Cincinnati Innovation District:
“Esports Is”
The
Problem
Parents still think gaming means staring at a screen in the basement. UC needed prospective students (and their families) to see that Esports and Game Design are legitimate, high-growth career paths with serious tech and design jobs attached.
What We Did
We meticulously studied the gaming category and enrolled actual students as subject matter experts to inform the work. Then we teamed up with the CID crew to set an ownable voice that felt native to gaming culture without losing the institutional backbone. We captured the electric energy of live tournaments, put real student athletes center stage, and connected competitive play directly to the craft of game development and engineering.
The Payoff
A high-energy recruitment engine that actually resonated with Gen Z. More than two years later, it’s still in heavy rotation welcoming visitors on-site at the 1819 facility and is now the university’s #1 fastest growing community. Over this time period, general enrollment is up 4.5% and STEM majors have increased 3.4%.