A postgrad marketing journey: How University of Limerick created and implemented its first university-wide postgraduate marketing campaign

Abstract

The Stay Curious campaign for postgraduate studies at the University of Limerick, Ireland is one of the most successful campaigns that the institution has ever had, not just in terms of student recognition and brand recall, but more importantly, in the sense of ownership it has given the campus community. The strength of the campaign has resulted in consistent messaging and narratives across postgraduate marketing as the university continues to implement a devolved model of marketing and communications. The key has been anchoring the campaign in extensive research to achieve mass buy-in and making it as easy as possible for the wider university to get on board — creatively and collaboratively. While they are not without their challenges, this paper should illustrate that devolved models of university marketing and communications can work if there is a strong overarching campaign that key units can get behind. This paper argues that maximising the expertise in-house and maintaining an institutional focus rather than a departmental one can yield positive results.