Boomtown: Making Today Matter with University of Pretoria

“Research is at the heart of our long-term plan, UP 2025, and we want to be recognised as a leading research-intensive university in Africa,” remarks Isabel de Necker, University of Pretoria communication manager. “The solutions to change the world can be found in the research we do today, which is how we ‘Make Today Matter’”.

The team at Boomtown created a broad-reach brand campaign to reach key target audiences for the new UP brand positioning and a content strategy using UP research stories within the media to engage and draw people to the Research Matters website.

Using print, radio, online and outdoor advertising and social media for its broad-reach campaign, the content strategy used radio and online advertising, social media and public relations tactics.

“The strategies used reached an estimated 48 million individuals in a six-month period,” comments Delia Genis, Boomtown Business Group Head. “55.9% of visits to the Research Matters website were direct channels which is fantastic, and a great start to developing the site as the go-to place for all of UP’s research output.”

The target audience was incredibly niche, and to receive just short of 10,000 visits to the new Research Matters website is noteworthy success. “The portal is in its infancy,” adds Genis. “And as time goes on it will be known as the place to consume information on the latest research from the University of Pretoria.”

Overall, the campaign achieved great awareness in the midst of a challenging time. Using storytelling in the campaigns was a great vehicle to engage with a non-academic audience, and make the work UP does to ‘Make Today Matter’ accessible and easy to understand within a wide audience.