Strategy, Design, & Excecution
Building a campaign that resonates with any audience is a challenge, let alone one that needs to reach all 17 colleges and schools within the University of Utah. When developing a brand-new awareness campaign for the Goff Strategic Leadership Institute, I had to balance two key perspectives: the institute’s goals and the needs of the students I was marketing to.
I knew that Goff needed greater visibility across campus. I also knew, from being a student myself, that students from all majors actively look for extracurricular opportunities in the fall semester. By launching this campaign early, we could establish a strong presence in students' minds and position Goff as a go-to resource for leadership development.
The Campaign Concept: “Goff Builds _____ Leaders”
To capture the attention of a diverse student audience, I developed the “Goff Builds _____ Leaders” campaign—an approachable, personalized way to introduce Goff. The beauty of this slogan is its adaptability. It allows students from any background to see themselves within Goff’s mission.
Strategically, I aligned this message with Goff’s core belief: leadership is accessible to all. The blank space in the slogan encouraged students to envision their own leadership style. Words like confident, strategic, futuristic, collaborative, self-aware, relentless, thoughtful, and caring could fill in the blank, prompting students to reflect on what kind of leader they want to be, and positioning Goff as the tool to help them get there.
Bringing the Vision to Life
I wanted this campaign to feel student-centric. To communicate my vision, I used Canva AI to generate mockups that showcased students holding signs with different leadership traits. While the AI-generated images weren’t perfect (extra fingers and teeth included), they effectively conveyed the concept.
I presented the mockups to my team and our business school marketing representative, walking them through the vision. With buy-in secured, I moved quickly to schedule a professional photoshoot and create the custom signs I wanted students to hold.
Execution: Turning Strategy into Action
To maximize participation and diversity, I strategically scheduled the photoshoot in a busy campus lobby during the largest class change of the day. This not only ensured a broad range of students in our visuals but also organically drew attention to Goff’s programs (conveniently, just one week before applications opened).
The Final Results
The final campaign exceeded my expectations. The creative vision matched my AI-generated mockups almost exactly, and we captured a diverse range of authentic student voices and faces to use across Goff’s social media and marketing channels.
Through this campaign, I was able to take an abstract idea, strategically position it for impact, visually mock it up, and execute it from start to finish—demonstrating my ability to turn vision into reality.
