From the Nominator

Historically, Loughborough University has been synonymous with sport, its institutional reputation rooted in student experience, despite being a research-intensive, global institution. Our messaging has been conservative, and our achievements muted by modesty. Despite being a top 10 U.K. university, our name lacked resonance, particularly with international audiences. We couldn’t wait to switch things up. Our challenge was to build brand awareness in global markets and recognition of our research and innovation excellence. The proposition was to engage target audiences with our impact in priority areas (climate change and net zero, sport, health and wellbeing, and vibrant and inclusive communities) through powerful storytelling that evokes our values (authentic, adventurous, responsible, creative, and collaborative). The audience was academic (prospective postgraduates and wider academic communities), employer (business leaders and C-suites), and policy (government employees and staff and non-governmental organizations) in nine key global regions: the U.K. and Ireland, North America, China, South Asia, Southeast Asia, the Middle East, Africa, Australasia, and Europe. The strategic goals were to build brand awareness among academic and employer audiences in key global markets and the U.K. within 12 months using targeted content and paid media, develop awareness of our research and innovation excellence under our strategic core themes within 12 months, and to have impact. The World Can’t Wait campaign was successfully rolled out in nine key regions, with strong engagement in priority one markets (U.S., China, India, Nigeria, and the U.K.). By enhancing our supercharged brand identity and focusing on priority issues, the campaign visibly resonated with key audiences.

From the Judges

This global campaign is a bold, well-executed effort that effectively evolves the institution’s core identity with engaging visuals and strong strategic planning. Detailed key performance indicators, budget transparency, and clear return on investment demonstrate its impact. It’s a standout international campaign that balances creativity with solid measurement and phased optimization.