Problem Solved: The American University in Dubai’s Recruitment Campaign
The American University in Dubai and Lebanese agency, The Creative 9, worked together to create illustrations for the ‘Aud Faces Campaign’, an effort to recruit gen z students and encourage them to pursue higher education and achieve their goals.
Launched in April 2022, the illustrations feature thought leaders, such as H.H. Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, Greta Thunberg and Oprah Winfrey, as well as global superstars, like Elvis Presley. The goal was for the posters to be instantly recognisable as well as to establish the university’s presence across Instagram and Facebook.
The Creative 9 team tells LBB more about the process of creating the campaign.
What You Made
As part of the American University in Dubai’s (AUD) new student recruitment campaign, The Creative 9 worked on a series of visuals featuring illustrations of thought leaders, global superstars, and successful celebrities who have made waves throughout the world and left a positive impact. The campaign encourages students to get on the right path and apply to AUD. The visuals were published on Instagram and Facebook throughout April 2022. The campaign targeted potential students and their parents, from the UAE and beyond. We focused on two main objectives, conversions and engagement.
The Problem
Universities today give students an education that leaves them unprepared for the real world. Our client, AUD, wanted to highlight that they provide students with a lifetime experience that shapes their future and provides them with the tools they need to become leaders in their chosen fields.
The underlying issue was that most universities focus on call-to-action statements and their services and teaching techniques. When coming up with our concept, we wanted to be student-centric, think big, and put ourselves in the students' shoes. In a time when everyone wants to leave their mark on the world, we decided to take on an inspirational approach that addresses their dreams and goals.
Ideation
The first stage was to think of the various messages we wanted to convey to our target audience, and consider how their exposure to this campaign would directly affect their decision to enrol in this university.
We chose strong individuals to communicate this campaign because our goal was to inspire students and have a positive impact on them. To avoid ad fatigue, we used still images rather than a video campaign, recognising that this choice offered the campaign a unique personality which endures in the minds of viewers.
Given the amount of competition we faced in the market, and the fact that every university was striving to achieve the same goal, it was challenging for us to differentiate ourselves from the competition. However, the simplicity of the idea made it relatable and easy to grasp, setting our campaign apart.
Breaking down the problem required multiple brainstorming sessions with the team. When we think of those who’ve made a difference, we think of leaders, global superstars and successful people who have made waves throughout the world and left a positive impact. We were inspired by the works of people from different interests and backgrounds, starting with the youngest - Greta Thunberg - and moving to one of the most impactful, H.H. Sheikh Zayed.
We knew we wanted to honour these figures and put them at the forefront of our campaign because, after all, they were role models – and we wanted school graduates who saw this campaign to know that they too could be role models someday – if they’re given the right tools and resources.
Prototype & Design
The most challenging part of the design process was making our heroes immediately recognizable without ever showing their faces, all while using only simple line drawing. The copy was inspired by the actions and accomplishments of the featured heroes.
Since so many heroes had a significant impact on society, the main topic of discussion during this campaign process was who should be included in the images. However, the tricky aspect was selecting ideal figures who were not divisive, and who everyone could identify with. In terms of messaging, we sought to deliver a message that combined the characters’ influence on society with the guidance we wanted to deliver to the youth.
Live
The campaign took on several different forms. The text and the design evolved significantly along the way. Part of the process involved playing devil's advocate when it came to criticising our own work, in order to avoid flaws. For example, some of the hero figures we included were eliminated as a result of their lack of relevance to our target audience. As this campaign was to be promoted in the GCC, some other characters were also removed because they were deemed to be too controversial within that market.
Since our campaign heroes didn’t have an actual face, there was some back and forth when it came to ensuring we really nailed each hero’s character. We had to create multiple drafts and test the visuals with the team to see if the character really showed, even without the face. Here, we learned how to leverage simple design to deliver a powerful message.
For the entire team, working on this project was a lot of fun since, as generation zers, we all found ourselves wondering what would motivate us to enrol in an institution of this type, while also considering how we wanted to express it to our audience. The question, ‘What kind of campaign or ad will pop up in front of me now will make me enrol in this university?’ was one that we asked ourselves as we were brainstorming.
The campaign was a huge success, with 2.5 million impressions and 20,000 link clicks. As a direct result of our campaign, AUD received over 2,000 online registrations - clearly positioning itself as the university of choice for students who want a bright future.
