ACS are a long-standing part of actor training in Glasgow. They’ve worked with Oscar and BAFTA winners and offer training through one-on-one sessions and small bespoke classes. They were launching a one year course for stage and screen acting and needed to stand out as a genuine alternative to larger more established schools in Europe.

Having worked with ACS on their rebrand I was asked to promote the benefits of their new one year course to aspiring actors.

I surveyed and interviewed young actors applying for first year acting courses to get their insight into applying and the courses available. I found in applying for higher education, actors face a lot of rejection and are often placated with niceties from large organisations. Successful applicants face exorbitant fees for the privilege of their tuition and the feeling is that the schools don’t care for the people on the courses as long as they pay.

Brand voice

The direction of the campaign was built from that feeling. I planned and directed a ‘day in the life’ media shoot to create energetic images that showed the positive attitude of ACS towards its students. This involved hiring and directing a photographer and videographer, and organising a set of over 20 people on the day of the shoot. The resulting photography and video – which you can see here – were the basis of the schools marketing campaign, being used across the website and the brand’s social media channels.

I paired the photography with strong, straightforward statements that spoke directly to the actor that won’t give up on themselves. The campaign was applied where aspiring actors would be: on social media, at trade events and in print magazines such as The Stage.

Laconic brand style

When applying to acting schools, actors face a lot of rejection. I created a branding that spoke directly to them. Nothing superfluous, a clear message of we understand you, this is what we can offer you in the next year, are you interested? I then applied this message across print, digital, social, advertising and event collateral.