Here to Guide You There

Read the campaign story

The campaign gave the space between decisions a role of its own. Open Universities Australia launched Here to Guide You There in April 2022, using a journey metaphor to present its course marketplace and advisers. The agency also placed the message in transitional settings, including stations, connecting the media context to the idea of being between stages.

Editorial interpretation: many education messages begin with a destination. This one gives attention to the unsettled period before a person has chosen one. That makes guidance, rather than certainty, the service benefit. The creative turn is to treat not knowing yet as a legitimate starting point. A useful adaptation can make a customer feel understood without claiming to know their future or reducing a complex decision to a single motivational line.

Editorial interpretation: the media setting reinforces the metaphor when it is relevant without becoming intrusive. A person waiting between places may recognise the idea of transition, but that does not mean the advertiser knows they are reconsidering their life. The distinction matters. Context can create resonance without turning an ordinary location into an unsupported inference about someone’s education, finances, employment or emotional state.

The agency account and launch report establish the positioning, placements and roles, not proof of student outcomes or independently verified brand lift. A marketplace’s guidance is not a guarantee of admission or the right career choice. The organisation is distinct from the UK Open University and has its own service proposition.

Describe the help before promising the destination

A fictional directory of local creative groups could explain how it helps people compare formats, schedules and participation styles. That is a useful service even when it cannot decide which group someone should join. Write the assistance as a set of observable actions. If the copy only promises a better future, the audience may miss the practical reason to use the intermediary rather than search independently.

Give uncertainty a respectful place in the journey

An information page can include a route for someone who is only exploring, without pushing them toward a form or commitment. In a paper prototype, offer a comparison example before asking for any preference. Review whether the language allows a person to remain undecided. A guidance proposition becomes less credible if every path immediately demands the very decision the service claims to help them consider.

Use contextual placement without personal assumptions

A poster in a fictional waiting area can speak about exploring options without saying that the reader is dissatisfied or needs a change. Keep the message broad enough to be useful and specific enough to describe the service. Ask reviewers which assumptions they hear in the wording. Remove any that depend on knowing private circumstances, rather than treating discomfort as a sign that the campaign has found an emotional truth.

A small test for another brief

Proposed adaptation: make a paper poster and a comparison card for an imaginary directory of creative clubs. The poster recognises that choosing can take time; the card shows three fictional formats with equal practical detail. No real organisations, personal profiles or recommendation algorithm are involved.

Ask reviewers what help the directory offers, whether they can explore without committing and which differences the card makes clear. Record missing information and pressure in the wording. Do not ask about real education or employment decisions, and do not interpret a preferred fictional option as advice about someone’s life.

Stop if the message claims to know a person’s circumstances or guarantees a suitable outcome. Keep all comparisons fictional and avoid enrolment, eligibility or financial decisions.

• Create a fictional directory poster.
• Provide an equal-detail comparison card.
• Review usefulness and freedom to remain undecided.