At the University of East London (UEL), a major component of our brand repositioning has been a renewed focus on content marketing. We’ve ensured all our content reinforces career readiness, with specific campaigns highlighting our diverse community, our impact in health and sustainability, and our incredible location. For the 2023 recruitment cycle, we knew that we needed something different to elevate our content and reach new audiences. We had learned some huge lessons from previous efforts: the importance of organic reach in driving social growth; the potential for brand partnerships to reach new audiences; the growing role of entertainment in brand content; and the promotion of brand values as opposed to products. We needed a unique content series to differentiate us from other institutions. We analyzed audience demographics, internal social media analytics, and best-practice branded content trends throughout the world to ensure the content would resonate with our audience. Collaborating with Mob Kitchen and select social media influencers helped boost our content's credibility, aligning with our audience's interests and preferences. This resulted in a 24% increase in search volume for UEL during the period the videos launched on the landing page and their respective channels. Clearing targets were not only met but exceeded by 4%. Applications increased by 7% compared to previous year during the same period.
From the Judges
We felt the nomination had a strong understanding of the importance of organic reach and authenticity within the campaigns, evident by metrics that show the strategy was well received. Good leveraging of social content, with an interesting and diverse selection of voices. Great work, University of East London!
