Academy of Art: Establishing Credibility Through Messaging

The Academy of Art buildings around San Francisco normally have windows which showcase student artwork: various sketches, clothing designs, digital renderings.  

But the display that’s up now made me stop and take a second look.  The windows feature several posters of the runway with the caption stating, “Awarded internship with Burberry/ Marc Jacobs/ Corso Como/ various fashion brands.”

With various top institutions in the Bay Area, the Academy of Art can get lost in the shadow.  But by highlighting how their students are regularly selected for internships with top fashion houses, they send the message that their school produces talented taste-makers.

This accomplishes two things:

1) It could attract potential students to consider applying to the school, because of the success rate with placing students in desirable internships.  

2) It also establishes a strong brand for their current students and graduates.  Most people know about famous design schools like Parsons in New York City, but the Academy of Art wants the world to recognize that their people are working at the same brands too.

The messaging here works because it is confident and educates the viewer about an aspect of the school’s brand that people might otherwise have overlooked without the campaign.

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