancaster. From the historic city full of arts and culture to the world-class research facilities, Lancaster has a lot to offer.

The University shield is used to frame a subject and focus on what makes Lancaster unique.

Photography

Imagery was central to the campaign. Providing art direction and working with photographers, we captured all aspects of the University to feature people, places and facilities.

Brand

Our campaign was rolled out to the undergraduate prospectus with 50,000 copies distributed at open days, recruitment fairs and internationally for online enquiries. It has also been adopted for the postgraduate prospectus.

We also developed a style guide for other departments to follow to create consistency in communications, with references to photography, graphical elements, colour references and tone of voice.

Outcomes

“There was a great connection with EXP from the start. Their pitch hit just right and we were excited to work together to bring their vision to life. As the project developed, we’ve been really impressed by their creativity, attention to detail and project management. We can’t wait to launch the first prospectus in this series, it feels like a positive step forward in our marketing.”

Rachel Knowles
Head of Campaigns/Deputy Head of Marketing