HWZ Fall Campaign: «You Know What You Want»
With humor, glasses, and self-assured main characters, the HWZ Zurich University of Applied Sciences guides prospective students through their everyday lives—and, with its fall campaign, deliberately emphasizes contrast over conformity.
Whether at brunch, at the gym, or at the office: The HWZ fall campaign follows prospective students through various aspects of life. While those around them continue to offer compelling arguments and advice, the main characters are already one step ahead. They know what they want. Under the tagline «You know what you want,» the HWZ Zurich University of Applied Sciences puts the spotlight on people who are confidently taking their next step in their education. The campaign was developed and implemented in collaboration with the Basel-based film production company Grunerfilms and an interdisciplinary creative team.
Eyeglasses as a Visual Styling Element in the HWZ Fall Campaign
A tongue-in-cheek visual element serves as the common thread running through the three stories: the protagonists’ friends and family wear glasses with the key benefits of studying at HWZ printed on them. This literally brings the university’s strengths to life while also making them part of the plot. The punchline: While those around them are still debating, the main characters have long since made up their minds and have already enrolled at HWZ.
The tagline «You know what you want» captures this knowledge advantage and serves as the unifying theme across all topics and formats. The campaign deliberately draws on familiar everyday situations, different generations, and contemporary language. Rather than highlighting individual degree programs, it focuses on the overarching benefits of studying at HWZ.
Sandra Bornand, Head of Marketing at HWZ, explains the approach: «Advertising for education quickly becomes lost in a sea of sameness. That’s why we deliberately wanted to break away from familiar patterns and develop a campaign that stands out, even if it’s a little unsettling at times, and doesn’t have to please everyone. »You know what you want’ fits this vision perfectly. The tagline is confident and leaves the decision up to our protagonists, rather than telling them what’s right for them. The glasses highlight the benefits of HWZ while also leaving plenty of room for humor and unexpected stories.”
Designed to be cross-media and scalable
From the very beginning, the fall campaign was designed so that the creative concept could be carried forward across various channels and formats. In addition to the campaign videos, short clips, social media content, and campaign images were produced. The concept of the glasses makes it possible to highlight various HWZ benefits, messages, and situations and to develop them further independently.
The campaign launched on September 1, 2026, on YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, LinkedIn, and Pinterest with the first two stories. The third story will follow in the fall. Grunerfilms, based in Basel, handled the film production.
Person in charge at HWZ Zurich University of Applied Sciences: Sandra Bornand, Head of Marketing at HWZ; Ivan Schnoz, Video Producer at HWZ (Concept & Direction); Alisha Tobler, Marketing Project Manager at HWZ (Production Coordination & Casting); Leana Schwab, Corporate Communications Project Manager at HWZ (Photography); Laura Oderbolz, Head of Corporate Communications at HWZ (Campaign Communications). Production: Grunerfilms, Basel; Tizian Gruner, producer at Grunerfilms (production manager). Camera: Till Haener. Camera Assistant: Kevin Feuz. Sound: Raymond Anderegg and Simon Manetsch. Lighting Technician: Florian Steffen. Styling: Emma Casanova Raurich. Hair & Makeup: Claudia Kälin. Production Assistant: Jonathan Cohen.
With approximately 3,000 students and 800 faculty members with professional experience, HWZ is Switzerland’s largest university offering exclusively part-time degree programs in business. It offers a wide range of degree programs at the bachelor’s and master’s levels, more than 150 diploma and certificate programs, more than 100 seminars, the opportunity to pursue a doctorate, and customized corporate training. The HWZ is institutionally accredited by the Swiss Accreditation Council.
