University of Kentucky + Gust

The University of Kentucky, a leader in higher education since 1865, is located in Lexington, Kentucky. The university has begun shifting its focus to a new generation of students, as Millennials begin to move into the post-graduate workplace. To help understand, reach, and communicate with prospective high school recruits, the university enlisted the help of the award-winning advertising agency: Cornett. The forward-thinking combo recognized that their target audience could be reached on Instagram, where millions of Generation Z users consume content daily.

Cornett and The University of Kentucky looked to boost incoming college applications; however, the December 1 early application deadline was days away. Cornett decided to use Gust as part of an integrated advertising campaign designed to target prospective students online, where they spend the most time. The campaign would need to be quick, focused, and strategically planned around the Thanksgiving holiday when students would be out of school, looking to fill out applications.

Gust was chosen to serve as the awareness engine within the campaign's funnel. Cornett worked with a Gust account representative to build a custom audience for The University of Kentucky. The audience very specifically targeted viral communities comprised of 17 to 18 year-old followers from the United States. The campaign would seek to approach the Gen Z audience in a relatable voice, using a combination of customized memes and professionally edited stories. Each viral community on Gust provided two inventory touches for the university: (1) the meme to build report and drive interest, and (2) the story to educate and drive action. The campaign would occur over the short Thanksgiving break when students were home and attentive to upcoming college deadlines.

Gust provided a quick platform to execute a focused and strategically planned campaign targeting high school seniors. Leveraging premium inventory, the campaign earned over 5-million Gen Z impressions within the first 24 hours! Over 2,700 potential applicants visited the University's online application form immediately after being exposed to the content distributed by Gust. The campaign not only generated direct awareness for the University, but played a vital role as part of a fully integrated media campaign.