AMV BBDO has created a new integrated campaign for The Open University, the first since it won the OU account in a competitive pitch last year. Leagas Delaney was Open University’s previous pan-European ad agency, having won the account in 2011. The new campaign aims to show the OU in a different light, marking it as the ideal solution for self-starters who want to change their lives through grit, determination and hard work. The campaign is called “Life-changing Learning,” and focuses not only on the positive impact an Open University course can have on students, but on their families, employers and society as a whole.
AMV BBDO has created a new integrated campaign for The Open University, the first since it won the account last year
The campaign is built around a spot (below) by Pulse Films that shows various Open University students working to achieve their goals. It follows these students over the course of their studies, highlighting the qualities it takes to be an OU student. The film also, however, managed to position the OU brand as a legitimate alternative to conventional studying, which is not only good value, but offers expert teachers and a unique learning experience that can be organises around your existing life, not the other way around. The tagline that ends the film; “The most important thing you’ll learn at The Open University is what you’re capable of,” perfectly sums up the sentiments of the campaign.
The Open University – Learn
The video is directed by Nicolas Jack Davies, who manages to bring these everyday stories to life in a surprisingly cinematic and touching way, helped to no end by the epic and harrowing soundtrack provided by Tom Odell's “Can't Pretend.” As well as the video, which will run online and on national TV, the campaign is supported by three radio adverts, each one featuring a character from the spot, helping to add another dimension to their stories and bringing to life what they have learnt about themselves through their course. There will also be an integrated social media campaign, that will provide guidance and reassurance to potential OU students.
“The most important thing you’ll learn at The Open University is what you’re capable of”
Judy D’Albertson, director of marketing at the Open University, said “At the OU, students can achieve extraordinary things.” She believes that “In the same way, the OU and AMV teams have produced a campaign which doesn’t just present the OU as a great way to study, but as a leading educational brand in the UK.” AMV BBDO add that whilst “Open University students are typically from all walks of life, you have to be a particular kind of person to obtain an Open University degree.” They believes that “What all students seem to share is an ambition to better themselves and their situations, combined with a real determination to succeed,” with the campaign underlining the point; that “ The most important thing you’ll learn is exactly what you’re capable of.”
