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Absorb the master playbook

Our creative always starts with a strong strategy, but rarely do we get one like this: 150+ pages of focus group research and insights that told us exactly where our audience’s challenges lay, what they were looking for, and how they wanted to be engaged. Although our group motto is pencils before pixels, in this case it was pencils down and deep listening before we even began to explore ideas.

Build a site that proclaims “Everyone Welcome”

To stay true to Nancy’s vision—that every student can and should have a satisfying, affordable, college experience—and capitalize on the research, we chose a smartly whimsical illustrative style over a more literal, photographic approach. Rule #1: Don’t be boring. Rule #2: But don’t be too out there either. College –paying for it in particular—is serious, and we learned beyond a doubt that every Sophomore, Junior and Senior knows it.

Grab and hold attention with the power of story

Although videos weren’t originally on the table, once we heard Nancy’s eye-opening insights on the enrollment and financial aid processes we knew we had to bring these stories to life—and we had the team in place to do it. Animation was a natural choice, meshing with the lively and inclusive brand identity we’d created to reflect the audience’s needs. See how we kept things moving with tightly paced scripts that downloaded tons of info without feeling heavy.