Inside the evolution of TMU’s Made of Grit campaign
TMU student, Divine Amayo is the face of this year’s iteration of ‘Made of Grit’.
You’ve seen it around campus - on billboards, signage and even in the campus store - TMU has been celebrating being ‘Made of Grit’. When the university first kicked off its ‘grit’ campaign in 2022, it embraced two aspects of what defines us at TMU: the physical connection to Toronto and the force that drives the university community to build a brighter future. Now, ‘Grit 2.0’ has evolved to explain why it matters to be made of grit. It is a trait that students embody - an intangible thing that drives them to make change, innovate and succeed in their lives and careers.
“A year and a half into our new identity as TMU, it is important for the university to continue building brand awareness,” said James Wentzell, executive director of TMU marketing. “This year’s ‘Made of Grit’ series is all about how grit is an indicator of success. TMU is an institution that cultivates ingenuity and the qualities necessary to make an impact in the world.”
The brand campaign reveals grit as that intangible thing that TMU brings out in students through its focus on experiential learning, social advocacy, and entrepreneurship and innovation - ultimately setting students up for success.
“To us, it was important to tap into our own community - people who embody grit,” added Wentzell. “They helped bring the story to life with integrity and depth.”
TMU worked with director Melanie Chung, who is a TMU film studies graduate. Chung directs commercials, TV, short films and co-founded a not-for-profit organization called the Asian Canadian Film Alliance two years ago to give people of Asian descent more access to the film industry. She said filming this year’s ‘Made of Grit’ content was an interesting challenge - one that she was prepared for thanks to the foundation that her TMU education gave her. “It gives you the foundation of what a film set is like and the key components of how a film set works. It’s nice to have that foundation walking into the real world.”
“It was kind of like shooting a documentary. There is a narrative but I am also working with real people,” Chung said of the campaign video. “I had to pull from all sorts of different hats and experiences because it was an amalgamation of different styles.”
TMU film studies alum Melanie Chung directed the 2023 ‘Made of Grit’ video series.
One of the real people Chung refers to is Graphic Communications Management student Divine Amayo, who is the narrator and face of the campaign. In the video Amayo reveals grit as a crucial predictor of success and explains how TMU brings it out in students. Amayo says he appreciates the opportunity to represent the university and saw it as a chance to get hands-on learning experience, which is a priority for the university and a factor of grit that he highlights in the video.
“It was cool to connect with new people and get experience participating in a professional shoot,” he said. “TMU gives you cool opportunities. I got to do things with this shoot that I never thought I would get to do as a kid.”
The digital campaign launched in September and will run until early November. In addition to the video series, promotional efforts include engagement on Instagram, TikTok, Snapchat, X (Twitter), YouTube and Spotify. In October, TMU will launch an influencer campaign that features administrative and academic leadership, faculty and graduate students.
For more information, visit TMU’s all new Made of Grit website.