CampusReel vs. Unveild for higher ed video content at scale
A decade ago, video content in higher education marketing was a nice-to-have rather than a necessity, with many schools relying on brochures, print materials, and static web content to attract prospective students. Campus visits, mailers, and word-of-mouth were dominant tools, and written testimonials or campus magazines often served as primary storytelling methods. Today, however, with the rise of new digital platforms like TikTok and Youtube Shorts, and a population of people that has become more and more oriented towards video as a means of obtaining information and entertainment, video is no longer optional for staying relevant. It’s crucial in allowing institutions to authentically showcase campus life, student experiences, and differentiate themselves in a competitive market through meaningful storytelling.
But the problem still remains that video is not easy to produce well. It either requires access to fancy equipment and talented videographers, or if taking a User Generated Content (UGC) approach, it requires sourcing videos from everyday students and alumni which can be time consuming and tedious.
Two companies have sprouted up in the last decade to solve these problems; CampusReel and Unveild. In this article we will unpack the differences between these two options for creating higher ed video at scale, as well as the different use cases for each.
Company Overviews
CampusReel
CampusReel is a video content platform that helps prospective students gain an authentic view of campus life through student-generated video tours and testimonials. Their content, created by real students, aims to provide an unfiltered, honest portrayal of various colleges and universities, allowing viewers to explore campus culture, facilities, and experiences from the perspective of current students. CampusReel also partners with institutions, offering them scalable video solutions to improve engagement and drive enrollment by showcasing real student experiences.
Unveild
Unveild is a video storytelling company specializing in creating high-quality student and alumni testimonial videos for higher education institutions. Their unique subscription-based service provides schools with a steady stream of emotionally resonant video content to support enrollment, marketing, and brand visibility. Unveild handles the entire video production process, from concept to delivery, allowing institutions to focus on their messaging while maintaining a consistent, professional video presence. With unlimited access to all raw footage and b-roll, clients can build a growing library of video assets that can be used across multiple platforms. This library ensures that all campus partners have the ability to repurpose and leverage content, enhancing marketing efforts and maintaining a cohesive brand presence.
Content Creation Approach
CampusReel
CampusReel’s content creation approach revolves around UGC, where current students create authentic video tours and testimonials from their phones about their campus experiences. This approach leverages the voices of real students to provide prospective applicants with an inside look at campus life, from dorms to social activities. By using UGC, CampusReel offers a raw, unfiltered and lo-fi (but not low quality) view of colleges that resonates with younger generations, emphasizing trust and relatability. The platform enables schools to scale video content quickly and cost-effectively by tapping into the student body as content creators.
Unveild
Unveild’s content creation approach focuses on delivering professionally produced, ”hi-fi” video storytelling through a subscription-based model. These videos are more “produced” than CampusReel’s UGC style as they are filmed and edited by seasoned videographers and editors. Their team handles every aspect of production, from assistance with selecting students and alumni to tell their stories, to scheduling and coordinating shoot-day logistics, and filming and editing, ensuring a seamless experience for clients. This allows marcom leaders to scale video production without a proportional increase in project management workload, allowing them to deliver more content without adding to their logistical responsibilities. By consistently providing new content each month, Unveild enables schools to maintain a predictable stream of high-quality videos they can distribute across platforms while building a growing library of versatile video assets.
Best Use Cases for Each Platform
CampusReel
CampusReel videos are mainly geared toward showing what life is like on campus, giving prospective students a glimpse into what they could expect should they decide to attend that school. These videos are best suited for platforms that benefit from authentic, lo-fi, peer-driven content. Their user-generated format makes them ideal for social media channels like Instagram, Facebook, and perhaps even Linkedin where prospective students seek relatable, behind-the-scenes glimpses of campus life. CampusReel primarily delivers video in a horizontal format, making these videos not the best fit for vertical applications like Instagram and Facebook Reels, TikToks, and Youtube Shorts. These horizontal videos also work well in email campaigns, offering quick, digestible content that resonates with prospective students. For institutions looking to create a more down-to-earth, authentic connection, with content created from the point of view of the students creating the content, CampusReel is a great option.
Unveild
Unveild’s professionally produced videos are mainly geared toward student and alumni outcomes rather than campus and student life tours, and are best suited for platforms where high-quality, polished content makes a significant impact. These videos excel on program pages of a school's website, offering prospective students a compelling, emotionally driven look at academic offerings, campus life, and student and alumni outcomes. They also work well in YouTube campaigns, institutional branding, and commercials, where high production value is key to maintaining a polished image. Additionally, these videos are effective in alumni engagement or donor campaigns, showcasing the success stories that drive institutional pride and support.
