2021 proposed an uncertain milestone for all prospective third-level students and, in a way, a very different challenge for the University. With the cancellation of all physical open days nationwide – UCC and many other colleges alike were met with the challenge of how they could possibly put their best foot forward and sell their college to domestic and international students, without them having set foot on the University grounds. We were approached with the aim of solving this challenge, and to make UCC’s first every fully digital open day the one that stands out from the crowd!

We first began by looking at a full redesign and strategic rethink of the UCC Undergraduate Prospectus, it was decided that first we need to sell living in Cork to any prospective students, before they would ever consider studying here. ‘We Are UCC’ was the theme defined for the prospectus and consisted of a frontend that contained information about what Cork offers – fantastic beaches, amazing culture and great people. Following this was the detail about each individual course, designed in a conversational style, that would speak directly to the target audience. What followed this was the preparation for the Virtual Open Day, an extensive social media and digital campaign highlighting several avenues of life at UCC featured, while a physical element was added to the campaign through a 24 page supplement in the Irish Examiner.

UCC’s first ever virtual open day was a huge success, with the turn-out surpassing expectations considerably. The Undergraduate Prospectus has formed a template that will live on for the coming years, and has also prompted numerous spin-off documents which are specifically tailored to certain target audiences. The project as a whole has brought together the many avenues of communication coming from UCC and has given them a uniform voice, which is integral to maintain the attention of the many viewers.

COMBINED DISPLAY AD IMPRESSIONS FOR UCC OPEN DAY CAMPAIGN

PHYSICAL COPIES OF UCC OPEN DAY NEWSPAPER SUPPLEMENT CIRCULATED NATIONWIDE

VISUALLY ENGAGING PAGES IN THE 2021 UNDERGRADUATE PROSPECTUS