Graduate students from the University of Pittsburgh’s Joseph M. Katz Graduate School of Business have once again partnered with Bellevue Forward, developing a new round of full-scale advertising campaigns as part of their graduate-level Advertising course.
This year’s class took a different approach than last year’s cohort. Rather than positioning Bellevue’s businesses as the primary draw, students built their campaigns around the lived experience of Bellevue itself — what it feels like to live, work, and play here, and how becoming part of the community’s culture is the real selling point. Businesses are still very much part of the story, but this time as influencers of livability: the places that help create meaningful, memorable moments in Bellevue rather than the drivers of the pitch.
The course was again led by RJ Thompson, instructor at the Katz School and founding chair of Bellevue Forward, who facilitated the partnership to support both student learning and the ongoing development of Bellevue.
“Last year’s class sold Bellevue by selling our businesses. This year’s class sold Bellevue by selling what it feels like to actually live here,” Thompson said. “Our businesses are still central to that story, but they’re the ones bringing the experience to life, not carrying the whole pitch on their own. That’s a more honest picture of what makes this community work, and it’s exactly the kind of insight we hoped students would find.”
We’re grateful to this year’s students and the University of Pittsburgh for their continued partnership, and excited to see how these campaigns help tell Bellevue’s story.
You can watch their presentations in the playlist below.
To view more of their work for Bellevue, visit their individual project websites:
- https://bellevueadventurepass.my.canva.site
- https://bellevuetakesflight.my.canva.site/
- https://comeforadaystayforlife.my.canva.site/
- https://bellevuefacesofafreshstart.my.canva.site/
- https://24-windows.my.canva.site/
- https://newvuefridays.my.canva.site/
- https://experiencethevue.my.canva.site/
- https://bemyneighborbellevue.my.canva.site/
- https://bellevueunderthestars.my.canva.site/
- https://bellevueforwarddavidclark.my.canva.site/
- https://bridgethegaap.my.canva.site/
- https://welcometothevue.my.canva.site/
- https://bellevueforwardadvertisingnathandiepstra.my.canva.site/
- https://bellevueforwardproject-elias.my.canva.site/
- https://bellevueinbloom.my.canva.site/
- https://fallforbellevue.my.canva.site/
- https://takeinthebelle-vue.my.canva.site/
- https://stargazingthevue2026.my.canva.site/
- https://takeinthevuefinalproject.my.canva.site/
- https://thebellevueedit.my.canva.site/
- https://nikitski.my.canva.site/bellevue/
- https://meetmeinbellevuepa.my.canva.site/
- https://canva.link/nvm6bgs8lsvp51c
- https://bellevueadelante.my.canva.site/
- https://enjoythevue.my.canva.site/
- https://francissielskibellevueforward.my.canva.site/
- https://yournewfavbellevue.my.canva.site/
- https://plantyourrootshere.my.canva.site/
- https://www.canva.com/design/DAHQ9-RvLx4/EhbNVqBjxbrpz9_zV6zidw/edit
- https://bingobellevue.my.canva.site/