Publicis India to manage integrated communications mandate of UPES

Publicis India has won the integrated communications mandate of UPES, a multi-disciplinary and specialization-focused university. The agency would be providing full-service responsibilities including advertising, strategy, experiential, and other suitable offerings. The account will be managed out of the New Delhi office of Publicis India. 

Flagging off the partnership, Publicis India has launched an integrated ad campaign led largely by a series of print ads and outdoor that captures UPES’s specialized approach. The campaign has been launched across major traditional avenues including print, outdoor, and digital.

Commenting on the appointment, Bharat Kharbanda, Chief Operating Officer, UPES said, “UPES has grown exponentially since its inception and we are constantly expanding, with the recent inclusion of three new schools. Our excellent student outcomes, strong focus on research and pedagogy and multiple new initiatives at the university level are impactful stories that need to be told. We are happy to have Publicis India as our partner agency because of their enthusiasm towards our vision and purpose and their years of expertise in this industry.”

Speaking on the partnership, Sridharan Iyer, EVP and Head of office – Publicis Delhi said, “UPES is a truly forward-looking university in India. It is a privilege to partner with them in their endeavour to raise the benchmark of higher education by offering students an edge that will not just give them a head-start in their careers but will see them playing a pivotal leadership role in their chosen field of specialisation as well as society at large. As an agency the challenge was to underline the uniqueness of UPES’s offering and differentiate it from the run of the mill promises that institutes make which is common in this category.

The insight behind the recently released campaign stems from the fact that in the current educational scenario the value of degree is actually below par. However, UPES believes in adding value to the degrees by viewing it from the lens of tomorrow.”

Speaking about the campaign, Vikash Chemjong and Basabjit ‘Tito’ Majumdar – National Creative Directors, Publicis India said: “In our times as students, holding a degree was of utmost importance, be it for job proposal, for a business proposal and even for a marriage proposal. Degree was pedigree. But with the changing times just running with a degree has become simply run of the mill. Even in their specialization one needs to find something special. And our job was to position UPES as a university that gives students that cutting edge to cut it in both career and life. Education that’s not only top notch but a notch higher, not just a degree but a degree higher.”

Based in Dehradun, UPES has eight schools - School of Engineering, School of Computer Science, School of Design, School of Law, School of Business, School of Health Sciences, School of Smart Agriculture and School of Modern Media. A purpose driven university, UPES has declared the year 2020 as the Year of Women Empowerment. Understanding that education is the best way of empowerment and leading the way to create more women leaders for tomorrow, UPES has announced a 25 per cent scholarship on complete program duration to all female students applying for under-graduate and postgraduate courses in the academic year 2020.  

To provide its students with the best of learning resources, UPES has also collaborated with Coursera, a leading online learning platform offering its students free access to over 3,800 courses from 200 of the world’s most renowned universities and industry partners such as Google, IBM, BCG, Amazon Web Services etc. 

Stuti Gandhi, Head of Marketing, UPES, added, “Being an education brand that caters to the youth with changing characteristics every few years, it is necessary to be innovative, creative and agile while communicating with them. While it is imperative to impart specialised knowledge, it’s the ‘Extra’ that sets the individuals apart in today’s day and age. With the messaging of ‘Go a degree higher’, the idea is to position UPES as a university that pushes the envelope and truly puts its students a degree higher in both professional and personal space."

Established in 2003 through the UPES Act, 2003 of the State Legislature of Uttarakhand, UPES is a UGC-recognized university. It has received 5 Stars for both employability (placements) and campus facilities and 4 Stars for teaching by globally acclaimed QS Ratings. Given its industry-oriented programs and emphasis on holistic development, UPES graduates are a preferred choice for recruiters, ensuring a track record of 90% + placements over the last few years. UPES is driven by its core philosophy and purpose of delivering outstanding student outcomes.