Raising a university's profile with distinctive curated research

Objectives

Founded in 2009, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology aspires to be a key destination for scientific and technological education with high-impact research output. As a newer university, KAUST faces the challenge of building global recognition and visibility. By partnering with Nature Research, the university aimed to:

1. Raise awareness of KAUST’s research and expertise across the global scientific community
2. Promote KAUST’s impactful findings and build partnerships across industries
3. Attract talented students and scientists to study, teach, or conduct research at KAUST
4. Target policy makers in the fields of science and technology

Strategy

To increase awareness of KAUST’s research excellence, the administration partnered with Nature Research to produce KAUST Discovery, a bi-annual print magazine and custom designed website. The content was curated by editors to highlight the university’s scientific findings. That research was then promoted to a global audience through a carefully targeted multi-channel campaign.

Custom site

Print magazine

Promotion

A multi-channel approach was used to build traffic and drive engagement from the desired audience. Display ads were shown across different nature.com pages based on behavioral targeting. Print ads were placed in Nature and Nature branded journals. Email and social media marketing campaigns regularly promoted content that was developed for the site. Surveys were conducted to measure KAUST Discovery’s impact on the university’s reputation and recognition.