“How do you tell your stakeholders you are back in business and here to make a difference?”

UC : Canterbury Earthquake Recovery

Campaign Strategy + Delivery

The Challenge

When the going gets tough - actions speak louder. This was true after the first Canterbury earthquake in September 2010. When the University of Canterbury (UC) needed to demonstrate they were open for business and ready to support the community in the aftermath - they saw the most potent example within their own student catchment. Through the decision to support the can-do attitude and pulling together across the city and to acknowledge the initiative and compassion of the volunteer Student Army - UC expressed this with a universally positive message to all the residents and businesses of Christchurch, U-CAN.

The week the earthquake struck was the final week of student registration, a critical time in the life of the University. The following weeks were to be the start-up for the 2011 study year, which was consequently stalled. The disruption to the lives of students and staff was profound. There has been no precedent for events in the last six months in the history of the University.

The Solution

As time went by and the picture for the re-start became clearer, we worked with UC to develop a campaign of activity that would appear around Christchurch. The sentiment behind it was in part acknowledging the efforts of the Student Volunteer Army, in part to encourage UC staff to re-engage and get on board with the recovery and in part encouraging students to return to studies and get on with their lives at UC.

We were all inspired by the efforts of the Student Volunteer Army, not only in the physical effort to organise themselves, but more in the way they overcame the circumstances, gritting their teeth and just getting on with what had to be done. Their initiative was behind the whole idea of 'U-CAN'. This in itself was a reflection of what we believe is embodied the the character of UC students and the institution itself, thus it became the focus for the campaign.

Key considerations: Rapidly deploy Community engagement and ‘Business as usual’ campaign after February earthquake; City wide morale low, saw opportunity top leverage huge empathy and engagement on back of ‘Student Army activity; High need to stand up as key business in the region; Imperative to build trust in local undergraduate student catchment.

Segmentation: Core community; Local undergraduates and influencers; Local government, media and business. Additionally both administrative and academic staff and key UC Partners.

Media: Press and outdoor, bus backs and bus shelters. Supported with PR and digital. There was also on-campus activity - T-shirts were dispersed among students and posters around campus bollards and noticeboards.

The Result

Strong media interest, large volume of coverage; growth in web traffic regarding U/G enrolment; Incredible student and staff engagement (anecdotal and support in volunteer activity).