AAU Nerds & Superheroes

Background

With 20.000 students, Aalborg University (AAU) is the fourth-biggest university in Denmark.

It has a sharp focus on putting theory to practical use and aims to give students a solid knowledge of the outside world as part of the course programmes.

One branch of Aalborg deals with the marketing of all STEM programmes, including recruitment content.

This initiative brands itself with the phrase “Make it real”, a reference to the hope that students will generate solutions for real-life problems.

The Challenge

Denmark needs more young people to choose an education within the STEM fields (science, technology, engineering and math) to help solve environmental issues and make sure the nation remains competitive globally in tech and science. Aalborg University asked us to help create a campaign to raise awareness on social media.

Research and Findings

At Kubbco, we studied white papers, did original research and studied a major student survey made by Aalborg University. We also set up a focus group of high-school students.

The strategic process led us to realise that no one really knew any public figures with a STEM background. Most of the entrepreneurs who are well-known culturally have a background from business schools. But then we found out that Elon Musk has a STEM background. And when we found that our entire focus group considered Elon Musk a modern superhero, we realised we had something creatively interesting.

So, we started looking for Danish superheroes with a STEM background and who had graduated from Aalborg University. We were especially interested in trailblazers whose work has a notable positive impact on the world. When we presented the concept to the focus group, it turned out to be a big hit.

We then developed three stories presenting three modern-day superheroes whose work is changing the world.

The Solution

Nerds & Superheroes

Under the campaign heading “Nerds & Superheroes”, Kubbco created three hero videos featuring successful AAU alumni/entrepreneurs whose remarkable and innovative work is solving big problems in the world.

The campaign aimed to create awareness around STEM education at AAU by inspiring young people to apply and become future problem solvers.

We used the hero videos to suggest to future students how too might contribute to a better world by acquiring skills native to the STEM fields.

The Outcome

2.6 million impressions, 290,000 video views, a 31% view-through rate across Facebook and YouTube.

The videos’ performance is impressive based on the social-media data. Moreover, the client found the three videos so compelling that we are told they will be used again.

This positive feedback might be a product of the videos’ evergreen quality, which represents the added bonus in light of the lasting importance of the humanitarian and environmental issues presented in the videos.