Video Storytelling as an Effective Strategy for College Brand Awareness

Abstract

The increasing level of competition among higher education institutions demands the adoption of more creative marketing strategies that are relevant to the needs of prospective students, particularly in the digital era dominated by visual content consumption. This study aims to design an effective storytelling-based video content creation strategy model to enhance university brand awareness. The research employs a descriptive qualitative method with a case study approach at Raharja University. Data were collected through in-depth interviews with the marketing team, as well as an analysis of previously published video content to serve as evaluation material and to strengthen the findings. The results of the strategic design indicate that an effective approach is built upon three main pillars a deep understanding of prospective student personalities, the development of narrative storylines that reflect the institution’s identity and unique values, and the consistent distribution of content across various digital platforms. The storytelling approach focuses on crafting narratives that showcase authentic student and alumni experiences, inspirational stories from lecturers, and the university’s contributions to society through research and community service activities. Such narrative-driven content has proven to be more capable of creating emotional engagement compared to promotional content that is purely informative and formal. The comprehensive implementation of this strategy is expected to increase top-of-mind awareness and strengthen prospective students’ preferences toward the institution. This study provides practical contributions for higher education institutions in developing more effective digital communication strategies that are aligned with the needs of modern, digitally oriented audiences.