#MarketingExcellenceAwards highlight: How SUTD reimagined the future to lure students into tech and design

Singapore University of Technology and Design (SUTD) is the country's fourth autonomous university founded in 2010 to mould a new generation of technologists, engineers and architects who use “design thinking” to solve more significant and more complex problems. As the new kid on the block and with Singapore being known as a financial hub now, SUTD had to make itself attractive to the younger generation who are entering university. As such, it worked with MullenLowe Singapore for the campaign "Challenging university giants by reimagining the future". The campaign resulted in MullenLowe bagging the gold award for Excellence in Out-of-Home Advertising at MARKETING-INTERACTIVE's recent Marketing Excellence Awards 2020.

Challenge

With Singapore transforming into a financial hub, there has been a boom in business, banking and finance students. On the other hand, the perceptions of engineering and technology are still rooted in the past and is seen as merely "fixing things" and getting one's hands dirty under the unbearable heat. As such, engineering does not seem to be a popular choice among students. Instead, getting into a big bank or working for a multi-national company seems like the best way to succeed.

In addition to this hurdle, SUTD also has two competitors that are also offering engineering, architecture, and technology undergraduate programmes - National University of Singapore and Nanyang Technological University. According to SUTD, both are able to get students interested in engineering by telling them that the school is ranked 11th and 12th worldwide. Also, the two schools take in 15 times more students and employ 30 times more faculty. Meanwhile, SUTD's other competitor, Singapore Management University, not only offers some similar courses but also poaches its prospects to go into law, business, or accountancy.

One of the two main objectives of the campaign was to increase the e intake of matriculated students by 10% for the year 2019/2020. Its key challenge is to get the right type of student who are well-versed in mathematics and science, and shares SUTD's values and believes in its mantra "A better world by design".

Strategy

SUTD decided to hone the fact that it is a specialised university in technology, engineering and design. However, to stand a chance among the other established universities in Singapore, it had to change the perceptions of it and get its prospects to see that SUTD is a gateway that can help them live the lives they want to lead. SUTD also wants to prove that the world no longer belongs to bankers, administrators and lawyers. Instead, it belongs to those who have the right mindset and skills to design for the world’s upcoming challenges and opportunities.

The campaign's idea stems from the concept that design is power.

1. It’s a power that can confidently answer the questions and uncertainties tomorrow brings.

2. It’s a power that can bring a sustainable solution for every challenge we face.

3. It’s a power that finds a new opportunity at every dead end.

The campaign focused on finding promising young individuals who showed signs of having "the superpower of design" and would use it to fight its modern-day super villains - global warming, single-use plastic, de-forestation, and everything in-between.

SUTD wanted to do something big to draw the attention of prospects, their parents, and everyone else who chips in on the university decision. Taking over an MRT station ticked that box and allowed the university to bring "Design is power" to life in an unexpected and exciting way. It took over everything from the floor, the walls, the pillars at a station close to the schools that typically gave SUTD a high yield of matriculated students, as well as the platform screen doors at adjacent MRT stations.

Its creative imagined the world in 2050 and the challenges Singapore might face in a variety of fields, not just what one traditionally thinks of when he or she hears the term "engineering" or "technology". That said, SUTD understood that OOH ads could only take it so far. By using QR codes, the team drove its prospects to an online quiz - Discovery of Exceptional Design Affinities - that they could take while commuting, to help discover their potential paths.

Execution

As soon as consumers walked into the station, SUTD teased out future scenarious that the prospects could be working on if they chose a technology and design path. As they kept on walking, they could see six other scenarios wrapped around the pillars of the station. All of which aligned with SUTD's internal mantra of “A better world by design” and its core education pillars.

1. SMARTLENS3 — Stunning augmented reality lenses with 32K ultra-HD.

2. WELLA — Your very own personal A.I. therapist.

3. Phan Thai Island — The last plastic-free beach in Southeast Asia.

4. Verda Dome — A company that grows its vegetables in an airborne dome.

5. Flyber — An airport drone limousine service.

6. Azure Residences — The best underwater realtor in town.

The six scenarios were purposefully designed to look similar to its category adverts, but with a futuristic twist. For instance, Azure Residences could have been an advert for a realtor, but in the year 2050. This was done to further steer away from the conventions of university ads and to shock people to read beyond the headline. After this, SUTD had the big reveal on its concept wall stage: “Welcome to the world of 2050", or its vision of it, at least.

Finally, before they jumped on the train, platform screen doors at select stations served them statements such as: “A growing population strains a city’s infrastructure. The future belongs to those who can design systems to keep it running smoothly” with an invitation to go online and find their own powers of design with SUTD's mobile experience.

All the ads invited prospects to join SUTD's open house to see the power of technology and design in action. According to SUTD, its open house typically has about 4,000 attendees and getting all the prospects in the same room enables the university to explain that design is a mindset and an approach to solving problems. However, given the COVID-19 pandemic this year, SUTD had to adapt fast and get the online version of its event up and running quickly.

Results

Compared to the 2018/2019 matriculation year, SUTD witnessed the number of applications increase by 21% for the year 2019/2020. Meanwhile, its offer acceptance also increased by 9.2% compared to the previous year.