Ask IIT Madras - influencing admission choices
Every year, hundreds of thousands of students take the JEE Mains and JEE Adv exams hoping for a rank. With that rank, they enter the JoSAA counselling process wherein they get to fill their preferences of programs (institute-branch-degree) they would like to join in IITs, NITs, IISc and a few other participating institutes. The system allocates seats based on a pre-defined stable-matching algorithm whereby top ranks are allocated first and then based on each rank holder's top choice that's still available.
JEE results -> JoSAA first round is just ~10 days. This is window in which students learn about institutes and programs. It's too short a time to learn everything and the weight of the choice hangs heavy on the teenagers.
IIT Madras wanted to know whether aspirants making informed choices? And did they choose / not choose IIT Madras for the right reasons? [The consensus was that many students don't join IIT Madras because of location, food, and weather.] Lastly, can we increase the desirability of IIT Madras? [This is measurable this by the annual change in Closing Ranks (CRs) of each program.]
We started in 2022, that's when we theorised that there is a lack of authentic information. We started "AskIITM" - a helpdesk + video campaign that would unpack various things students were curious about - from placements to courses to hostels to fun activities on campus.
In the first 2 years of the campaign, we were able to improve CRs by an average of 6%. But information only helps people who seek information. What do we do for the rest?
The answer was a brand campaign that positions IIT Madras appropriately, true to its nature.
The Best Place to Build
We tested a few ideas and finally launched a brand campaign around the IITM "build culture." We named the campaign Best Place to Build - come to IIT Madras if you want to build.
By 2024, we started thinking of AskIITM as a "checkout" product. Best Place to Build would run as an overarching, year-round narrative campaign, shaping how IIT Madras is perceived well before anyone is close to deciding. AskIITM, by contrast, is built for the short 10-day window when an aspirant has to commit to a decision. We needed to improve the checkout experience.
Insight: The customer wanted to see a Demo
The AskIITM helpdesk fielded ~5000 questions in the first 3 years. Our Instagram channel was getting between one to five million views during the season. But the missing piece was a physical "demo." So in 2023, we added the "IITM Demo Day" program - a physical 1-day experience to let aspiring students interact with faculty, current students and alumni - and get real in-person answers from authentic sources. From 2023 to 2026, we entertained over 5,000 rank holders and their parents across 35 Demo Day events across all cities (Chennai, Bangalore, Hyderabad, ...)
In the 2026 season, we had all guns firing - Best Place to Build year-long campaign + AskIITM helpdesk and social media campaign + the Demo Day experience. Additionally, we also had a special Demo Day experience for the top rankers too. And the results spoke for themselves (see "outcome" section).
The merchandise we designed for Demo Day 2026 included 2 very appreciated maps of the campus.
Map 1: Campus Attractions
Map 2: Campus Wildlife
The placement question
A consistent reason aspirants gave for not choosing IIT Madras, despite it ranking #1 on almost every NIRF parameter, was the placement question: don't other IITs place better? We took this on directly. In 2025, we released a 20-minute explainer video covering the placement process, selection criteria, and statistics - and, most importantly, insights straight from students who'd secured the "1 crore" packages.
We also made the underlying placements data available to aspirants directly, so they could make an informed choice rather than rely on popular narratives.
Built to meet aspirants where they are
The AskIITM campaign is built around how aspirants like to take in information:
- For those who like to read: over 200 articles and a community forum, and email support.
- For those who like to see and listen: 500+ videos across Instagram and YouTube.
- For those who want to experience it: Demo Day.
More than being multi-medium, this campaign is also broad in the communication pillars we use. Students join IITs for all kinds of reasons and require a wide range of information to make informed choices. We prepare for every student and parent. Whether it is a top ranker looking to work with award winning professors, or someone who wants to startup in college, or a parent who's worried about their child's mental health in a competitive environment.
But don't just take our word for it, look at the numbers.
Getting an entire institute aligned
None of the digital or on-ground work above was possible without first getting alignment inside a large public institution. That meant managing a wide set of internal stakeholders, continuously, over five years:
- Individual professors, heads of departments, Deans and Director
- Administrative offices
- Security teams
- Food and hospitality teams
- The student community
- The alumni community
The outcome
Desirability for IIT Madras, measured by average CRs jumped by 10% from 2021 to 2026 where as it dropped by average 10% for other old IITs. Further, among the top 100 ranks, IITM attracted 12 in 2026, which is the highest in over two decades. Among surveyors, we found a 20% increased likely hood of preferring IIT Madras attributable to AskIITM or Demo Day.
Through planning, experimentation, creativity and marketing operations, we were able to take an idea ("improve perception") and make it happen. Nobody now thinks that students prefer not to join IIT Madras because of food/heat/location.
Trying to change minds, not just share information?
We've helped institutions build long-running programs that change both what people know and how they feel. Let's talk about what that could look like for you.