Newman University:
Made in Birmingham awareness campaign
An impactful rebrand and OOH campaign, repositioning an ambitious university with prospective students.
Briefed to develop the brand and deliver an awareness campaign that engaged with a diverse audience as well as dialling-up links to the city of Birmingham, we tapped into the manufacturing roots of the city to create a relevant and visually arresting campaign championing pride, aspiration and confidence.
Want to talk about what we can do for you, contact us on: 01225 444 174 or info{at}ignition.uk.com
A new story needs a new identity
Firstly, we refreshed the brand identity, adding ‘Birmingham’ to the name. Changing the primary colourway ensured that the audience was in no doubt that the university had changed.
Once the identity and colourways were approved, we provided direction for the website redesign.
A diverse audience; a progressive city
Newman students are mainly drawn from underprivileged social groups, often being the first in their family to attend university. Our positioning and campaign needed to be engaging, persuasive and empowering. To resonate with prospective students by representing them as they are, as well as providing an aspirational portrayal of who they want to be.
The campaign also needed to locate the university within Birmingham - almost 90% of Newman students come from the city.
This is our city
Research indicated that Newman students are fiercely proud of their heritage and their city. Our positioning celebrated this pride, linking the student to the city and the university.
A selection of purposeful portraits was proposed to reflect the diverse racial and social mix of the city. Combined with a confident and defiant 'Made in Birmingham' headline, the visual identity conveyed purpose and aspiration.
Strong local themes allowed us to introduce playful and colloquial supporting copy across the campaign – talking to the students the way they talk to themselves.
Implementation
The campaign was launched across Meta, Snapchat, Facebook and mobile/tablet, as well as OOH advertising on Adshel posters and bus media.
Direct mail postcards, campus graphics and merchandise supported the extended campaign as well as the 2025 university prospectus.
An arresting campaign that embodies and projects the pride and confidence of its cohort. That supports and encourages students to achieve and succeed.
Conceived by Ignition... Made in Birmingham.
Campaigns strategy
Post-launch, the campaign was adapted to communicate other aspects of the university’s story – generic student recruitment campaigns, value messaging and individual faculty activity.
The arresting ‘Made in Birmingham’ campaign embodies the pride and confidence of a city and the students within it, encouraging achievement and succeed.
An impactful brand positioning conceived by Ignition... Made in Birmingham.
