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Last year, our University Marketing Team took home GOLD at the HEIST awards ceremony in Leeds, an annual celebration of the best campaigns in UK education marketing.
Two Bristol campaigns shared the spotlight as deserved winners in their categories: the launch of the new Bristol Dental School (GOLD: Best Community Engagement), featuring a collaboration with Aardman Animations, and ‘Bringing Life to…’ (GOLD: Best Brand and Reputation), a multi-channel digital postgraduate recruitment campaign.
Ambitious and creative in their concept and delivery, both campaigns have generated significant reach with local and international audiences, helping to put Bristol on the map as an institution for world-class research and education – and showcase the impact we are having in our city and further afield.
The winning campaigns:
Bristol Dental School: a state-of-the art facility for patients and students – awarded GOLD for Best Community Engagement
What the judges said: "We thought this was an incredibly innovative and creative campaign with a lasting community legacy. Opening a new dental school building was not the easiest sell, but the team managed to create a highly integrated, inclusive, fun and engaging campaign with great results."
In Autumn 2023, Bristol Dental School moved to a purpose-designed, state-of-the-art new teaching facility in Bristol City Centre. The new school enables students to deliver c.60,000 episodes of patient care per year and has doubled the daily capacity to deliver urgent dental care in the city during term time. The campaign promoted this free dental service and the investment the University is making in research and teaching facilities.
Rather than having a single ribbon-cutting moment, multiple events were organised for different target audiences, including current and new students, staff, local communities, patients and industry partners – generating local and national media coverage.
New public artwork was unveiled at the events to create a “wow” moment: Aardman Animations created five toothy characters – the Denticles – which were made into 3D sculptures that sit outside the School and in the main reception, and feature in two murals in the waiting room areas by local artist Bex Glover.
Over 300 stakeholders attended the events and the team have seen high and positive engagement across social channels. Reputation research is now being explored by the team, with anticipated improved brand awareness for Bristol Dental School.
‘Bringing Life to…’ postgraduate recruitment campaign – awarded GOLD for Best Brand and Reputation
What the judges said: "This absolutely met the objectives of the entry to the letter. Excellent focus on inclusivity and moving away from 'elite' perceptions. The improvement in brand metrics and sentiment was impressive, backed by great visuals!"
Launched in July 2023, this multi-channel digital and out-of-home marketing campaign targeted final-year undergraduate students, recent UK graduates and the University’s priority international audiences.
To capture attention, the team used a data and insight-led approach and worked with a creative agency to develop a vibrant and compelling ‘Bringing life to...’ concept and graphic identity featuring student and staff stories to showcase our research and teaching.
The impact and reach of the campaign has been significant, with paid digital media driving 85.9 million impressions and 1.7 million clicks to University of Bristol web pages globally. While the campaign was primarily used to raise awareness about the University's success and student experience, it produced 3,000 postgraduate application starts and 702 submissions.
A testament to the hard work of our colleagues
The success of these campaigns is down to the hard work and fantastic team effort of colleagues in the University's marketing division and beyond, from concept through to launch and the running of always-on marketing activity.
Lynette Oakey, Marketing Manager (content), said: “It was exciting to bring together inspiring people from across the University and help tell their stories through this unifying 'Bringing Life to...' campaign. Their journeys are truly at the core of our organisation, and I look forward to continuing to engage our audiences with content that is inspired by our university community and informed by our strategic data-led approach.”
Cheryl Miles, Marketing Manager, Bristol Dental School, said: “Being involved in this campaign has been filled with highs, from the first meeting with Aardman at their studios to the excitement of unveiling the sculptures during the events to the recent award evening and winning gold. I’m incredibly lucky to have worked with such a talented and committed group of people to make this happen collectively. How can we top this? Watch this space!"