Why is this work relevant for PR?

This project is the story of an advertising brief that led to an academic research project, that led to the launch of a world-first product, that answered the original advertising brief. Sans Forgetica is the world’s first typeface specifically designed and proven to help you remember more. The ultimate study hack; created for high school students and delivered to them at the exact time they were studying for their university entrance exams. The perfect way for a university to show the world what it looks like to study there.

Background

Every October, RMIT University and forty-two other Australian universities compete for the attention of teenagers studying for their final high school exams. RMIT is a university grounded in technology, design and innovation. Based in Melbourne, but with a global footprint of extended campuses, RMIT needed to reinforce its brand credentials as a cutting-edge university to an increasingly globally-minded audience of prospective students. But with seemingly little differentiation between university offerings, how could RMIT stay top-of-mind and reinforce the reasons to study there? Our task was to develop a campaign that would reach school leavers at the very time they were making the decisions about their choice of university – during the revision window before their final year exams. Our solution would be judged both on brand metrics (reach of branded communications) and engagement metrics (brand interactions and lead generation).

Describe the creative idea (20% of vote)

Rather than using traditional advertising which distracts students from their study, we found a way to actually help them. We created Sans Forgetica: the world’s first typeface specifically designed and proven to help you remember more. While investigating ideas for study hacks, we discovered previous research into the concept of cognitive disfluency: the principle whereby creating small obstructions to learning results in deeper cognitive processing, and subsequently better memory traces are created. This provided the inspiration for our idea. We brought together RMIT academics from the fields of design and psychology to work with the agency to design, refine and test the font; then gave it away to students studying for their exams as a download or Chrome browser extension. The ultimate study hack delivered just when students needed it.

Describe the strategy (30% of vote)

Our primary audience was final-year high school students and their parents (as key influencers to student university choices). The secondary audience was potential international students. While the idea was developed in response to a particular need for our primary audience, we knew that the core thought of being able to remember more of what you read would have much broader interest. Key messaging for youth media focused on Sans Forgetica being ‘the ultimate study hack’, while for mainstream media we led with messages around ‘boosting memory’ and ‘remember what you read’. The font being a genuine world-first innovation that has been proven in laboratory testing provided powerful validation. We targeted general news, technology, design, psychology, education and youth media in both the local Australian and global markets. The agency used film and still assets, interviews with academics, and the font itself, to capture the imagination of the media.

Describe the execution (20% of vote)

The font was launched as a free download for Mac or PC, and a Chrome browser extension. The heart of the campaign was the website, where people could learn about the font and its development, download the font or Chrome extension and sign up to receive more study hacks and advice over the exam period. All media was directed to this hub. The project went live in October 2018 to coincide with the key exam revision window for high school students. It quickly caught fire and delivered huge reach and engagement in the crucial first four weeks after launch. The unique nature of the product itself meant that media could do much more than just cover the story: they could use the font themselves. The Guardian even went as far as building a tool that allowed the reader to view the article about Sans Forgetica, in Sans Forgetica.

List the results (30% of vote) – must include at least two of the following tiers:

Sans Forgetica has captured imaginations both locally and globally, and has proven to be a ground-breaking success from both a brand and acquisition perspective. While data for university applications cannot be shared due to client confidentiality, all lead indicators are showing that by finding a way to be more useful, Sans Forgetica is delivering a truly memorable result. Tier 1 - reach • 700 million earned media impressions • $7 million earned media value • 27 million social impressions • 69% share of category voice • 100% coverage correctly attributed to brand • 100% coverage delivered minimum one key message Tier 2 - engagement • 250,000 font downloads (1,111% of target) • 36,000 Chrome extension users (480% of target) • 12,356 study note saves (329% of target) • 10 minute average site dwell time (333% of target) Tier 3 - response • 87,088 leads generated (1,935% of target) • $1.49 cost per lead (benchmark CPL $58.50)