Elsevier launches space mission to save the future of research
With an integrated thought-leadership and advertising campaign, a team of orange astronauts calls on academia to bring knowledge back to Earth.
The change to provoke
Elsevier wanted to market its 'impact' solutions, tools to help academic leaders measure the real-world value of their research, but faced a significant challenge: this market didn't exist. Traditionally, 'impact' is measured by bibliometrics (how many times other academics have mentioned one's research in their work). This not only presents a barrier to Elsevier's offering but also reveals a much bigger issue: with governments increasingly pushing for quantifiable public benefits, the future of academia is at stake. We didn't just have to create a market for Elsevier; we had to change how impact is measured to guarantee academia’s survival.
The story that provoked it
After surveying 400+ academic leaders worldwide, we discovered a passionate yearning, an impetus, to demonstrate the real world impact of research. But this impetus is frustrated by the daunting complexity and politics of creating a meaningful system of measurement. To release it, we needed to give it a voice, and challenge the community to come together and bring about change. Launching a campaign wasn’t enough. We launched a space mission. The objective? Bring knowledge back to Earth.
Launching a campaign wasn’t enough. We launched a space mission
The impact
The campaign exceeded industry and Elsevier engagement benchmarks. In the first 16 weeks, 687 (13.32%) of 5,000 global target accounts actively engaged, surpassing the stretch target of 75%. The Back to Earth story was also platformed at The World Academic Summit in Sydney and The Innovation and Impact Summit in Shenzhen, consolidating their role in re-shaping the industry and driving meaningful change in academia.
