Subscribe

    Share
    Search
    Back To Top
    Scroll To Discover
    top

    Welcome to Waterfall, an award-winning creative agency specialising in higher education marketing. A collaborative team of storytellers, designers, content creators and project managers, we use our creativity, expertise and insight to deliver sector-leading campaigns, brands and concepts. Read more about us and our purpose.

    “We love working with Waterfall. They offer the perfect balance of strategic thinking and attention to detail with creativity and fun! Their work on the #TwinforHope and #WeAreInternational campaigns was exceptional. Both projects delivered powerful, engaging content that resonated deeply with audiences, and was nominated for and won several awards. Waterfall are more than just an agency, they are a true partner on our campaigns. Their professionalism, collaborative spirit, and ability to translate campaign objectives into inspiring content make them a joy to work with.”

    Sophie O’Neill Head of Communications & Campaigns, Universities UK International
    No. 01

    “Waterfall helped us to reimagine our face-to-face and virtual events and introduce the brilliant UCAS/Discovery brand. Thanks to their strategic input, we increased the quality and reach of the information, advice and guidance content we provide applicants making crucial post-school decisions. As a result of Waterfall’s support, our face-to-face events programme relaunched after lockdowns with record attendance numbers and our highest ever exhibitor satisfaction.”

    Dave Penney Chief Marketing Officer, UCAS
    No. 02

    “Waterfall helped to give the voices of our researchers a wider audience by bringing our Researchers Revealed films to life. Their campaign insight and knowledge were invaluable, ensuring a seamless process as everything ran smoothly from start to finish. It was essential that the storytelling captured the passion, dedication and personal journeys of our researchers. So, the team approached every stage with creativity, clarity and meticulous attention to detail.”

    Julia Head Research Communications Officer, NTU
    No. 03

    “Waterfall are a brilliant, supportive and inspiring team to work with. They helped us to reimagine UCAS content that traditionally focused on the application process (the form) to be inspiring and relevant to all students, not just those heading for three-year undergraduate degrees.”

    Dave Penney Chief Marketing Officer, UCAS
    No. 04

    “It was a no-brainer to work with Waterfall. They have a great understanding of the sector and brought stand out dynamism and creativity to the project. It’s been excellent working with the Waterfall team.”

    Paul Govey Head of Student Marketing, The University of Manchester
    No. 05

    “It’s taken Spirit Studios 35 years, but finally we’ve a brand that’s perfect for us. It’s exciting, practical and easy for the team to use, so it ensures longevity and consistency for our audience.”

    Ian Hu Director, Spirit Studios
    No. 06

    “Aston has an ambitious and truly distinctive institutional strategy, laying the foundations for our incredible offer to students. Thank you Waterfall for your amazing work on this. Your creativity, flexibility and ability to work at pace makes you a valued partner!”

    Charlotte Renwick Director of Marketing, Communications and Student Recruitment, Aston University
    No. 07

    “Working with Waterfall has been an absolute pleasure. They took on a challenging brief and worked tirelessly to ensure its success. The team at Waterfall is exceptionally knowledgeable, creative, and skilled. They listened carefully to our vision, and their collaborative nature resulted in a campaign that perfectly matched what we were looking for.”

    Nicola Vassallo Associate Director of Brand and Marketing, Nottingham Trent University
    No. 08

    “Waterfall did an incredible job of bringing to life an extremely sensitive and emotive story. Everyone in their team was committed to delivering the best possible campaign for UUKi, our members and the Higher Education sector.”

    Andy Howells then Assistant Director, External Affairs at Universities UK International
    No. 09

    “Waterfall have been a true partner and delivered stand-out creative solutions to help us achieve our objectives. The team are agile, responsive and always go the extra mile. Plus, they’re a pleasure to work with!”

    Aimee Okafor Head of Events, UCAS
    No. 10

    “It’s been a real pleasure working with Waterfall. The team were there every step of the way to support London Higher in developing the best plan possible, and question where needed, in order to achieve the results we wanted. I couldn’t recommend them highly enough!”

    Anna Zvagule then Head of Communications, London Higher
    No. 11

    “Working with Waterfall has been a genuinely energising experience. Their creativity, strategic thinking, and collaborative spirit have helped us redefine how we talk about Aston - and more importantly, how students see themselves here. We’re incredibly proud of what we’ve achieved together so far, and excited for where this bold new direction will take us next.”

    Charlotte Rock Head of Paid Media and Campaigns, Aston University
    No. 12

    “Working with Waterfall to refresh NCUK’s brand has been a fantastic experience. Their collaborative approach and clear strategy helped us simplify and clarify our brand while maintaining its depth and purpose. We’re delighted with our new identity. It’s so much easier to share who we are with international students and partners around the world.”

    Ben Cunliffe Head of Brand & Marketing, NCUK
    No. 13

    “We really enjoy working in partnership with Waterfall. What they offer that sets them apart is their understanding of marketing in our sector. It’s that knowledge of marketing and a willingness to suggest and ‘play’ with concepts that really supports our ARU brand.”

    Dominic Bean then Director of Marketing, ARU
    No. 14

    “Waterfall’s sector knowledge and track record of delivering bold and impactful Higher Education campaigns made them the perfect fit. Waterfall’s campaign hit every part of the brief and they were so proactive and responsive throughout the process. We now have a video that showcases our PGR experience, breadth of research and diverse student community in a way that has never existed before.”

