University of Vaasa
Creating meaningful futures
“Brandkind has shown a keen interest in understanding the motives, drivers and inner workings of the university while simultaneously being able to bring a more commercial mindset to our academic world.”
Hanna-Mari Soini
Director of Marketing and Communications
The University of Vaasa
The University of Vaasa is one of Finland’s leading universities where study and research is conducted in fields that hold the key to solving the challenges of today and tomorrow. It is also one of the country’s most internationally attractive universities.
Creativity means
a unique perspective
that leads to results.
Case 1
A brand narrative that communicates real purpose
A good brand story resonates with all relevant audiences across all media. It’s easier to connect with a brand when their story is strongly rooted in their reality.
CHALLENGE:
Aligning brand communications with strategy
The academic field in Finland is increasingly competitive, and to ensure future success finding and communicating a clear position is absolutely vital. Strategy development typically calls for new approaches to communications as well.
The University of Vaasa’s new strategy, which came hand-in-hand with several new appointments within its leadership, called for a significant leap in brand presence. The university needed to not only unify, but also to clarify and communicate the essence of their brand.
SOLUTION:
Identifying and communicating true meaning
To ensure the brand narrative of the University of Vaasa truly represented the organizations ambitions, operations and colourful personality, a comprehensive round of interviews with all key stakeholder groups was conducted. Amidst the vast amount of information and infinite number of opinions, one thing became abundantly clear. Across all the defined audiences the university provided personal meaning and signified the opportunity to fulfil one’s true potential through study, work or research.
This epiphany became the university’s new brand promise – Significant and meaningful – encompassing both the spirit and factual mission of the university. To tell the story and help deploy the strategy behind the brand refresh a film series was produced to communicate the new brand promise as well as the key themes of the new strategy.
RESULTS:
A story that truly resonates
The film series that efficiently communicates the new brand narrative and strategic approach have been received well across the board and circulated widely in social media. Engagement numbers and views across all platforms have been encouraging.
The new brand story collected and crystalized what the essence of the University of Vaasa already consisted of. The films have struck a delicate balance between emotionally engaging storytelling and the more factual style of communicating, which comes naturally to an academic entity like the University of Vaasa.
“Together with Brandkind we have been able to document, refine and bring to life those attributes that make the University of Vaasa who we are.”
Case 2
Growth and increased appeal through targeted applicant campaign
The University of Vaasa’s student acquisition campaign combined a strong strategy with a creative concept to increase the number of applicants and strengthen the university’s appeal.
CHALLENGE:
Our partner, the University of Vaasa, set out to address a clear challenge: increasing the number of applicants and strengthening the university’s position as a first-choice destination. The goal was not only to drive more traffic to the website, but to ensure that the right audiences found their way to the university’s study offering – at both bachelor’s and master’s levels. The campaign aimed to make the University of Vaasa more attractive, competitive, and approachable for prospective higher education students.
SOLUTION:
We began with a strong strategic insight: increased visibility and relevance come from combining clear audience understanding, multi-channel communication and a distinctive creative idea.
The campaign’s creative concept, Ready for the Future, encapsulated the University of Vaasa as a safe yet ambitious starting point for a student’s individual journey.
We merged emotional resonance with fact-based credibility. Illustrations and copy elements were designed to support each other seamlessly: the story of a person meeting the right degree programme was given a visual form that spoke to both young applicants and their parents.
The campaign was multi-channel and video-driven, visible and audible wherever the target audience spent time – across social media, digital advertising in various media, gaming platforms, print publications, outdoor advertising, cinemas, student collaborations, and educational events and fairs.
“Brandkind’s concept and execution were both fresh and recognisable – and truly resonated with our target audience.”
RESULTS:
The University of Vaasa received a record number of applications for both bachelor’s and master’s programmes. Applications to Finnish-language master’s programmes increased by 29.3% compared to the previous year. In bachelor’s programmes, applications grew by 9.3%.
In addition to strong application figures, one key indicator of success was the cost per click across platforms such as Google and Meta, which dropped to nearly half compared to the previous year – thanks to well-targeted content and carefully selected media placements.
“The record result reflects growing interest in the University of Vaasa’s educational offering.”
