From the Nominator

Find Your Path at Waterloo is a recruitment initiative designed to help prospective undergraduate students discover academic programs and envision their place at the University of Waterloo. Rooted in the goal of reframing recruitment as guided discovery, the campaign sought to make program exploration more intuitive, to reduce cognitive load, and to support confident decision-making across diverse audiences. The initiative responded to research showing that students require clearer pathways, more personalized guidance, and seamless transitions between print and digital information. To address this, the campaign combined redesigned print viewbooks with a personalized digital program selector that translates student interests into tailored program recommendations. Print introduced themes, pathways, and student stories, while digital extended the experience into an interactive journey. Each channel was embedded across in-person touchpoints—liaison presentations, guidance counselor kits, events, and the Visitors Centre. Implementation centered on cross-team collaboration, disciplined message development, and a unified visual language to reduce complexity. The results demonstrate significant impact. More than 113,000 viewbooks were distributed across 37 countries, supported by a digital experience that generated more than 24 million impressions, nearly 60,000 visitors, and 6,000+ leads on a marketing spend under $10,000. The campaign became a top driver of net new leads, outperforming traditional high-yield tactics.

From the Judges

This entry stood out as a creative, modern, and highly effective marketing campaign that prioritized student experience while delivering measurable performance. Judges loved the combination of data-driven decision-making, slick digital journeys, and original illustration, which resulted in exceptional return on investment.