Common Good, the agency founded by Colin Hetherington, has launched a new strategic positioning and brand campaign for Dublin Business School (DBS).
Set against a background of uncertainty about the role AI will have on education and future employment opportunities for graduates, the new positioning, “Ready. Completely” is based on the premise that while a degree may leave graduates academically qualified, that alone may not be enough to prepare them for a rapidly changing employment market.
“The job you’ll do in ten years probably doesn’t exist yet,” one of the new campaign films tells prospective students.
The positioning is built around four areas of readiness – knowledge, career, future and human – and aims to articulate the college’s approach to preparing students for working life.
The strategy draws on a number of existing elements of the DBS offering, including practitioner-led teaching, courses developed with input from industry and student support services.
It also places greater emphasis on skills such as critical thinking, creativity, communication and resilience alongside traditional academic qualifications.
The positioning will underpin DBS communications as the college looks to grow both its domestic and international student base over the coming years.
“This isn’t a positioning or a line for the sake of one,” said Cliona O’Beirne, chief commercial officer at DBS.
“It’s us saying, clearly and consistently, what we’ve always delivered. Every part of this campaign is built on something real, not aspirational about DBS.”
The first campaign under the new platform is targeting prospective undergraduate students and their parents and will run across Meta, TikTok and Snapchat, as well as digital video, out-of-home and digital audio.
It will run in two phases around key CAO announcements.
Four films sit at the centre of the campaign, supported by digital audio and social executions developed specifically for prospective students and their parents.
Common Good said the strategic work behind “Ready. Completely.” involved examining both the services already provided by DBS and the wider changes taking place in third-level education and employment.
Colin Hetherington, co-founder of Common Good, said the intention was to create a positioning capable of informing the broader direction of the business rather than simply providing a new advertising line.
“Ready. Completely. came from sitting down with people across DBS and asking what they actually do, the services and supports in place, then looking hard at where the education sector is heading and the college’s ambition for the next five years,” he said.
“For me, good positioning work does more than give a business a message. It provides strategic direction.
“What people will see in this campaign is the communications layer. Behind that sits a strategy for how DBS delivers on this promise.”
Credits
Agency: Common Good
Client: DBS
Chief Commercial Officer: Cliona O’Beirne
Sales and Marketing Manager: Martin Churchill
Digital Campaign Specialist: Conor O’Huiginn
Content Manager: Rose Lally
Production: Bad Coyote
