From the Nominator

"After several years of being relatively quiet with institutional-level messaging, Michigan State University (MSU) wanted to reestablish itself in the market with a focus on academic excellence and research impact. The goal of the “Excellence for Impact” campaign was to increase affinity among the Spartan community, attract new prospects to MSU, and help drive esteem among peers and the informed public. 

The primary campaign element was a new TV commercial featuring some of our top reputation-building faculty associated with leading-edge research and highly ranked and recognized academic programs. The TV spot ran on the Big Ten Network during Michigan State athletic games, on Connected TV, and in social media targeting alumni, prospects, employees, students, and the Michigan informed public. These faculty members, along with their students, became our featured talent throughout our integrated campaign, which included print ads, billboards, campus signage, and institutional channels. Videos featuring each faculty member shared their work and the impact it makes on MSU, Michigan, and the world. The videos were promoted in owned, shared, and paid channels. 

In addition to storytelling and brand expression, we created complementary elements that clearly and powerfully showcased MSU points of excellence in print, billboards, digital advertising, and social media. It all added up to driving perceptions of MSU's excellence and reenergizing the Spartans Will of our community. This new commercial was the primary foundational element to help springboard a deeper integrated campaign."

From the Judges

Great metrics, diverse, good use of tech, and nice visuals. Well produced and they provided a good amount of supporting information.