Part of the UK national honours system, the Queen Elizabeth Prizes for Higher and Further Education have been recognising outstanding work in UK universities and colleges since 1994.

Despite being well-established, awareness of the Prizes scheme and its value was relatively low outside the education sector. Within the sector, it was recognised that there was a need to make the scheme more contemporary and relevant, both to higher and further education and to wider society that benefits from our world class academic institutions.

It was crucial to understand existing perceptions of the Prizes scheme and ensure that any new communications was respectful of the conventions and traditions surrounding the scheme and its Royal status. We believed that the key to success would lie in elevating awareness of the outstanding work of the winners tothe wider world and shaping the focus of our communications around them.