Victoria University appoints Hardhat as lead strategic and creative agency partner

Creative agency Hardhat has been awarded Victoria University’s strategic and creative account, following a competitive pitch.

Victoria University (VU), is one of Victoria’s most progressive institutions, providing higher education, and vocational education and training programs to over 46,000 students. In 2018, VU proudly delivered an Australian 1st, revolutionising higher education in Australia through introducing the innovative VU Block Model, in which students study a single subject at a time over a four-week block, rather than the traditional model of four concurrent subjects over a three month semester. In 2019, VU was ranked 45 in the world’s top universities aged under 50.

The win will see Hardhat lead the charge on all of VU’s integrated marketing efforts, including brand, creative and comms.

Says Claire Crowley, director of brand and marketing: “VU is excited to be kicking off this new strategic partnership with Hardhat who are very aligned to the innovation journey that VU is currently on. Hardhat really impressed the team with their strategic thinking, innovative creative approach, digital expertise and general passion and drive. We look forward to achieving great things together.”

Says Dan Monheit, co-founder of Hardhat: ”While the entire higher education sector has been busy talking about ‘innovation’, VU has been busy innovating. The Block Model is an entirely different way of serving up a university’s core product, and the results from the first two years have been phenomenal. VU’s willingness and ability to bring about this scale of change speaks volumes about their challenger mentality, their ambition, and the type of organisation they are. We’re thrilled to be on board to help rewrite the rules of what a university experience can be.”

Hardhat was founded in 2005 by Dan Monheit and Justin Kabbani. The agency, now 40 strong, builds brands through a combination of creativity and behavioural insights. Hardhat clients include Tigerair, Simply Energy, Carsales, VicRoads and Lion Dairy and Drinks.