The Gettysburg Approach introduction video was always envisioned to be from the perspective of a student, not only so that prospective students could see and imagine themselves at Gettysburg College, but also to show that The Gettysburg Approach was something that had always been in action at Gettysburg. The next step was to create a script that included the necessary brand language and components of The Gettysburg Approach that the team wanted to get across to audiences, while also sounding organic and inspiring, pulling at the strings of yearning and aspiration that already exist within the students we wish to recruit. I also wanted to make sure that this video was representative of the student body at Gettysburg College, and I intentionally sought to showcase a diverse student to show that Gettysburg takes care in making sure their type of education is for everyone while also being able to be curated by the individual.

I wanted this video to have a very aspirational and dignified feel, one that instilled a sense of curiosity toward the College, but also one that leaves the viewer with a sense that they can achieve all that they set out to do. To achieve this tone while still making the video feel uniquely Gettysburg College, I structured the video using the bookend of two College traditions - walking the steps at Pennsylvania Hall. The video opens with the sun rising over the town and campus, lingering on a shot of the majestic, white columns of Penn Hall (which is also the basis for the unique Gettysburg Approach animated logo). This signifies how the new class is welcomed to the College each year, with the tradition of them walking through the building and down the steps of Penn Hall. We then end the video with our student protagonist at Penn Hall again, looking up at the waving orange and blue banners, knowing they have everything they need to be successful outside of the proverbial four walls of the campus and out in the world, ending their journey where they began, the final frame being of her silhouetted within the door frame of the historic building and stepping forward.

I made use of subtle storytelling as a backdrop, the College a supporting but influential character in the student’s journey. And along the way, as we see the student cross campus toward Penn Hall, we see flashes of her in the classroom and with friends, alongside flashes of other curricular and co-curricular activities, athletics, the arts, traditions, and events at the College, representing all the possibilities that are waiting to be explored. 

The video worked in conjunction with the launch of the new brand and distinction work, The Gettysburg Approach, and has been used in multiple email campaigns, digital ad campaigns, during live events as a keynote video, and is the highest viewed video of all time on the Gettysburg College YouTube channel.

This video received a Silver award for Short-form Video at the 2023 CUPRAP “CUPPIE” Awards, a program for higher education marketing professionals in the Mid-Atlantic.