“We chose the team at Halston B2B to create and grow our social media presence as a result of their innovative ideas to attract and retain our three target audiences. The team were great at developing a long-term strategy for our social media presence and getting some of our new platforms off the ground. Altogether, Halston B2B have helped us raise more awareness for our project with the goal of improving the health of people in Bradford thanks to increasing awareness of our brand and activities.”
Case Study
BiB: Age of Wonder
Putting the Social into Social Research
BiB: Age of Wonder is a seven-year project capturing the journey through adolescence to adulthood for teenagers in Bradford.
We began working with the BiB: Age of Wonder team through a tender that aimed to achieve increased brand awareness for the research project. With a proposed target audience that held no links to any of their previous projects, the team needed help reaching and connecting with potential participants aged between 11-16, while also gaining the trust of their parents and teachers. With this in mind, we pitched a comprehensive market research exercise that would inform a four-platform strong social media strategy that would resonate with their three audiences.
Market Research to Understand Bradford Better
From the beginning of our relationship with the BiB: Age of Wonder project, we knew that in order to understand them, we had to understand Bradford.
The BiB: Age of Wonder team established the following three audiences to market to:
While their target audiences presented an exciting challenge, they also presented a high obstacle as each group represented a completely different demographic. We knew that each group would need a unique approach to marketing while still maintaining consistent branding across all output. To understand what makes these groups tick, we undertook a wide-scale market research exercise.
By conducting interviews and focus groups with students, teachers, school administrators, and parents, we were able to determine not only the main barriers felt by individuals when faced with entering a research project but also the wider structural barriers the audience faced when it came to social engagement. This was important to the BiB: Age of Wonder team as one of the main aims of the 7-year project was to improve the physical health of Bradford while capturing the social atmosphere in which its participants are growing up.
We collated the insight gathered in this market research project to create persona documentation for each audience group. Persona documentation is an important part of the research process as it allows you to visualise your audience’s wants and worries in an easily digestible document. Through doing this, we were able to distinguish BiB: Age of Wonder’s key audience’s main differences as well as what unites them, gaining key insight into how the projects focus would relate to their everyday lives.
Building Out the Brand
When working with local authorities, we know that working to tight deadlines and brand guidelines is essential. With this in mind we decided to prioritise the creation of colour schemes, font packs and, and the essential imagery such as logos and icons. Ensuring that BiB: Age of Wonder’s brand foundation were accessible to all and appropriate for use across all marketing collateral.
We decided to keep all of the brand’s original fonts as they were, as these were already accessible to the project’s target audience and were therefore in line with the already created social strategy. In comparison, the primary colours were one of the most important aspects of the brand that we decided to change. This was because they were originally pastel blue, purple and yellow- colours that are more often associated with younger children than teenagers. We needed the brand to feel a bit more approachable and relatable to the project’s target audience, especially with social engagement being one of the biggest targets of the project.
By incorporating brighter colours including oranges, greens, and blues, we luminated the colour palette while making the brand more age appropriate.
As well as amending the brand’s colour palette, we also expanded its primary shapes and elements. While the brand already had a larger-than-expected number of fun illustrations, we animated these assets to work within social media videos. Bringing the brand to life
TikTok on the Clock…
Each platform has its own requirements for creative content, and personalised algorithm to push said content. To ensure that we were squeezing out every possible benefit from using a multi-channel approach, we decided to adapt each individual creative to its corresponding platform.
One of the most specific platforms that we adapted to was TikTok. As a purely video-centric platform whose algorithm prioritises short-term sound-orientated trends, this platform isn’t the third sector’s normal social home. But as the primary platform used by BiB: Age of Wonder participants, it was a platform we needed to crack.
Firstly, we made sure every video was distinct and unique, using a wide range of animation styles to create constant intrigue. For more informational videos we used stock videos and imagery along with elements of the BiB: Age of Wonder branding animated throughout. In contrast, we used more exciting animations using brighter colours and bubbly text for other videos such as testimonials We also used full character animation where stock imagery wasn’t appropriate.
Secondly, we utilised the BiB: Age of Wonder’s amazing team by involving them in the creation of videos to bring a personal touch and include a recognisable face within our content. By incorporating team members who also regularly visited schools, we could create a real connection between the trending content and the wider project. See for yourself down below!
Delivering Substantial Social Growth
To ensure that we were on track with the BiB: Age of Wonder teams goals and expectations, a monthly report was created using a mix of Google Analytics and each social platform’s analytics data. Through our targeted strategy that was executed in close collaboration with the BiB: Age of Wonder team, we were able to achieve the following growth:
The following statistics were taken in August 2022 and compared to April 2023.
BiB: Age of Wonder Website and Social Media Growth
0
% increase in the average time spent on the BiB: Age of Wonder website
0
% growth in Instagram followers
0
% growth in TikTok followers
0
% increase in engagement per Twitter [X] post
The Outcome
In just 1 year we have reinvented the BiB: Age of Wonder brand to better represent the target participants that the project needs to make a difference to the health of Bradford. By using a strategy that not only prioritised trending videos but also showcased the personalities of the team, we were able to grow the projects socials and in turn increase the projects participations numbers in line with their goals. The project will continue our work to achieve a better future for Bradford and it’s constituents.