Student Recruitment Campaign
for Maclean’s Magazine
Client: Western University
Responsibilities: Creative direction & graphic design
Insight
In a competitive landscape where higher education marketing often blurs into a ‘sea of sameness’ — conservative, dated, and indistinct — Western University needed to break through the noise and clearly distinguish itself to prospective students. The goal: to show that a Western education offers more than credentials, it empowers students to make a meaningful, lasting impact.
Through an integrated digital and print advertising campaign in Maclean’s Magazine, the strategy focused on supporting recruitment efforts and building a strong, aspirational brand perception among prospective students and their parents.
Solution
By expressing the brand through the lens of human experience, we spotlight students who are actively making an impact within the Western community. Intimate, expressive macro photography invites the viewer in, creating an emotional connection that encourages deeper engagement.
To break away from the typical stock-photo aesthetic common in higher education, the portraits were captured during golden hour against Western’s iconic living green wall, adding warmth and authenticity. A series of bold descriptors serve as headlines, offering an immediate sense of who these young leaders are — and who prospective students can become when they realize their full potential at Western.
