OUDF502: PPP2 Competition Brief

At the beginning of the year, we were required to enter at least one competition brief or a live brief for a client. I decided to enter a competition to design the 2014 National Student Survey (NSS) promotional campaign. The winning concept will be used as the basis for the annual marketing campaign to promote the NSS and encourage eligible students to participate in the survey.  The winning design will be on display in over 250 Higher Education Institutions and Further Education Colleges across England, Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland and will be used to engage over 400,000 eligible students.

The requirement of the competition brief is below

The NSS promotional competition invites current students to design a promotional campaign that can be used as the basis for the National Student Survey 2014.

The annual campaign consists of the following items:

A4, A3 and A0 Posters (English and bilingual versions)
A6 Flyers
Electronic banners (animated and static)
Computer/plasma screen screensavers and wallpapers
A campaign video

All entrants must submit a design for a poster for the 2014 campaign. In addition entrants must consider how the concept can be adapted into the other mediums listed.

For the more ambitious designers, we are welcome to submit a full portfolio, which covers all aspects of the promotional materials. As a minimum, we are to provide our thoughts on how the poster can be adapted.

What they are looking for? They are looking for a strong, imaginative poster design which is simple yet dynamic.

They are looking for a campaign that engages eligible students. It needs to:

• Attract attention 
• Appeal to final year students 
• Stand out from the crowd 
• Encourage students to take part or visit the website 

The winning design will be used across a range of media and entrants should think about how the design could be adapted. The winning design will also need to be translated into Welsh for Welsh speaking students, so we need think about what our design will look like as a bilingual design before submitting.

What is the aim of the poster?

The aim of the poster is to encourage students to actively participate in the NSS. It should reflect the purpose of the NSS, conveying the reasons why students should take part in the survey.

Key messages to include: 

• Survey of mainly final year undergraduates 
• Opportunity to give feedback on their Higher Education experience 
• Takes just 5 minutes to complete the survey online 
• The survey is run independently by the survey agency – it is not undertaken by the institution 
• The survey is anonymous 
• An opportunity for students to give their honest feedback 
• Opportunity to convey opinion – in a nationally recognised format 

Target audience

The target audience is all those who are eligible to participate in the NSS, which is mainly final year undergraduate students in the UK.

The poster should be appropriate for display in a wide range of Further and Higher Education Institutions. Please keep in mind that the poster will need to stand out amongst other posters aimed at students.

Deadline Must be received by Midnight on Monday 7 October 2013.