Nova Southeastern University How do you open the community’s eyes to a university’s global impact?

In a region defined by its ocean and coastlines, NSU Ocean is NSU Florida’s hub for research, action and innovation on issues impacting our waters and its inhabitants, also known as the blue economy. When the university wanted to raise awareness of NSU Ocean in the community and get the attention of business leaders, philanthropists and researchers, Starmark thought big.

As Florida’s largest private research university, NSU Florida is preparing students to lead while putting in the research and resiliency work on land and sea under its NSU Ocean umbrella — the university’s hub for research and innovation on issues impacting our waters and its inhabitants.

To help them champion the blue economy, Starmark created a splashy environmental mural that would become synonymous with ocean research in downtown Fort Lauderdale.

A Deeper Impact

Starmark and the NSU Florida team saw an opportunity to make a lasting impression with a colossal, attention-grabbing mural on a Fort Lauderdale landmark. NSU Museum of Art Fort Lauderdale happens to occupy a prime location across the street from the revitalized Huizenga Park in downtown Fort Lauderdale. The facade provided a blank canvas facing SE First Avenue at the corner of Las Olas Boulevard, an area bustling with commuter and local business traffic.

Marrying the right message, the right context and a perfect execution, we created an environmental marketing piece that would become part of the neighborhood’s visual identity. Passersby see our mural on their daily drive. Tourists stop and take pictures of it. And at the same time, residents in the neighborhood’s high-end high rises see our call-to-action every day.

A Deeper Calling

The immersive design of the public artwork — created by Starmark and brought to life by muralist Dennis Friel — covers a large expanse of the wall and features an underwater background in a watercolor style with a photorealistic sea turtle in the foreground. The message urges the viewer to “Answer a Deeper Calling,” while the prominent NSU Ocean and NSU Florida logos put brand awareness in the forefront. Meanwhile, a QR code sends viewers to the NSU Ocean page to explore their programs and get involved.

The intention behind the “Answer a Deeper Calling” mural is to enchant, inform, as well as motivate. It speaks to the idea that the life of everyone in South Florida is touched by the sea and the blue economy in some way, so everyone is called to make an impact.

To invite more awareness, we created companion collateral that visitors to NSU Museum of Art Fort Lauderdale experience inside. Pull-up banners and take-one bookmarks mirror the mural on a smaller scale, enhanced with body copy that provides further explanation about NSU Ocean and a CTA that invites the reader to “become the ocean’s greatest resource.”

NSU Ocean’s passion for marine conservation and research touches all aspects of South Florida through programs such as the Rising Seas Institute, the NSU Broward County Sea Turtle Conservation Program, the Guy Harvey Research Institute, and the NSU Marine Environmental Education Center. Now, with the resonance of this public mural, we’re reaching them on an even deeper level.

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Let’s talk about how Starmark can turn cultural moments into marketing experiences that feel relevant, distinctive and true to your brand.