The Brief

Singapore Raffles Music College (a partner of the London College of Music, University of West London) offers world-class music education by working with distinguished musicians. People of all ages and skill levels can enroll in a breadth of courses from beginner lessons to professional music degrees. However, the problem was that people deemed the college to be 'elitist' and 'highbrow'. Therefore the task was to communicate that Raffles made learning music fun and easy.

Creative Execution

Music schools sending CDs that display the musical talents of its students and alumni are common practise and expected. So instead, we let the audience display his own musical talent by turning the typical CD case into a clever, customisable musical instrument. Thus, by directly engaging the audience in a simple yet fun music-making process, we clearly demonstrated how music is at their fingertips, both literally and figuratively.

Describe the creative solution to the brief/objective.

We wanted to show that with the right tools and help, it's easy for anyone to make music. So we created a direct mailer that puts the world's most recognisable tunes at people's fingertips by turning the common CD case into an uncommon musical instrument. With that, Raffles Music College demonstrated how, through The Rubber Band, the ability to make music can be surprisingly easy and fun.

Results

Within 5 days, its beginner music course was oversubscribed. The Rubber Band garnered a 43% response rate and raised enrollment enquiries of its courses by sixfold. In the end, the most successful direct mail in the college's history not only turned heads but also changed how people saw Raffles Music College.