How do you turn the communication of a simple referral program into a campaign that draws the attention of young college students?
Istituto Europeo di Design in São Paulo–IED São Paulo had this student referral program, 'Quem indica amigo é' (something like 'true friends refer friends'), as an important strategy to convert friends of their students into IED entrants in exchange for courses or discounts. However, the campaign lacked personality, and the communication around campus had become just a visual landscape that nobody really noticed.
Where I started:
〇 The campaign targeted young design students in their late teens and early 20s.
〇 To continuously reach out to this audience, the idea was to create temporary campaigns and change their creative approach every time, turning the program into something fun and interactive.
Where I landed:
〇 As a member of IED's creative team, my work was to propose noticeable, colorful, interactive ways to show what the program was all about, both conceptually and in copy.
The campaigns:
Istituto Europeo di Design in São Paulo–IED São Paulo had this student referral program, 'Quem indica amigo é' (something like 'true friends refer friends'), as an important strategy to convert friends of their students into IED entrants in exchange for courses or discounts. However, the campaign lacked personality, and the communication around campus had become just a visual landscape that nobody really noticed.
Where I started:
〇 The campaign targeted young design students in their late teens and early 20s.
〇 To continuously reach out to this audience, the idea was to create temporary campaigns and change their creative approach every time, turning the program into something fun and interactive.
Where I landed:
〇 As a member of IED's creative team, my work was to propose noticeable, colorful, interactive ways to show what the program was all about, both conceptually and in copy.
The campaigns:
Simpatia
The first idea was to draw inspiration from the popular Brazilian leaflets related to 'simpatia,' a superstition for curing bad things or achieving a goal through 'rituals' or beliefs.
These 'simpatia' leaflets saying 'Bring back your loved one in 3 days,' for instance, are usually found on walls and poles around the streets of Brazil and were the inspirations for the copywriting.
The first idea was to draw inspiration from the popular Brazilian leaflets related to 'simpatia,' a superstition for curing bad things or achieving a goal through 'rituals' or beliefs.
These 'simpatia' leaflets saying 'Bring back your loved one in 3 days,' for instance, are usually found on walls and poles around the streets of Brazil and were the inspirations for the copywriting.
From the sayings of the 'simpatias', I came up with different titles that referred to the available courses that students who referred their friends could choose and used the course's length as a timestamp like the ones from the original leaflets.
〇 Design Thinking: Bring your friend to IED and you'll see the world differently in 12 days.
〇 Lighting Projects: Bring your friend to IED and you'll lighten up your path in 16 days.
〇 Coolhunting and Future Studies: Bring your friend to IED and foresee your future in 12 days.
〇 Visual Merchandising: Bring your friend to IED and attract your wanted customer in 12 days.
To top off, the leaflets contained detachable strips that students could rip out, write their friends' contacts, and choose the course they wanted to access.
〇 Design Thinking: Bring your friend to IED and you'll see the world differently in 12 days.
〇 Lighting Projects: Bring your friend to IED and you'll lighten up your path in 16 days.
〇 Coolhunting and Future Studies: Bring your friend to IED and foresee your future in 12 days.
〇 Visual Merchandising: Bring your friend to IED and attract your wanted customer in 12 days.
To top off, the leaflets contained detachable strips that students could rip out, write their friends' contacts, and choose the course they wanted to access.
Amigo da sorte
The second idea, or 'Lucky Friend,' was to create a Monopoly-like board in which each square contained the available courses for the referred friends to choose from with a discount and money leaflets that students who referred could exchange for in nearby establishments like Starbucks.
The second idea, or 'Lucky Friend,' was to create a Monopoly-like board in which each square contained the available courses for the referred friends to choose from with a discount and money leaflets that students who referred could exchange for in nearby establishments like Starbucks.
