The University of Manchester

Research Like You Mean It

Who says postgraduate research campaigns can’t pack a punch? We co-created a new style of campaign that did just that with the Faculties of Humanities at The University of Manchester.

Brief

We were asked to develop a campaign like no other that would stand out from traditional PGR marketing campaigns. To grow its global reputation in the market, the University wanted a concept and style that would hero its students and get across the reality, hard work and many benefits of postgraduate research.

Working with our partners Future Index, we provided inspiration and audience insight to inform our thinking. We talked to the University team, Doctoral Academy and current postgraduate researchers to discover all about their PGR experience. Together, we then developed a compelling brand narrative, distinct messaging and creative strategy with a difference.

One major theme stood out that we just had to capture. Postgraduate research isn’t for everyone. PGRs aren’t quiet bookworms. They are passionate, resilient, work hard, have setbacks and give their all every day to carry out research with purpose. They ‘Research like they mean it’ – with the University providing them with the support, resources, supervision and opportunities they need to succeed. So, we decided to work with a diverse group of postgraduate researchers across Humanities to tell the story of what it’s really like to be a postgraduate researcher.

We started by organising a photoshoot, so we could launch the campaign online and on socials with striking student portraits using branded lighting. Then for the hero video, we filmed the researchers stood talking to camera in the studio with plenty of attitude rather than the usual ‘talking heads’ videos. We then added clips of them getting stuck into their research and talking on campus and around Manchester. We also created shorter videos for socials and a toolkit packed full of templates and assets, so the internal team could grow this multimedia campaign on their website and through emails, socials, digital banners, on-campus events and more.

As soon as the campaign went live it created a real buzz at the new PhD café. It’s still early days, but the video was watched around 1,000 times on LinkedIn and YouTube in the first two weeks with no paid media. The results for the campaign from February 2025 have been incredible with applications up 10%, offers up 45% and acceptances up 31% Y-O-Y. Which is a 5-year high. Results that really mean something!

“Waterfall’s track record of delivering impactful and bold campaigns in Higher Education made them a perfect fit for a new promotional identity for Humanities postgraduate research. Combined with their existing knowledge of the sector, they approached the initial research and stakeholder engagement with a robust methodology and clear timeframe for getting the maximum return on what we needed to inform the campaign.

There was an impressive array of ideas and awareness of trends and innovations from the outset. It has been particularly satisfying to include the combined voice of our academic and student community in a combined narrative voice that doesn’t shy away from the challenge postgraduate research presents. Alongside the exciting assets and visuals, we now have a launch video that showcases our PGR experience, breadth of research and diverse student community in a way that has never existed before.

Waterfall’s campaign has hit every part of the brief we put together. They have been so proactive and responsive throughout the process. It’s great to see the campaign take shape in its earliest stages and explore how we can further expand the campaign in the future.’’

Anthony Morris, Recruitment & Marketing Officer