Higher education
Kutaisi International University
We launched a new university to the world — 51 pieces across Forbes, Times Higher Education, Business Insider and AP News, reaching 311,000 readers across the US, UK, France and Germany.
A state-of-the-art university in Kutaisi, Georgia, opened in 2020 and designed to equip students from across the Caucasus with the scientific and technological skills needed to compete in a global economy.
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The brief
Bridgehead was commissioned to drive international media attention surrounding KIU's launch and showcase the university's expertise to prospective research partners, collaborators and students worldwide — establishing it as a credible global higher education institution from day one.
What they needed
Raise global awareness of KIU's launch.
Position KIU as an internationally competitive higher education institution.
Promote its partnership with the Technical University of Munich.
Attract interest from prospective research partners and students worldwide.
The approach
A targeted international media engagement programme coordinated around an online press conference with higher education journalists in the UK and US — designed to fire simultaneously across multiple markets.
Online press conference
We convened a press conference between KIU's senior leadership and higher education journalists in the UK and US, creating a co-ordinated news moment that generated international coverage across multiple titles simultaneously.
TUM partnership as proof
The partnership with the Technical University of Munich provided international journalists with a credible, instantly recognisable endorsement of KIU's academic ambitions — turning a Georgian launch into a global story.
Opinion content placement
We placed opinion-led content aligned with live higher education issues — global skills gaps, STEM shortages, educational access in emerging markets — positioning KIU as a thought leader, not just a new institution.
The results
pieces of international coverage
readers worldwide
social shares
Coverage over time
Coverage peaked sharply around the launch in September 2020, with sustained placement across international academic media through the first semester (representative split; 51 pieces).
The coverage
174M monthly readers
Higher Education
A new Georgia Tech arrives tomorrow — it looks promising
Forbes · September 2020
14M+ academic readers
Global HE
Georgia's billionaire-backed university has high ambitions
Times Higher Education · 2020
150M+ monthly readers
Education
Kutaisi International University opens with global ambitions and a TUM partnership
Business Insider · 2020
The breakthrough
Forbes on launch day — and Times Higher Education, Business Insider and AP News in the same week.
By coordinating a press conference timed to the university's opening, we generated co-ordinated international coverage across four continents in launch week. Forbes' description of KIU as 'a new Georgia Tech' became the quote that circulated across subsequent coverage — framing a Georgian start-up as a global academic institution.
Seen in
The impact
Forbes feature on launch day describing KIU as 'a new Georgia Tech'.
Times Higher Education coverage reaching 14M+ global academic readers.
Coverage in the US, UK, France and Germany achieving truly international reach.
TUM partnership story cementing credibility with prospective academic partners and students.
The outcome
51 pieces in launch week and beyond — Forbes, Times Higher Education, Business Insider, AP News — putting a new Georgian university on the global academic map.
