Made of Grit

In April 2022, Ryerson University announced its new name to the world: Toronto Metropolitan
University (TMU). On the heels of a campaign that communicated our new name, we wanted
to embed our new name with a fuller story about what it means to us to be metropolitan.
That meant designing a brand campaign that would both celebrate the unique symbiotic
relationship between our institution and our city for the general public and instill a sense
of pride around our new name among our TMU community.

Our brand campaign, Made of Grit, showcased the transformative power of grit, drawing parallels
between literal grit, that foundational material from which our city is built, and metaphorical grit,
or the resilience and resolve that we at TMU embody.

Our treatment was as unconventional as our message as we juxtaposed less celebrated views
of grit, or concrete, found in our city with expressions of metaphorical grit as seen across our
community.

We set out to do a 6-week integrated campaign involving multiple creative assets including TV,
social videos, influencer content, out-of-home posters, a website, digital articles, audio
spots, and even merchandise.

In 2023, we evolved our campaign to target prospective students. Tapping into ground-breaking
research pointing to grit being the number one predictor of student success, we positioned TMU,
as the place that is Made of Grit, as the place for students to achieve success—academically
and beyond.

TMU's proposition to students was this: our unique approach to learning, innovative culture, and
commitment to social advocacy will bring out the grit in them.

torontomu.ca/grit


Award Winner - CASE Circle of Excellence (Silver), CCAE Prix d’Excellence (Bronze)

Agency - Toronto Metropolitan University (In-house Marketing and Creative Team)