Through the worst of COVID 19, Melbourne gained the unenviable reputation of being the most locked-down city in the world. And while online learning quickly shifted into gear across the State, courses that required hands-on learning were placed on-hold for extended periods – in some cases for over 12 months. For over a hundred thousand Victorians, this meant placing their futures on-hold for an uncertain period. Finally, by early 2022, the State of Victoria had achieved vaccination rates that enabled the large-scale re-establishment of in-person learning. But so many former students had drifted away and were seemingly lost to the sector. We needed to convince a battered, cynical audience that they were worthy of something better and that, with the help of Box Hill Institute (BHI), they could re-connect with their learning journey and achieve their dreams. Our response was to deliver a campaign that positioned BHI as a place to not only re-connect after a prolonged period of isolation, but to be part of a community through which self-expression and a vision for the future were an everyday reality. We also wanted to shift perceptions that a technical education was somehow second best to a university degree. So, we created an ad campaign that would do justice to any University in Australia. Become launched in early February 2022. Total enrolment data is yet to be published, but the campaign contributing to a massive spike in applications and enrolments. Anecdotal reports indicated that, by the end of March BHI was just 11% down on pre-COVID enrolment levels against the sector average of over 19%. But the most remarkable effect? An incredibly powerful sense of pride among the Box Hill team that their institute was finally positioned as it should be.

DPR & Co submitted this case study in the 2022 Globeys: https://vimeo.com/766656005