University of Manchester

The Ask

University of Manchester sought an approach to promote two new courses: Global Development and Environmental Management, aiming to increase awareness of the Global Development Institute while getting their message to the right audience.

A key challenge was the highly competitive landscape of undergraduate recruitment, where new courses often struggle for visibility among well-established programmes. With a limited budget, the uni needed to maximise impact by identifying and leveraging cost-effective, high-performing media channels.

Success depended on two factors:

1) Reaching the right students – Prospective applicants interested in global development and environmental management often align with niche interests, values and career aspirations. A highly targeted approach was essential to connect with individuals most likely to engage with these fields.

2) Driving awareness efficiently – Traditional digital advertising formats risk high costs and audience dilution. The strategy required innovative, data-led media choices so that every pound spent delivered tangible results in reach and engagement.

Our Approach

Having reviewed the crowded marketplace, we identified the opportunity to really stretch ourselves and leverage our position at the forefront of new ideas, techniques and processes. We agreed to identify and test new, impactful platforms that could cut through the noise, drive interest in these programmes, and position the University of Manchester as a leading institution for future change-makers in global development and environmental sustainability.

WeAre8 is an innovative social platform that differentiates itself from traditional social media through a unique business model, strong sustainability focus and community-driven approach.

• Ad revenue is shared with users
• Carbon-offsetting model
• B-Corp Certification
• No algorithmic toxicity
• User-curated experience
• Micro-donations to charities
• Ad-free social feed
• Ethical advertising ecosystem
• Purpose-driven community engagement
• Innovative business model for brands

WeAre8 was perfect for maximising awareness and engagement for The University of Manchester’s Global Development and Environmental Management courses, thanks to its highly aligned audience, cost-effective model and unduplicated reach:

1) Audience alignment with socially conscious prospective students

WeAre8’s platform attracts users who actively engage with sustainability, social causes and ethical responsibility – values that resonate directly with students interested in global development and environmental management. This makes it ideal for connecting with high-intent individuals who are more likely to consider a degree in these fields.

2) Unduplicated and low-competition audience

Unlike mainstream social platforms crowded with higher education advertisers, WeAre8 offers a less saturated space, meaning the University of Manchester’s message wasn’t lost among competing institutions. With 22 million UK-based citizens aged 16-39, it provided access to unduplicated users who may not have been exposed to traditional student recruitment campaigns on platforms like Meta, Google or TikTok.

3) Precision targeting for student audiences

WeAre8’s targeting capabilities allowed the campaign to pinpoint prospects, using the budget well by reaching only the most relevant individuals.

4) Cost-effective and budget-friendly

Given a modest budget of £950 for a month-long campaign, WeAre8 delivered exceptional value for money, offering a high-impact awareness boost at a fraction of the cost of traditional digital advertising channels.

5) Actionable audience insights via post-campaign questionnaires

Beyond reach, WeAre8 provided measurable, qualitative insights through post-ad questionnaires. This enabled the University of Manchester to gather direct feedback from viewers, helping to refine future messaging and better understand the motivations of prospective students interested in sustainability-driven degrees.

6) Engaged and receptive users

Unlike interruptive ad placements on traditional social platforms, WeAre8’s audience actively opts in to view content, meaning engagement is intentional rather than passive scrolling. This creates a more receptive, focused audience, increasing the likelihood of meaningful engagement with the university’s courses.

7) Supporting a platform with ethical advertising values

By choosing WeAre8, The University of Manchester aligned itself with a progressive, purpose-driven platform, reinforcing its commitment to social responsibility – a key selling point for students passionate about global and environmental issues. This combination of high relevance, low competition and measurable impact made WeAre8 a standout choice; the campaign reached the right people and delivered insights to shape student recruitment strategies.

Results

This innovative platform suggestion meant that the subjects got visibility with highly aligned audiences that are hard to reach on other platforms. Manchester also got instant feedback through the brand survey elements, allowing them to adjust messaging – taking all the guesswork out of the equation.

• For Global Development, 1,168 citizens were allowed to view – 1,126 completed the video and answered the accompanying questions. Following that, 39 went on to click through to the landing page, giving a CTR of 3%. Questionnaire data found that 57% of viewers were unaware of the Global Development Institute before watching the ad. 75% of viewers wanted to learn more about the course and university, and 69% are considering attending university next year.
• Environmental Management saw 1,349 citizens given the option to view, with 1,252 completing the video and questionnaire. 26 landing page clicks followed – a CTR of 2%. 85% of viewers said that environmental issues are important to them; 80% wanted to learn more about the university after watching the ad; 69% of viewers plan on attending university next year.