To carry out the media and content strategy, Mostly Serious strategized a campaign with the following objectives:
- drive quality traffic to key focus areas on the Project Shift website, and
- build awareness among Project Shift’s key audiences about positive shifts in the automotive tech industry.
Success in these objectives was measured by the following:
- a measured increase in quality and quantity of website traffic
- ad engagement, including video views and clicks leading to key content areas on the website, and
- on-site engagement with information and links for programs offered by OEMs.
Project Shift has two primary audiences:
- middle and high school students, as well as other job-seeking individuals, who may not be interested in attending a traditional four-year college but who would be great candidates for a career in auto tech; and
- adult influencers (including parents and guardians, counselors, and teachers) who guide and support students in their career search.
With awareness as the broader goal and keeping Project Shift’s audiences in mind, we built a holistic, cross-complimentary strategy around the following tactics:
- Google Search Ads — to target individuals conducting two kinds of searchers: 1) searchers seeking more information about careers in auto-tech, e.g. how to become an automotive technician, and 2) searchers seeking information about careers that don’t require a degree, e.g. best jobs without a degree. This tactic in particular aimed to present searchers who had likely varying levels of awareness about a career as an auto tech with information that put
- Google Display Ads — to retarget existing site visitors and reach individuals searching for topics and keywords matching those in our Google Search groups, as well as those who identify as recent or soon-to-be graduates
- Facebook Network Ads — to primarily target adult influencers, especially those who identify as parents with middle or high school-aged children
- YouTube Ads — to target both adult influencers and students
- Blog Content — to build a well-curated collection of content supporting high-quality information that targets longer information-seeking keywords, e.g. working at a car dealership
In analyzing the campaign, the Mostly Serious team presented the Project Shift team with helpful demographic data for future efforts, e.g. identifying which tactics are better suited for reaching young women and encouraging them to become auto techs (a sub-goal of Project Shift’s mission).
The Mostly Serious and Project Shift teams also collaborated on the possibility of using Facebook as a tool for direct, one-on-one conversations with adult influencers whose perceptions of the auto tech industry have the opportunity to be improved.