The Ask
Birmingham City University looked for ways to bolster its early Clearing campaign. Their aim was to increase awareness of the University, grow their audience on key social platforms and drive sign-ups for the online ‘Get Ready for Uni’ content hub.
Their ask also included a way to spotlight interactive Q&A webinars leading up to and including campus Open Day events.
Adgen got to work on the plan, with a key focus on ways to diversify BCU’s offering and further amplify their message.
Our Solution
Adgen introduced Birmingham City University to the power of influencer marketing. We partnered with four local influencers, selected for their connection with Birmingham and the target audience. The content included a mix of engaging and entertaining content on popular influencer platforms including TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube. The influencer designed creatives centered around themes of organisation, time management & wellness. They also included a variety of call to actions to encourage students to discover more.
One of the influencers, David Whitely (Sideman), also headlined a two-week series of webinars preparing students for life away at university. He was joined by panels of current students, wellbeing experts, alumni and even Ikea to answer questions to prospective students.
Adgen have been our media buying agency since 2020. We are extremely happy with the quality of service that they have provided. Their knowledge and experience of the HE sector (both home and international) is excellent. Adgen are not afraid to question our assumptions or recommend new channels and approaches, and to help us track their effectiveness in a transparent way. We’ve quickly grown into a solid partnership.
Results
Adgen’s award winning campaign smashed the established KPI’s, exceeding impression goals by over 121% while surpassing expected engagement rates. Our efforts also resulted in 2.3k enquirers ahead of Clearing via CRM email.
While a majority of audiences live within the UK, specifically the Birmingham area, the campaign also managed to draw the attention of international students.
The live sessions on Instagram were also particularly successful, drawing an audience of over a hundred engaged viewers during their short timeframe. These provided means for students to not just watch, but interact with the event in real time.
This campaign proudly received the Best Content-Led campaign award at the 2021 Content ED awards. Our efforts also created additional buzz online, being featured in The Birmingham Press, The Phoenix, and SIXTYNINE Degrees.
