EF-Exchange

The Task & Requirements

At EF, the mantra was always "Leads! Leads! LEADS! We need more leads." However, in collaboration with Elin (Country Manager), we developed a softer and more inspiring approach tailored to the Swedish market. While our primary goal remained to acquire more student contacts, both Elin (Country Manager) and I agreed to take the inspirational route.

Our multichannel campaign encompassed Social Media Organic Activities, Social Media Ads, Flyers, Sales Letters, and a printed ad in a student magazine.

My Contribution

While Elin (Country Manager) focused on gathering content (including pictures, text, and voice messages) from former exchange students, I took charge of planning the campaign website. After designing the various pages in Figma, I delegated the task of developing missing components to Pedro (Developer).
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By the time Pedro (Developer) and I finished working on the components, Elin (Country Manager) provided me with assets. Subsequently, I began constructing a library of ads and setting up their tracking UTMs. We had a total of 5 student stories ready. Together with Georgia (Digital Marketing Manager) we decided to conduct some tests to determine which student performed the best.

Surprise, surprise, the winner turned out to be Karin (EF student), a young blonde female student, which was quite typical for the Swedish market. From that point forward, we focused heavily on promoting her story and assets.
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While conducting tests on the ads and organic social media activities, I optimized the page and made it slightly more "sales-oriented". Although the scroll rate dropped after implementing these changes, we observed an increase in the number of leads received.

Team

Elin Rydstedt (Country Manager. EF Sweden)

Georgia Cambiati (Digital Marketing Manager at EF Switzerland)

Pedro Sousa (Developer at EF Switzerland)

Year

2021

Created at

Education First, Zürich

Created for

EF High School Exchange Year, Sweden

Live page

https://www.ef.se/highschool/2022/

I felt incredibly fortunate to have access to numerous organic assets and inspiring student stories. Producing all the test ads and additional assets felt effortless.

After a few days of testing the ads, I made the decision to create a short video using the material we had featuring Karin, who proved to be the most successful persona in our ads.

Timothy came in second place. Therefore, I also created a video with his content.

Tracking and analyzing the page performance was crucial for this project. After the initial soft approach, we transitioned to more aggressive advertising. Consequently, the pages needed to adopt a more sales-oriented approach. One of the minor additions included implementing CTAs for sign-ups or information meetings. Although the scroll rate dropped after implementing these changes, we observed an increase in the number of leads received.

Look Back & Learnings

At EF, team spirit, sales goals, and celebrating achievements were the driving forces. From time to time, I encounter people who mention EF's negative reputation, but all I can think about is how it was the place where I learned the most and had the most fun. For me and many of my team members, EF provided the perfect environment to experiment with new technologies and approaches, and to do so rapidly. The dynamic nature of the company and its entrepreneurial spirit during my nearly four years of tenure greatly influenced my work ethic and personal growth.

EF High School Exchange Year fulfills teenagers' dreams by offering them the opportunity to explore another country. Exchange students embark on a transformative journey, living abroad for up to a year and immersing themselves in the culture of their host country from within.