Jez Returns For a Starring Role After Surge in Popularity
Edge Hill’s famous virtual student Jez will return to TV screens this week due to popular demand.
The funky, animated character, who sports a trendy goatee beard and groovy hairstyle, will star in the University’s forthcoming recruitment campaign after proving a massive hit with prospective students.
Jez has caused a sensation since first appearing as Edge Hill’s friendly campus guide in 2005. Enquiries have soared by 50 per cent and open days have been packed out with potential students eager to experience the range of courses and facilities highlighted in the adverts.
This rise has been mirrored in application levels which rocketed by 40 per cent during last year alone.
Roy Bayfield, Edge Hill’s Director of Marketing said:
“Jez has had an amazing impact in raising our profile and spreading the word about Edge Hill. He has proved to be a highly effective brand. He has a likeability factor which means people warm to him and remember Edge Hill in a very positive way.
“Jez has also been highly successful in helping us to reach students in schools and colleges who previously knew little about Edge Hill.
“Owing to the popularity of these TV adverts, we have expanded the use of Jez into other areas so he now features on our website, on local buses, on fliers and we even ran a competition within the University to discover a student with “The Jez Factor.”
Edge Hill’s marketing team have worked closely with three Manchester-based companies - advertising agency Euro RSCG Riley, who devised the original concept for the TV adverts, animators Kilogramme Ltd and Soup Collective, who provide the real-life campus footage in the ads.
The adverts have been developed over the last three years to reflect feedback from viewers. Research showed that potential students preferred to see a mix of Jez and reality footage rather than pure animation.
The adverts will initially run from 10-19 August then again during September and October on Granada, Channel 4, Sky and E4. This year’s campaign has been expanded to include areas of the Midlands as well as the North of England.
The funky, animated character, who sports a trendy goatee beard and groovy hairstyle, will star in the University’s forthcoming recruitment campaign after proving a massive hit with prospective students.
Jez has caused a sensation since first appearing as Edge Hill’s friendly campus guide in 2005. Enquiries have soared by 50 per cent and open days have been packed out with potential students eager to experience the range of courses and facilities highlighted in the adverts.
This rise has been mirrored in application levels which rocketed by 40 per cent during last year alone.
Roy Bayfield, Edge Hill’s Director of Marketing said:
“Jez has had an amazing impact in raising our profile and spreading the word about Edge Hill. He has proved to be a highly effective brand. He has a likeability factor which means people warm to him and remember Edge Hill in a very positive way.
“Jez has also been highly successful in helping us to reach students in schools and colleges who previously knew little about Edge Hill.
“Owing to the popularity of these TV adverts, we have expanded the use of Jez into other areas so he now features on our website, on local buses, on fliers and we even ran a competition within the University to discover a student with “The Jez Factor.”
Edge Hill’s marketing team have worked closely with three Manchester-based companies - advertising agency Euro RSCG Riley, who devised the original concept for the TV adverts, animators Kilogramme Ltd and Soup Collective, who provide the real-life campus footage in the ads.
The adverts have been developed over the last three years to reflect feedback from viewers. Research showed that potential students preferred to see a mix of Jez and reality footage rather than pure animation.
The adverts will initially run from 10-19 August then again during September and October on Granada, Channel 4, Sky and E4. This year’s campaign has been expanded to include areas of the Midlands as well as the North of England.
