Empowering young people in Wales to own their future – not just their results.

Challenge

In summer 2024, we were tasked by Welsh Government and Careers Wales to deliver an integrated campaign aimed at young people receiving their exam results. Our challenge was to raise awareness of the support available through Working Wales and reduce the number of young people not in education, employment or training (NEET). With rising anxiety among 16-19 year olds – we needed to reassure them that their results didn’t define their future. We also had to engage parents and guardians and drive stakeholder advocacy. The campaign needed to cut through a crowded media landscape and speak directly to young people at a pivotal moment in their lives.

Solution

We created a bold, reassuring campaign under the umbrella message: “You decide what your future holds, not your results.” Our strategy was shaped by research into young people’s concerns and designed to empower them to explore their options.

We launched a full media relations programme, leveraging real-life success stories, cultural moments like the Taylor Swift Eras Tour, and influencer partnerships with voices such as Mace the Great and Amanda Lovett. We saturated media channels during results day, delivered bilingual content across social platforms, and created a stakeholder toolkit distributed to over 780 schools and colleges.

Our creative assets spanned organic and paid media, including TikTok partnerships, broadcast interviews, and inspiring video content. Every tactic was designed to meet young people where they were – online, in schools, and in the media – while amplifying the message through trusted voices and networks.

Results

Our campaign delivered outstanding results, exceeding expectations across media, stakeholder engagement, and business impact. We successfully reached and inspired young people at a critical moment in their lives, driving real-world outcomes and contributing to a reduction in the NEET rate.

Key performance highlights included:

• 122 pieces of earned media coverage across TV, radio, print, and online – a 22% increase on our KPI

• 55.8 million reach and 86 million OTS

• 780+ schools and colleges engaged, with a 26% email open rate and 10% click-through rate

• 599,000 organic social impressions from 203 posts

• 92,000 impressions from influencer content, reaching 67,000 accounts and generating 7,000 comments

• 35,794 video views from WalesOnline TikTok partnership

• 25.3 million paid media impressions and 756,662 video views

• 28,995 click-throughs to the Working Wales website

• 694 unique calls to Careers Wales – a 103% year-on-year increase

• 4.9% NEET rate for 16–18-year-olds in Wales – down 3.3 percentage points over the year