Title	THE FUTURE HEADS
Brand	NITH – THE NORWEGIAN SCHOOL OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
Product/Service	CAMPAIGN
Category	B03. CONSUMER SERVICES
Advertising Agency	GOOD MORNING Oslo, NORWAY
PR Agency	TRIGGER OSLO, NORWAY
Entrant Company	TRIGGER OSLO, NORWAY

Name	Company	Position
Preben Carlsen	Trigger AS	Consultant
Andreas Ziener	Trigger AS	Project Manager
Magdalena Kamøy	Trigger AS	Creative
Chris Allan Simonsen	Trigger AS	Creative
Henrik Bydal	Trigger AS	Content Advisor
Julie Tellugen Hæhre	Trigger AS	Pr Advisor
Eirik Fjellaksel	Good Morning	Consultant
Jørgen Winsnes	Good Morning	Designer
Robert Bue	Good Morning	Developer
Peter Wojciechowski	Good Morning	Developer
Kareen Vaksdal Madsen	Good Morning	Producer

The Campaign

The Norwegian School of Information Technology is a small Norwegian university college that has had a declining number of student applications in the past years. They needed to reverse the negative trend with this year’s recruitment campaign and had a goal of recruiting not only more, but also better, students. Our solution; to go on a search for The Future Heads of IT and technology in Norway, and then proudly present them to the world by demonstrating the next big thing in technology – 3D-printing. First, we invited the potential students to 3D-scan their heads on the campaign website. Then we chose the five most popular heads and made them into real modern-day statues which we showcased on prominent locations. Simultaneously, we showcased the technology at education fairs all over Norway, where we 3D-printed the visitors heads on site. The campaign led to a major increase of social media engagement, the campaign website had over 50.000 unique visitors and we reached out to more than 2,5 million people via extensive media coverage. Most importantly the campaign attracted 12% more applications than the year before and 42% more contracts were signed with new students. The key PR elements of the campaign include the use of owned (www.fremtidenshoder.no), editorial and social media for ongoing storytelling throughout the campaign period, and the use of event in the printing and exhibition of the future heads on prominent locations.

The Brief

With this year's recruitment campaign, NITH wanted to reach out to a broader audience in order to reverse the fall in applicants. The ambition was to achieve an increase in the number of applicants generally, but in particular to bring about an increase in relevant and qualified applicants that actually end up studying at the college.

Results

The campaign created a significant level of engagement on social media. Fremtidenshoder.no had over 50,000 unique visitors during the campaign period, and three films documenting the 3D-printing have been viewed over 280,000 times on YouTube. The campaign received widespread attention in the national media, with an editorial reach of 2.5 million, including some of the most influential technology media and various trade media in the field of marketing and communication. However, most important of all, the campaign has led to the number of contracts signed by the college with new students increasing by a total of 42 per cent compared to last year. The number of applicants has also increased substantially by 12 per cent. Thus NITH has successfully managed to reverse the fall in applicants by increasing the number of applicants significantly compared to the overall increase in Norway, which was just 2.5 per cent.

Execution

We started out by creating a recruitment website, www.fremtidenshoder.no, where potential candidates could scan their own head using their webcam, and get a 3D model of themselves in return. Then we printed out the most popular and dedicated 3D heads that came in and immortalised them as statues in some of the most prestigious artistic and cultural venues in Norway such as the capital city's new Ekebergparken Sculpture Park, the Norwegian Museum of Science and Technology and The Munch Museum. We also used technology as attractions at educational fairs around the country, where we 3D printed heads for visitors to NITH's stand as keyrings - something that created huge amount of attention. All activities were combined with ongoing storytelling in editorial, social, and paid media.

The Situation

NITH, The Norwegian School of Information Technology is a small Norwegian university college, mostly known among young people with a strong interest for IT - popularly called “computer nerds”. Due to these connotations NITH has not succeeded in increasing applicant numbers in line with the general increase in the number of students. In other words, the college has a downward trend and has lost market share, despite its courses being among the most innovative in Norway.

The Strategy

We wanted to prove that technology and IT solutions of the future are not limited to "nerdy" programming, and to demonstrate that the opportunities provided by an education at NITH are diverse, exciting, and engaging. Through the concept "NITH search for Future Heads" we combined a fascination for technology with separate identity building in order to appeal to and engage a wider audience. We actively searched for "the heads of the future" for NITH - the college that acts as a gateway to the careers of the future. Through their interest in IT these heads will be involved in shaping our society in future, and we therefore wanted to pay them the tribute that they deserve with a little help from the technology of the future - 3D printing.