Robertson College is looking to stand out among its competitors with a more realistic message for potential students: “Don’t quit your day job – yet.”

In a campaign developed with Winnipeg-based creative shop Brandish, the college directly addresses the stresses and disappointment that many have been feeling about their jobs in recent years and encourages those people to pursue opportunities at Robertson to upskill and find more meaningful work. But it tells them not to immediately leave the jobs they’re unsatisfied with, as its schedules and class structures have the flexibility for studies to happen around other responsibilities they need to maintain for financial stability. The campaign is directly driven by insights the creative agency gleaned through its own research.

“Our research is showing that in contrast to the Great Resignation of 2020 to 2022, more employees across Canada have decided to hunker down, feeling too insecure financially to take a risk on finding more meaningful work,” explains Alexandra Martin, partner and director of brand at Brandish. “Even though people are deeply, deeply unhappy, they’re stuck. Robertson felt strongly about tackling this head-on and demonstrating their commitment to helping students find meaningful work through flexible course modalities in a more direct way than they ever have in the past. They know their programs can help people become unstuck without sacrificing financial stability, and they needed to tell that story in an impactful way.”

To tell that story, Robertson has rolled out a campaign spanning TV, social and OOH billboards. In three distinct, 30-second spots, the stories of a trio of unsatisfied employees are told, spanning from a woman tired of being micromanaged to a man who is just plain board with the work he does. All three ads are full of ennui, but they also bring a slightly humourous touch to the subject, as well. It’s an interesting point of tension for a brand that “doesn’t take itself too seriously,” according to Martin.

“The creative strikes a chord. Capturing the emotional exhaustion, hopelessness and frustrations of working a job that takes the life out of you was critical,” she adds. “Over the last few years, Robertson’s main competitors have leaned into inspiration messaging – capturing the future. We wanted to capture the present and offer a solution that felt relevant.”

“When encouraging an audience to think about an aspect of their life that might be causing them stress or anxiety, using humour can be a good way to keep people feeling positive and empowered,” adds Christopher Samms, creative director at the agency. “We wanted people to associate that energy and those positive feelings with Robertson while they think about their future.”

The campaign launched at the end of May and, so far, response to the creative has been “extremely positive,” Martin says.

“We heard last week from a VP at Robertson that potential students said they are applying because they could relate to the characters in the ads – specifically the out-of-home articulation of the creative seen on billboards across Canada,” she adds. “You can’t get much better than that.”