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Challenge
2020 was a write-off, especially for students. There was a sense of optimism as we approached Christmas, but the awful second wave of Covid-19 soon shattered this. Apart from being stuck at home again for the foreseeable, students felt uncertain about what the world would look like when they finished school.

With college applications lower than previous years, how would we encourage uncertain teenagers (and their parents) to consider University College Birmingham (UCB) for their future when things are so up in the air?

Concept
The pandemic forced students to stay at home for a number of months which meant they were falling behind and feeling uncertain about where they were headed after year 11.
Students had ambition, but they didn’t know where to channel it. They needed to be inspired by a clear message that encouraged them to take action which was:
Level Up with UCB

Execution
Our strategy was:
GET: Driven, ‘hands on’ type students (and their parents) studying GCSEs.
WHO: Feel a sense of uncertainty about their prospects in a world gripped by Covid-19.
TO: See UCB as the best choice to overcome any doubts about where they were headed in life.
BY: Using a mix of paid digital media to encourage students to ‘Level up’ with a UCB college course.

Parents and students have very different digital media habits and subsequently engage with platforms differently, therefore we implemented a tailored channel strategy to ensure we reached parents and students respectively. A multi-channel campaign was deployed across Facebook, TikTok, Spotify and Google Display.

Results
A successful campaign meant there had to be an increase in college applications year-on-year
+56% vs 2019
+39% vs 2018