    Anthony Morris Recruitment & Marketing Officer, The University of Manchester
    No. 15

    “It was great working with Waterfall on this project. The refreshed branding is really flexible, eye-catching and resonates with our audience across all formats. The filming days were also super fun and such a fantastic way to show off our unique Brackenhurst campus.”

    Clare Moss School Marketing Manager, Nottingham Trent University
    No. 16

    “We love the prospectus. And we’re delighted with the great work Waterfall and our marketing team did in getting the prospectus produced and out ahead of other colleges in our area.”

    Gareth Hughes Head of Recruitment & Marketing, Buxton & Leek College
    No. 17

    “The Waterfall team produced the strongest creative work we used for our campaign, delivering great results and excellent feedback. The team’s interpretation of the brief was outstanding, and the project was seamless.”

    Frances Corley International Recruitment Marketing Manager, Manchester Metropolitan University
    No. 18

    “Working with Waterfall is an absolute pleasure. They think of things without us even having to ask, going above and beyond every time.”

    Sarah Derbyshire Marketing Manager, UCAS
    No. 19

    “I’ve been so impressed with the PGR campaign. The new brand is everything I imagined and more. It’s vibrant, bold, brave and most importantly, authentic to The University of Manchester experience!”

    Scott Heath Head of Education, Skills & Training, Dalton Nuclear Institute, The University of Manchester  
    No. 20

    “Collaborating with Waterfall was an incredibly fulfilling experience. They approached every phase with thoughtfulness, clarity, and meticulous attention to detail, enabling us to craft a narrative that resonates on a human level while closely aligned to our values. Our stakeholders were astounded by the quality, and we’ve had fantastic feedback from prospective students.”

    Emma Tronson Deputy Director Marketing & Student Recruitment, Aston University
    No. 21

    “Working with Waterfall has been an absolute pleasure. They took on a challenging brief and worked tirelessly to ensure its success. The team is exceptionally knowledgeable, creative, and skilled. They listened carefully to our vision, and their collaborative nature resulted in a campaign that perfectly matched what we were looking for.”

    Kirsty Wilkinson Head of Development, Alumni & Supporter Engagement, Nottingham Trent University
    No. 22

    Our Work

    Revolutionising emails with personalised interactive videos
    The Prime Minister Podcast
    A brand campaign with no limits
    Doing things differently to attract international students
    EDUCATION MARKETING WILL NEVER BE THE SAME AGAIN
    Amplifying what matters at Clearing
    A postgraduate research campaign with real meaning
    Showcasing meaningful university moments

    NEW AI SOLUTIONS FOR UNIVERSITIES

    At Waterfall, Creative Intelligence meets Artificial Intelligence as we join forces with Blings and Limy. As their preferred innovation partner for the UK Higher Education sector, we can offer you these two exciting products.

    Personalised Interactive Video Emails – Powered by Blings
    Improve the impact and conversion rates of your email campaigns with our creativity and this unique MP5 technology. It produces interactive videos and uses your CRM data to personalise the experience to each student with their name, location and more.

    AI Search Dashboard – Powered by Limy
    AI searches are changing the way students research universities. This platform helps you measure your brand sentiment and optimise content for bots and humans. It also makes recommendations, so we can create new content to amplify your online visibility.

    Campaigns

    Our integrated campaigns can tell the world about your research or vision. Or help you to connect with businesses, alumni and current and future students.

    Broadcast

    We write, design, record and edit a variety of award-winning assets that sit at the heart of our clients’ campaigns. We’ve created powerful films, animated videos, GIFs, Spotify adverts, audio postcards, Instagram Stories, a podcast series and more. As we’re based at the heart of MediaCity, we've access to state-of-the-art audio, film and editing studios.

    Digital Media

    Like and share! We create all kinds of social media posts and campaigns. We also train students to become social media champions.

    Identity

    Looking to create a powerful and consistent brand that makes an impact and tells your unique story? Just get in touch!

    Planning

    Strategy. Segmentation. Persona development. Inspiration workshops. Our expertise can help you plan for success, get your creative flying and target the right people with the right message in the best media.

    Innovation

    Our team is always ready to challenge and think bigger to help you create a stir. We've inspired hack events, helped to create a global student challenge, wrapped a bus in the world's fastest car, produced series of podcasts, organised a full on festival event and transformed UCAS fairs.

    Print

    Thermochromic invitations. Designs for UG prospectuses. Posters with built-in AR. Fun ideas for clearing. We create designs that harness the cut-through power of creative print while taking our clients into the digital future.

    Outdoor

    Our creativity has turned thousands of heads at Euston Station, the Trafford Centre and beyond. We’re skilled at creating eye-catching concepts and designs for billboards, posters, digital screens, 6-sheets and more.

    Our Team

    Latest News

    Charlotte Fenney
    Agency Director
    Andrea Mellow
    Client Services Manager
    Paul Tannahill
    Co-founder and Creative Director - Design
    Richard Hartley
    Co-founder and Creative Director - Words
    Marieke Mollitt
    Marketing Campaigns Manager
    Annabelle Donaldson
    Student Insight Adviser
    David Gennard
    Consultant Photographer
    Charles Leek
    Consultant Video Producer/Photographer

    Take a look at our creativity in action

    Get to know us a bit better

    Based at the heart of MediaCity, Salford, Manchester

    Contact our Agency Director for more details