McGraw Hill

Creative Strategy & Naming

We developed a name and creative campaign for McGraw Hill’s new study app. The company developed the app to solve a growing problem students faced - a need for reputable yet efficient self-directed learning. Our research showed the following:

• Students’ lives were moving faster and many felt overwhelmed and stressed, especially post pandemic.

• They wanted study tools to be as engaging and convenient as social media, and even used social platforms to study.

• Competitors’ apps offered shortcut study hacks instead of authentic learning.

We identified a consumer mindset resulting from this scenario: despite all the learning options available, students were actually feeling less prepared rather than more. The remedy? A creative strategy about focus - an authentic learning experience focused only on what you need to know. The first step was to name the app. We conducted a robust ideation process beginning with conceptual naming territories to explore. McGraw Hill chose the name “Sharpen.” Next came the integrated creative campaign, “Stop the study swirl.”