Case study · Education
Saïd Business School at the University of Oxford wanted its 25th anniversary thought leadership to stand out on social media. We set the creative direction, then made animations, graphics and audio for 20 articles, which the school’s own teams published. Engagement on its feed rose by 68%.
- +68% engagement on feed
- +10% website traffic
- 20 articles brought to life
- 8 animations
- Client Saïd Business School, University of Oxford
- Sector Higher education
- Services Creative direction, content, animation, social media
- When December 2021 to 2022, the school’s 25th anniversary year
- Audience Business leaders, prospective students, alumni
- Channels Instagram, LinkedIn, Facebook, X, website, intranet, building screens
What did Saïd Business School need?
Saïd Business School is the business school of the University of Oxford. For its 25th anniversary it published “Business: the next 25 years”, a thought leadership series on its Oxford Answers hub, with commentary from academics including Paul Polman, Chair of its School Board.
The articles were strong. The challenge was getting people to read them. On a busy social feed, business school content tends to look the same, and the school’s own teams would be the ones publishing it.
- Business objective: build awareness of the school as forward-thinking, to support recruitment to its programmes.
- Communication objective: make the series stand out on social media and send more readers to the articles on Oxford Answers during the anniversary year.
What was the insight?
Big questions about the future of business are abstract. People scroll past abstract. They stop for a story.
So the idea was a visual hook for every article: short animated scenes that turn a question about the next 25 years into a single, slightly surreal image, like a businessman crossing a tightrope on a unicycle.
What did we do?
- Creative direction. We worked with the school’s in-house team to set a look that celebrated the brand but stood out in a feed.
- Concept themes. We developed themes that told the story of the school and where business is heading.
- Storyboarded content. Our in-house creative team made animations, graphics and audio clips for 20 articles, plus seven pillar assets.
- Animation. Eight animations, including two launch films of one to one and a half minutes that introduced the series.
- Built for the client’s teams. Every asset was made to the school’s quality, style and tone of voice, so its social and marketing teams could publish across Instagram, LinkedIn, Facebook, X, the website, the intranet and screens around the building.
What did it achieve?
Results by stage of the AMEC evaluation framework, with the source for each figure.
| Stage | Measure | Result | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Outputs | Articles supported with creative assets | 20 | Saïd Business School, Clutch review, July 2022 |
| Outputs | Pillar assets | 7 | Saïd Business School, Clutch review, July 2022 |
| Outputs | Animations, including two launch films | 8 | Saïd Business School, Clutch review, July 2022 |
| Out-takes | Engagement on the school’s social feed | +68% | Prohibition campaign reporting |
| Outcomes | Website traffic | +10% | Prohibition campaign reporting |
| Impact | Further strategy projects commissioned, to promote the school’s facilities and attract course participants | Secured | Prohibition |
What did Saïd Business School get from it?
Thought leadership that people stopped to watch. Engagement on the feed rose by 68%, website traffic by 10%, and the school asked us back for further projects on its facilities and course recruitment.
“It’s a great change from the usual corporate stuff we produce. All in all, we’ve seen an increase in engagement in the posts.”
What did we learn?
- Set the look first. Agreeing the creative direction early made 20 articles feel like one series.
- Make it easy to publish. Assets built for every channel meant the school’s teams used them everywhere, including on screens in the building.
- What we would do differently: agree a shared measurement plan with the school’s social team at the start, so every channel’s results are captured in one place.
