City College of San Francisco – Ad Campaign

Since 2014, CCSF has experienced a 26 percent drop in enrollment, at least 10 percent higher than other California community colleges that are seeing an average of 8 to 15 percent decline in enrollment. This year, CCSF is tuition-free for residents living in San Francisco.

City College of San Francisco’s current ad campaign skews towards a more urban feel with political undertones. I felt this might prove offputting to potential attendees since it implies a bias in social demographics and hints of political activism. Meanwhile, highlighting the free education suggests lower quality.

• The campaign would push the concept of gaining valuable information without accruing a large financial burden to get it. It will be a series of ads containing the messaging – More [value propsition]. Less Debt. Which conveys both value and cost-effectiveness while sublimating the notion that CCSF provides a Free (but inferior) education by using it as a call to action rather than the main message.

• While the current City College logo was acceptable, I updated it using the Gotham font to give it a bolder structured feel which was both modern but paid homage to City College’s beginnings in the 1930s. The strip of colors was added to convey the vibrancy of the education at CCSF while adding the established-by date further emphasized that City College was a known establishment in the community.

• Photos were selected based on the theme of a featured person who is surrounded by other people to suggest a sense of community. Other photos have the main person’s face purposely obscured as an aspirational device so the viewer can put themselves into the actions portrayed.