BETHESDA, MD – May 13, 2026 – RP3, the independent full-service creative and performance agency committed to creating Wildly Original ideas, today announced it has been selected as Agency of Record for Northern Virginia Community College (NOVA), part of the Virginia Community Colleges System, following a competitive pitch process. The win expands RP3’s growing higher‑education and workforce‑development portfolio and marks a significant partnership with one of the most influential institutions shaping the future of talent in the Commonwealth.
NOVA, which serves roughly 50,000 students across six campuses, is the largest public higher education institution in Virginia and a central force in the region’s economic engine. Its leadership has been deeply engaged in aligning curriculum with real-time workforce needs across technology, healthcare, skilled trades, national security and emerging fields such as AI. As Northern Virginia faces mounting pressure on talent pipelines, NOVA plays a critical role in reskilling, upskilling and next-skilling the region’s workforce.
“NOVA is stepping into a leadership role at a time when the region needs it most. Our focus is to build a brand and marketing engine that not only shifts perception, but drives measurable outcomes through enrollment, engagement and long-term economic impact,” said Tuesday Poliak, Chief Creative Officer, RP3. “This partnership is about more than a campaign; it’s about helping NOVA claim its place at the center of the Commonwealth’s talent future.”
The partnership arrives at a pivotal moment. Across Virginia, leaders in sectors from healthcare and construction to technology, national security, and hospitality are sounding alarms about talent shortages and aligning around the critical role community colleges must play in solving them. With pressures spanning immigration constraints, skilled‑trades gaps and the rapid rise of AI literacy, the region needs new approaches to education and workforce readiness.
At the same time, higher education is under national scrutiny. Families and policymakers are questioning the ROI of traditional four‑year institutions, including their relevance to today’s economy, their ability to prepare students for real careers and the long‑term debt they create. Learners are demanding flexible, affordable, career‑aligned pathways that get them into the workforce faster and with less financial risk. Community colleges are increasingly the answer. NOVA’s ability to deliver high‑value, market‑aligned programs at scale positions it as a central force in meeting these challenges. RP3’s work aims to elevate that role, shift long‑standing perceptions, and help the institution reach and serve learners across every stage of life.
As AOR, RP3 is leading strategy, creative, communications planning, media strategy and buying, social media strategy and performance measurement. The agency’s work is grounded in extensive qualitative research with current and prospective students, including high school seniors and adult learners navigating career transitions, which revealed a clear opportunity to redefine the role of community colleges in today’s economy.
Building on these insights, RP3 developed a new brand platform designed to resonate not only with prospective students but also with employers, policymakers, alumni, faculty and staff. The platform positions NOVA as a modern talent engine; one that delivers exceptional ROI, meets employer demand and expands access to high‑value career pathways without the burden of excessive debt.
RP3 is bringing the new brand platform to life through an integrated suite of efforts, from brand and performance campaigns launching in Q2 to a full campaign debut late this year. The work includes a bold earned‑media idea designed to elevate NOVA’s role in the statewide workforce conversation, refreshed on‑campus branding and internal communications that align faculty, staff and prospective hires around a shared vision. RP3 is also partnering with the NOVA Foundation to strengthen alumni engagement and fundraising, supported by a custom measurement framework with real‑time dashboards that connect marketing performance to business outcomes and ensure continuous optimization.
“NOVA has the kind of energy agencies dream about; ambitious, future‑focused, and totally unafraid to shake up old assumptions,” added Poliak. “We get to take that spark and turn it into something people feel, talk about and rally behind. This is the kind of brief that lets us stretch creatively, experiment boldly and build work that doesn’t just market a college, but reimagines what one can stand for.”
To learn more about RP3 and its Wildly Creative way of working, please visit www.rp3agency.com.
RP3 is a full-service creative and performance agency that turns wildly original ideas into outsized results. Brands are facing a tsunami of sameness. We help them break through it. We are built on human instinct and accelerated by AI, covering creative, strategy, media, design, production and digital.
Founded in 2009 by Beth Johnson, we are a certified, woman-owned small business based in Bethesda, MD. Our versatile and forward-thinking team helps clients succeed in a rapidly changing environment. We are a collaborative and results-oriented company that serves as the perfect blend of creative powerhouse and performance marketing machine, which ultimately allows us to deliver thoughtful, insight-driven creative that drives engagement and growth. To learn more about RP3, please visit www.rp3agency.com.
