Harvard Business School Executive Education

If the situation calls for Harvard, GO. 

I mean come on, it’s Harvard.

In a category that was lacking personality, emotion, or imagination we wanted to avoid talking about “why Harvard” and explore the moments in a person’s career where a little “boost”, a shift in perspective, or a hard skill is needed to make that critical leap to the C-suite.

“I’m not Harvard material”

People kept telling us this, over and over. For most, there is a mysterious and intellectual moat that guards the gates of Harvard. Our goal was to build them a bridge. We wanted to tell the truth—”people go to Harvard, not superheroes.”

So we pitched the idea of giving prospective participants a free peek inside a class—something Harvard had never done.

Witty, provoking and personal.

Our ads stripped the brand of its usual brick buildings, ivy, and straightforward language. We relied on the heart of our idea to do the work—and connect with people, rather than promote the brand. We used a “ready, set, go!” headline structure that presented a relatable and tangible situation that needed to be solved.

We got their attention, now what?

We redesigned key collateral and moved those with interest to the next step. The result was their number-one digital download, and a pivotal deep dive into a specific program.