Maxine Peake Voices Gyro's Inspiring New Campaign for Salford University

The University of Salford has launched an integrated undergraduate student recruitment effort for the 2017 school year. The new campaign, created by gyro Manchester, brings to life the University’s unique values, its links with the industry, and the importance of being work-ready in what is a hugely competitive market.

Today, the University has a successful presence worldwide. Its seven schools, 20,000 students and 2,500 staff have helped it become the 5th in the UK in the Whitty Review of UK universities for contacts with small-to-medium enterprise.

The University of Salford appointed gyro in May this year to create its student recruitment campaign for 2017. The goal is to raise awareness of the University and demonstrate the value of a degree that provides exceptional “real world” experience. 

The University has also taken to the big screen with its advertising for the first time in several years. Its cinema ad challenges undergraduates to question what they want from their future – whether they want a career that’s safe and ordinary, or extraordinary and life changing. The ad closes with the tagline: “It’s time to choose your future.”

Renowned actress Maxine Peake, who is a proud resident of Salford, stars as the voiceover of the ad. Peake starred in the highly acclaimed film "The Theory of Everything" as well as "Keeping Rosy." Most recently she played the lead role in Tennessee Williams’ play “A Streetcar Named Desire” at Manchester’s Royal Exchange Theater. Her television roles include Victoria Wood’s “Dinner Ladies,” Manchester-based “Shameless” as well as “Silk.”

Danny Turnbull, Managing Director of gyro Manchester, said: “We’re excited to be involved with the University of Salford – not least because we are based here and have a genuine perspective of what the City of Salford has to offer, how it is evolving, and the unique and thriving culture of the area.”

Hannah Burchell, Associate Director of Marketing for The University of Salford, said: “Working with gyro on this project has been a great experience – they’ve really got under the skin of who we are as a University and translated our character to this campaign. They’ve really helped articulate where we are heading as a University and brought it to life for future students.”

The integrated, multi-channel campaign is running across digital, digital radio/streaming (Spotify), out-of-home, cinema, and through UCAS email-targeting.