Mission possible: rebranding a venerable institution.

A galvanizing brand platform and a paradigm-shifting ad campaign helped the University of Chicago Booth School of Business boost its worldwide presence. And recently, Booth garnered the largest gift ever given to any business school.

 
 

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Lipman Hearne and Chicago Booth have a trusting, longstanding partnership. From international research and strategic brand consulting to award-winning print campaigns and compelling interactive executions, Lipman Hearne has helped the world’s best business school expand its distinctive presence.

Once perceived as merely a highly quantitative business school, Chicago Booth needed to communicate the empirically driven thinking, rigorous questioning, and wide-ranging expertise that makes the school perfect for all disciplines.

Lipman Hearne positioned the school as a source for unconventional yet data-driven ideas that challenge orthodoxies and change the world of business—and the world at large. This positioning, carried out in two award-winning ad campaigns, helped drive enrollment to both its full-time graduate and executive MBA programs. It also catapulted Chicago to #1 full-time MBA school in Business Week and by the Economist Intelligence Unit. Just as important, the brand articulation drew enthusiastic responses on campus and among alumni around the world.

In 2008, Chicago called on Lipman Hearne for an unprecedented assignment: develop a wide array of content—advertising, interactive, editorial—to celebrate a $300 million gift from alumnus David Booth. The creative development and execution had to be done quickly and quietly—just in time for the official announcement of Mr. Booth’s gift and the new school name. Lipman Hearne produced a webcast of the event that was seen by more than 4,000 people. And Chicago Booth continues to change the way business is done around the world.

 
Our partnership with Chicago Booth has spanned eight years and included campaigns in the United States, Europe, and Asia.
The irrefutable brand platform: More than a business school. A business force.
The ad campaign: Razor sharp, challenging, and well placed. Click-through rates are high; inquiries shoot up.
The big reveal: The School receives the largest gift ever given to a business school, and Lipman Hearne develops an array of communications to tell the world, including this special edition of Chicago GSB Magazine.
Our work for the 2009 Management Conference included advertising, live video streaming, and lively recaps on the web.