Projects

The Challenge: Breaking into the Tech Narrative

The launch of the School of Creative Technologies required more than a standard academic announcement; it needed to capture the attention of a highly specific, tech-savvy audience. Our challenge was to move beyond traditional recruitment and build a brand that felt "insider" to the Calgary tech community, ensuring the new school wasn't just seen as an institution, but as a hub for the city’s burgeoning creative and digital workforce.
 

The Strategy: Social Authority and Earned Media

I led the social media and earned media strategy for the launch, focusing on high-engagement environments where our future students were already active. By bridging the gap between "geek culture" and academic opportunity, I directed a narrative that leaned into authenticity, leveraging community influencers and targeted media outreach to drive brand awareness and, ultimately, enrollment.
 

Strategic Execution & Media Leadership
 

• Earned Media Strategy: Orchestrated a targeted media relations campaign that secured broad regional coverage, positioning the school as a critical solution to Calgary’s tech talent gap.
   

• Social Amplification: Developed and managed the "geeky and proud" hashtag strategy, successfully mobilizing brand influencers to share our message and amplify our presence during the Calgary Comic Expo.
   

• Experiential Social Integration: Directed the social media narrative for our Calgary Comic Expo 2019 display, turning a live event into a digital-first lead generation tool that resonated with thousands of attendees.

The Result: National Recognition and 100% Enrollment

The strategic focus on social and media engagement didn't just meet our objectives; it exceeded them. By creating a brand voice that students actually wanted to be a part of, we achieved full enrollment for the inaugural intake and elevated the college's reputation to a national stage.

 

The campaign was also recognized as a 2019 CASE Platinum finalist in the category of Best Practices in Communications and Marketing.​
 

• Coverage:

-Global: Bow Valley College Launches New School of Creative Technologies