September 2022
Edtech and the market for learning
Education purists might not like it, but edtech is receiving massive investments, while private schools are increasingly marketed like a service. With Camden’s long track record of creating great brands and campaigns for schools and colleges in Canada, we’re taking a look at the latest in learning from a marketing and social perspective.
MUST-READS
Virtually educational?
Edverse, a first-of-its-kind virtual education firm, aims to “decentralize and democratize education” using the same blockchain technology behind NFTs and cryptocurrencies. Although we at Camden are big believers in the potential for web3 tech, we’re skeptical that the “tokenomics” trading system proposed by Edverse will genuinely help people learn. What’s next... NFTeachers?
Accent-free agents
At Camden we collaborate across three continents on a daily basis, not only in English and French, but using a variety of regional accents. However for any company using an outsourced call centre, an accent might be a barrier to successful marketing and support. A new product from Silicon Valley startup, Sanas is designed to solve the problem. In a nutshell, Sanas’s AI engine can transform a speaker’s accent to make non-Americans sound like white Americans. Will this tech help workers or depersonalize them? Does it aid communication or perpetuate biases? You be the judge...
Learning the alphabet becomes learning with Alphabet
With its Google Career Certificates, Alphabet has given a whole new meaning to the phrase “corporate campus”. The company claims that these courses are not only recognized by more than 150 U.S. employers, including companies like Ford, Bulgari and Deloitte, but that 75% of program graduates report an improvement in their career within six months of certificate completion. Should traditional universities be concerned that Google students can earn a recommendation for up to 12 college credits, the equivalent of four undergraduate courses?
SNAPSHOT
School’s In!
Camden’s Montreal team has a long history of successful branding and marketing initiatives for Canadian schools and colleges. As well as a recent logo redesign and website makeover for Loyola High School, we’ve produced a series of three short video ads for Collège Beaubois to promote the school’s open house. Featuring real students answering quickfire quiz questions to determine their academic preferences, the videos are cute, fun and effective!
BY THE NUMBERS
$198.9 Billion
The projected value in US dollars of the online education market by 2030, according to Straits Research. As well as video, audio, ebooks and VR/AR, emerging trends include microlearning, gamification, and adaptive learning.
Source
EYEWORTHY
Kendrick’s cash counsel
Kendrick Lamar launched his “multi-disciplinary creative collective” pgLang (short for Programming Language) with his friend Dave Free in March 2020. pgLang’s film production arm has just produced a long-form ad for mobile payment service Cash App that seeks to educate users on adopting responsible personal finance habits. The video stars Lamar himself, comedian Exavier TV, and billionaire investor Ray Dalio in a powerfully effective and memorable one-take scene.
