Responses by Tristan Roques, art director, KesselsKramer.
Background: Everyone talks about wanting to make an impact these days, yet surprisingly few graduates choose to become teachers. A big reason for that is the lack of status often attached to the profession. This campaign set out to change that, to give teaching the recognition it deserves while also shining a light on the teaching master’s program from the Universities of the Netherlands.
Design thinking: In today’s society, fancy job titles often signal status. Manager, consultant, coach, executive, facilitator—the list goes on. Impressive words, though the work itself sometimes lacks real meaning. However, all those qualities can also be found in teaching. So, we created a series of humorous, status-boosting titles: chief classroom officer, impact facilitator, growth developer, research coach, managing mentor—a.k.a. teacher.
Challenges: This was a small campaign with a limited budget, so big outdoor media wasn’t an option. Instead, we had to get creative and make teachers themselves part of the campaign. We designed a range of items—mugs, sweaters and stickers—and asked teachers to share photos of themselves using them. That way, the message spread organically through their own networks and the universities’ channels, making it feel more personal and authentic in the end.
Favorite details: Of all the items we made, my favorite is the mug that says “chief classroom officer.” It almost makes me want to quit my job to become a teacher.
New lessons: This campaign was meant to inspire people to become teachers, but we also wanted to make a statement: What kind of jobs do we value as a society? That realization came with a bit of self-awareness too: In our own industry, we proudly give ourselves titles like art director, creative director or account manager. So, why not do the same for education?
Visual influences: Last year’s campaign for the Universities of the Netherlands featured bold statements about doing something that matters, such as “real influencers stand in front of the classroom.” Those statements were hand lettered by artist Guido de Boer, whose expressive typography perfectly matched the tone. Since this new campaign focused on corporate job titles, we used a more polished, corporate typeface. This was contrasted with a rebellious, hand-drawn signoff: “a.k.a. teacher.”
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