From the Nominator

Ivey Business School at Western University--located in London and Toronto, Ontario, Canada--celebrated a major milestone with its 100th anniversary in 2023. Ivey is considered one of the top business schools in Canada (ranked #1 for an MBA in Canada by Bloomberg for eight years) and is a leading provider of relevant, innovative, and comprehensive business education. A significant anniversary like a centennial offered a unique opportunity to celebrate Ivey’s legacy. The school was the first in Canada to offer an HBA, an MBA, and a PhD degree, as well as the first in Canada to offer executive education. While looking back would no doubt build pride, the school was very much looking forward with an ambitious new strategic plan, Ivey Next, released in 2022. The anniversary presented an ideal opportunity to communicate the new strategy and position Ivey as a thought leader. Coming out of the pandemic, the centennial also offered opportunities to bring the community together to celebrate in person and strengthen community bonds. The year-long centennial celebration, under the theme "The Future We See," included an awareness campaign, storytelling, social media, video series, alumni events, a symposium, and community-involvement initiatives that all aligned with our new strategic plan. The main objective of this campaign was to increase awareness of Ivey's legacy and future direction, engage stakeholders, and build pride. The results exceeded all initial targets, including an upswing in website traffic metrics, strong engagement on social media, and enhanced alumni engagement.

From the Judges

This beautiful multi-channel campaign impressed with its outstanding design work and comprehensive approach. The visuals were well executed, and the mix of media was well balanced. The strategy was well thought out, responding effectively to reputation survey data. Judges particularly liked the building of brand, which added to the campaign's overall success.