From the Nominator

In 2015, Butler University launched a new brand built around the brand promise, "The Right Outcomes, The Right Way." Within advertising efforts, the brand was expressed primarily through the use of outcomes stats (placement rate, average salary, US News rankings) and executed through a collection of independent pieces without a unifying look or message. In fall 2018, we sought to change this, and developed a theme that would align all of our advertising. Through a partnership with Indianapolis agency MKR, the Unleashed concept was born. Unleashed, in summary, is about impact and how good things happen when there is a Butler person around—on the court, in the classroom, or out in the community. And as a school with a highly visible bulldog mascot, the word "Unleashed" fit us well. A 30-second commercial that debuted in January 2019 became the centerpiece of a comprehensive advertising campaign aimed at raising awareness of Butler among prospective students and their families. Other components of the campaign included: a 60-second extended commercial for admission presentations; local and out-of-home billboards; a YouTube campaign; Indianapolis, March Madness, and Indy 500 TV buys; social pushes; Indianapolis Airport floor wrap; admission lobby sign; campus light pole banners; and "Unleashed" stories of Butler students, faculty, and alumni for our website and Butler Magazine.

From the Judges

This is a very well executed promo video, supported by a well-considered campaign proposition, a clear brief, and defined and measurable outcomes. Well done, Butler! The video certainly meets Butler’s aims of being "authentic, high-energy and engaging." The music choice provided real distinctiveness, and ensured that the video had impact from the very beginning. We loved that the mascot’s initial appearance set the tone for the video as a whole, and embodied the spirit of the "unleashed" campaign. We also thought that the script was pitch-perfect and liked the fact that students were showcased so extensively in the video, but across a range of environments. The social media stats are incredibly impressive, and it’s particularly useful to have those benchmarked from previous years/campaigns. Moreover, the fact that this was produced using in-house expertise and such a small production budget highlights that big budgets are not always necessary if you have a compelling story to tell, and a strong creative idea.