Submitted by ThirtyThree

Accenture Early Careers: Inspiring the next generation

ThirtyThree built an integrated Early Careers campaign for Accenture that widened the applicant pipeline and delivered a 47% increase in female applications.

+23%YOY social impressions increase
+47%female applications increase
+38%lower socio-economic background

Case in 60 seconds

Accenture wanted more Early Careers applications from candidates outside traditional consulting backgrounds, which meant reaching people who did not already picture themselves as consultants or technologists at a firm of that kind.

The campaign appears to turn on a self-perception barrier rather than an awareness one, because ThirtyThree reports research finding low audience confidence, so the work had to make candidates believe in their own potential before an application would follow.

A fully integrated campaign built to inspire candidates with their own potential, showing them what they could achieve and how Accenture would help them get there, rather than describing the programmes on offer.

A multi-touchpoint campaign of influencer-led stories, competitions, a campus activation and interactive tools, anchored by Accenture LIVE, a digital campus of over 20 events students curated themselves, with a series of films showing how graduates and apprentices are supported.

ThirtyThree reports a 23% YOY increase in social impressions, a 47% increase in female applications and a 38% increase in lower socio-economic background applications, and the page carries RAD and RMA winner marks.

Strategy Breakdown

The primary strategy-learning section — interpretation, not a press-release summary.

Early Careers candidates from non-traditional consulting backgrounds, including students, graduates and apprentices, described as a target audience whose confidence in themselves was low.
Consulting and technology careers read as closed to people without the conventional background, so the work had to address a candidate's sense of not belonging rather than a shortage of information about the roles.
Early Careers recruitment competes for the same conventional applicant pool, and Accenture set an objective of pipeline breadth for the future, which meant the campaign could not be judged on application volume alone.
Accenture appears positioned as the organisation that helps candidates reach their potential rather than as a firm selecting from finished applicants, which is the reading the films about graduate and apprentice support support.
Based on the available evidence, low self-confidence stops an application before it starts, so the campaign put achievable examples and self-directed participation in front of candidates rather than making the case for the employer.

Creative & Execution System

Assets & channels

  • digital events
  • film
  • influencer-led stories
  • interactive tools

Partners

  • ThirtyThree (lead_agency)

Participation mechanic

  • Students curated their own campus experience from over 20 events within Accenture LIVE, and the campaign also ran competitions, a campus activation and interactive tools.

Results & Evidence

MetricValueResult type
YOY social impressions increase23% YOY increase in social impressionsperformance
female applications increase47% increase in female applicationsperformance
lower socio-economic background applications increase38% increase in lower socio-economic background applicationsperformance

Why ThirtyThree's strategy worked

  1. 1

    Where the barrier to application is confidence rather than awareness, a campaign built on candidate potential appears to move underrepresented segments hardest, since the two largest reported gains sit on female and lower socio-economic applications.

  2. 2

    Letting students assemble their own schedule from over 20 events converts a recruitment calendar into a self-selected experience, which suits an audience being asked to imagine a future role rather than attend a fixed presentation.

  3. 3

    Influencer-led stories and films about existing graduates and apprentices function as proof that the firm is reachable, which is the evidence a low-confidence audience needs more than a description of the programmes themselves.

Related Case studies