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Changing world, changing university: AUT looks to enhance reputation with new focus on research

‘Tis peak season for academic institutions to try and convince prospective students to sign on the dotted line. Unitec has looked to the city with its new, very urban campaign, The University of Canterbury has looked to the future with Designworks, Lincoln has looked to the land and most of the other academic institutions are active as well. And now AUT University is joining in the fun, with a new brand campaign by Consortium that showcases the work of six researchers who are “helping define the future of our changing world”. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yyFETWRXfew

AUT’s group director of marketing and communications Nick Swallow, who’s up for the marketer of the year title at Thursday’s TVNZ-NZ Marketing Awards, says it’s not solely about recruitment, however. That’s the end goal, of course. But it’s more of a long-term positioning campaign that aims to draw attention to the fact that the country’s fastest growing university is becoming renowned as a hub for research and innovation. 

Reputation is everything for a university and research is often how it is gained. But because AUT only became a university in 2000, it has had to position itself as a more contemporary option, which it has achieved through its ‘The University for the Changing World’ tagline. The university is now fairly well-established, and while the same contemporary approach is being used, Swallow says it’s time to focus on the amazing things happening inside the institution. 

“In 2000, we had 20 PhD students. Now we’ve got more than 500, with a goal of growing that to 750. We’ve also got 2,200 post grad students. But it’s a story that not too many people know about.” 

The TVC, which was created by Miles Murphy and Toybox (and features a cameo from last year’s rookie marketer of the year Max Woodhead, who’s now working at Telecom), is the core of the campaign, but it will be backed up by outdoor and digital activity, with a website that features in-depth videos on each of the researchers featured in the ad. 

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