Columbia University

PROJECT FOCUS Digital Marketing

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NEXT Gardner-Webb University

Columbia Climate School

/ OVERVIEW

Pushing Brand Standards with a Trusted Partnership

In 2017, Columbia University’s Master’s Program in Climate and Society reached out to Up&Up for marketing support to increase enrollment. After five years of successful partnership, Columbia wanted to push the envelope by introducing new creative into the market that challenged the status quo.

RESEARCH & INSIGHTS
CONCEPT CREATION
CAMPAIGN MANAGEMENT
AD PLACEMENT

The Goal: Refresh Columbia’s digital campaign with compelling strategy, messaging, and design to…

In year five of partnership, we found an opportunity
to turn platform data into a segmentation strategy
for more purposeful messaging and more powerful
outcomes. We also recommended combining
campaign data with admissions results to gain a
better understanding of where our most pressing
opportunities are.

THE CHALLENGE:

Develop an attention-grabbing creative direction that works within the established standards of a reputable brand.

THE OPPORTUNITY:

Highlight Columbia Climate School’s immersive and interdisciplinary Ivy League experience, establishing it as the place to be for climate studies.

Columbia University

/Our Approach

Balancing Logic and Emotion

Leaning on years of data and insight gathering, we aimed to show that Columbia Climate School is the place where real-work experiences and real-world curriculum combine to give students the opportunity to solve the world’s biggest climate challenges.

/Messaging Strategy

Turning Industry Insights into Strategy

In our fifth year of partnership, we found an opportunity to turn platform data into a segmentation strategy for more purposeful messaging and more powerful outcomes.

/Digital Marketing Strategy

Pinpointing Industry and Institution Overlap

We also recommended combining campaign data with admissions results to gain a better understanding of where our most pressing opportunities are to map out our media planning and digital marketing strategy..

/Messaging Strategy

Capturing the Movement

Research shows that Gen Z’s optimism for our environment’s future is eroding. Yet, they find purpose in protection and feel that more should be done to combat climate change. They’re seeking a call to arms and an avenue to take action for real results—something that Columbia Climate School can provide.

/Concept Creation

Embracing the Audacity and Unleashing Columbia’s Creative Capabilities

Audacious climate goals require ambitious minds. We leaned into Gen Z’s desire to make a real difference in climate change by highlighting how Columbia Climate School gives students the space and resources to tackle the most pressing climate challenges of our time.

Incorporating natural elements with striking portraits of students who want to make a difference, our creative captured the innovation and singular focus of correcting climate change that students can expect to find at Columbia Climate School.