UTS College hands the camera to students in new campaign

UTS College has handed much of the storytelling in its latest campaign to its students, using their own footage, photographs and words to capture what a year at the college actually looks like.

Created by The Core Agency, The Year That Made Me follows real students and the changes they experienced during their time at UTS College, from finding a sense of belonging to building confidence and recovering when things didn't go to plan.

Rather than recreating those experiences for the camera, the campaign's films and digital assets draw on content captured by the students themselves throughout the year.

The approach comes as education marketers grapple with an audience increasingly accustomed to AI-generated content and quick to dismiss traditional marketing polish.

“Gen Z see straight through marketing hype, so we knew the best way to convince them was to be real and feature the people who had already been to UTS College and killed it,” The Core Agency creative director and founder Christian Finucane said.

UTS College brand and communication lead Natasha Wheeler said the campaign was deliberately designed to move beyond the conventional language of education marketing.

“It's easy for this sector to talk in outcomes, degrees, pathways, results. What matters to our students is the belonging and transformation they build along the way, and we wanted this campaign to reflect that,” Wheeler said.

“The Core Agency brought that vision to life, and we're so proud of how our students are celebrated in it.”

The campaign follows The Core Agency's work for the University of Technology Sydney last year and runs across paid social, digital video, owned channels and student touchpoints.