Columbia Climate School

A bolder campaign system for the next generation of climate leaders.

Columbia Climate School

Reframing climate education around urgency, action, and the people driving change.

Columbia Climate School is a leading center for climate research, education, and innovation. But its existing campaign creative did not fully convey the urgency of its work or resonate with prospective students seeking a credible way to create meaningful, systemic change. Working with Up&Up’s strategy team, Brandon helped translate a new, action-oriented campaign direction into a distinctive visual language. Rather than relying on generic sustainability messaging or conventional institutional marketing, the work positioned Columbia as a place where scientific innovation and human ambition meet to confront the climate crisis. The campaign system paired dramatic environmental imagery with dynamic portraits of people leading change. This human-centered approach gave the school a clearer, more purposeful expression across paid social and display advertising, helping connect an Ivy League education with the real-world impact prospective students wanted to make.

[WHAT SHIPPED]

  • Campaign visual strategy and creative direction
  • Brand-expression concepts for climate-focused storytelling
  • Paid social-media creative
  • Display-ad creative and variations
  • Environmental and human-centered art direction
  • Cross-channel campaign design system

[BUILT TO SUPPORT]

  • Stronger differentiation in a crowded climate-education landscape
  • More authentic relevance for Gen Z prospective students
  • A clearer connection between climate science and real-world action
  • Consistent campaign expression across social and display channels
  • Brand awareness and engagement at efficient campaign scale