CLIENT
NTU Singapore
PROJECT
Branding and Campaign Development
The Brief
For the 2024/2025 academic year, NTU Singapore’s Office of Global Education and Mobility (OGEM) tasked us to increase top-of-mind awareness about their programmes, and inspire students to sign up for these study abroad experiences.
A specific focus was placed on promoting GEM Discoverer, its short term overseas immersion programme. The goal was to drive interest, especially for non-traditional destinations in the ASEAN, China and India regions, and encourage students to attend the various info talks to find out more.
Our task was three-fold:
- Develop an overarching brand campaign for NTU GEM programmes
- Adapt the brand concept to programme-specific visuals
- Extend the campaign to drive interest for the GEM Discoverer programme recruitment period, especially to lesser-known destinations
METHODS & DELIVERABLES
Branding
Campaign Development
Conceptualisation & Strategy
Social Media Marketing
Photography
Video Production
The Big Idea
We launched Hidden GEMs to Global Gamechangers, a concept with dual interpretations.
It highlights the untapped opportunities that non-mainstream study abroad destinations like ASEAN, China, and India offer, while prompting students to also see themselves as hidden gems with the potential to shape the future.
OGEM’s programmes are gamechangers that unlock a student’s potential, equipping them with unique, life-changing overseas experiences.
Phase 1: Digital Touchpoints to Offline Activation
Working with OGEM’s small social media following (FB,IG,Telegram), we designed a two-part campaign that prioritised expanding digital reach while driving sign-ups. The campaign ran from 16 February to 3 March, with all activities taking place simultaneously due to the short campaign period.
In Phase 1, key visuals shot with actual NTU students carried the story of discovering “hidden gems” in selected destinations like Hanoi and Yogyakarta. These ran across OOH banners, eDMs, and social media.
Key Visuals & Programme-specific Adaptations
Boosted Ads, Giveaways & Scoops
Strategic location-based ads targeting students within 1km of NTU ensured that our message reached the right audiences.
Online-to-offline initiatives like a campus giveaway and ice cream stands hit the sweet spot, proving extremely popular with students and boosting overall engagement on social media and in person.
The Outcome
Hidden GEMs to Global Gamechangers was one of OGEM’s most successful digital campaigns to date, significantly growing its social media presence and reach.
To top off a good run, the campaign also clinched a Bronze Award for “Excellence in Location-based Marketing” at the Marketing-Interactive Marketing Excellence Awards 2024.
Phase 2: The Follow-Up
With the Phase 1 branding campaign completed, we embarked on Phase 2 – a retail marketing campaign to drive recruitment for the GEM Discoverer summer programmes.
Aptly titled “New to GEM Discoverer?”, the series of four short videos tackles commonly asked questions, such as “What is GEM Discoverer?”, “How to apply?” etc. Designed for longevity, the series will help re-introduce GEM Discoverer in a fun way to each fresh batch of incoming students.
Part 1
Part 3
Part 2
Part 4