Authenticity
CampusReel
UGC content, by nature, feels very authentic. It’s produced by the “end user” themselves so you get the sense that the marketing team didn’t have a heavy hand in the messaging. We all know that students are persuaded by other students like them, so being that the students are the ones doing the filming and showing us around campus, or their dorm rooms for example, it feels like they’re giving us the real scoop.
Unveild
Unveild’s authenticity factor comes through more in the careful storytelling. There are 3 things they look for in a story to ensure authenticity.
1. The student/alumni has a genuine passion for their field of study, their aspirations, and the institution, and can communicate that articulately in an approachable manner on camera.
2. They have a “side door story” that relates to the thing the school is trying to market. For example, to market the Nutrition and Dietetics program, a side-door story might be that the alumna had health issues growing up that they were able to overcome through careful food choices. They wanted to help others in the same way so they studied to become a dietician. Crafting the messaging in this way gives viewers an actual human to relate to and doesn’t make them feel like they’re just a talking head for the marketing team.
3. There are good b-roll opportunities available so they don’t have to fake scenes or do cheesy reenactments. For example, instead of a video of them just typing on a laptop or sitting in class at the School of Business, we’re seeing them at their internship, moving around, interacting with people, and actually doing real world work.
Keeping an eye out for stories that check these 3 boxes ensures that they’re giving viewers the authenticity they’re seeking.
Subscription Models
CampusReel
CampusReel operates on a subscription-based model, offering colleges and universities flexible packages tailored to their specific content needs. Institutions can subscribe to receive a set number of user-generated videos per month, allowing them to continuously showcase their campus through authentic student voices. This model enables schools to scale their video content effortlessly without needing a large in-house production team. Additionally, the platform offers customizable services, including branded content, video editing, and analytics, providing universities with a comprehensive solution for enhancing their video marketing strategies.
Unveild
Unveild operates a subscription-based model designed to deliver consistent, high-quality video content for higher education institutions. Subscribers receive monthly professionally produced videos, including student and alumni testimonials, helping schools maintain a continuous, polished video presence across various platforms. This model alleviates the burden of managing one-off projects, providing a steady flow of content that supports enrollment, marketing, and branding efforts. In addition to finished videos, Unveild offers clients access to raw footage and b-roll, allowing for future content creation and repurposing across different channels.
Pricing
CampusReel
CampusReel does not list pricing information on their website. Schools curious about the cost of working with them will need to schedule a demo which you can easily do on their website. It is unclear whether they offer a trial of any sort before you commit to a full subscription.
UNVEILD
Unveild offers pricing information on their website. Annual subscriptions start at $30,000 for a more basic interview approach to storytelling, with most schools opting for their $60,000 option with full b-roll coverage.
Unveild also offers full-scale commercial production for broadcast and streaming ads. Pricing varies widely by budget and production needs but starts at $30,000 with ideal budgets being $80,000 and up. They also offer Video Content Strategy Workshops and one-off projects.
Pros and Cons
CampusReel
Pros:
Authentic, student-generated content that resonates with Gen Z.
Cost-effective and scalable, as students create the videos.
Suitable for social media, email, and virtual tours.
Provides an unfiltered, real-life view of campus life.
Access to a complete suite of products in addition to UGC content like 360 virtual tours, lead generation, and custom video projects.
Cons:
Less polished, which may not suit all institutional branding needs.
Inconsistent video quality due to varying student production skills.
Focused primarily on horizontal video formats, limiting use for vertical platforms where UGC content would excel.
Unveild
Pros:
High-quality, professional video production.
Consistent, polished content ideal for websites, YouTube, and commercials.
Subscription model provides a steady flow of content.
Access to raw footage for future repurposing.
Cons:
More involved onboarding process as stories need to be identified and vetted first
May lack the raw, relatable authenticity of user-generated content.
Less ideal for platforms focused on quick, informal video formats like TikTok.
What’s Working in Higher Ed Video
To better understand the types of videos and formats that are achieving high engagement levels, check out this report on what’s working in higher ed video. There are 7 themes covered in the report that you can consider for your own video marketing efforts with a mix of UGC and professionally-produced content. Understanding the broader landscape of what is currently effective in the video content arena might help inform your decision between CampusReel and Unveild.
Conclusion
When comparing CampusReel and Unveild, it’s clear that both platforms offer distinct advantages based on the specific needs of higher education institutions. CampusReel excels at providing authentic, student-generated content ideal for social media and email campaigns, giving a raw glimpse into campus life. Unveild, on the other hand, focuses on high-quality, professionally produced videos suited for program pages, commercials, and institutional branding. Ultimately, choosing between the two depends on whether your institution values authentic peer-driven content or polished, emotionally resonant storytelling for your marketing strategy.
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