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Strategic storytelling for brand prestige

Client name Forrest Research Foundation
Year 2025
Work completed Creative and digital
Team Glenn Langridge, Fran Lawrence, Cameron Wong, Ben Cole, Lainey Smith, Ella Haines

Overview

The Forrest Research Foundation is a prestigious institution funded by philanthropists Nicola and Andrew Forrest and working across Western Australia’s ve universities, providing scholarships and fellowships to exceptional individuals conducting innovative research across all disciplines. The Foundation had a clear goal to elevate its brand to the echelons of world-renowned academic institutions.

Challenge

With that in mind, the Foundation approached Purple with a challenge: to transform its digital presence and showcase the groundbreaking work of its researchers.

The Purple team accepted the challenge, and worked to develop a comprehensive, integrated strategy to establish core brand assets, capture compelling researcher stories, and strategically disseminate this content through digital channels.

Solution

The multifaceted approach included:

Developing a sophisticated new website with enhanced user experience, robust security for application data, and powerful brand expression
Producing an inspiring hero video encapsulating the world class opportunities the Foundation provides
Creating three engaging videos detailing the prestigious application and scholarship process
Filming and editing a series of captivating case study videos profiling researchers and their complex, impactful work

Achieving these ambitious objectives required seamless collaboration between the client, agency leadership, and a diverse team of internal creative, technical, and production experts. The Purple team took great care to ensure researchers felt comfortable and confident on camera, providing coaching to help them articulate their complex topics in a meaningful, accessible manner.

Visually, the team developed innovative approaches to bring abstract concepts to life, ensuring each video produced was engaging and impactful.

Results

The success of this integrated campaign lies in its thoughtful execution and authentic storytelling. Early feedback revealed researchers were thrilled with both the production experience and the video products, with many already utilising the assets for conference presentations and award entries.

The strategic creation and dissemination of these core brand assets – the new website and video library – has empowered the Forrest Research Foundation to build prestige, engage wider audiences, attract world-class scholars, and establish a strong foundation for thought leadership in their eld. This has since led to increased media coverage.