Higher education / Marketing & communications
A more human brand.
A stronger recruitment journey.
At AFG College with the University of Aberdeen, I connected audience insight, digital campaigns and creative production with a simpler enquiry process—helping increase qualified leads by 120% within my first year, using the same advertising budget.
My role: Senior Digital Content & Design Officer
Location: Doha, Qatar
Scope: Nearly five years spanning digital marketing, content strategy, design, video production and event delivery.
+120%
Qualified leads within the first year.
Same budget
Growth achieved without increasing advertising spend.
Daily handover
Recruitment received new leads every morning, replacing a weekly handover.
01 / The challenge
Improve recruitment. Bring the institution closer to its audience.
The first challenge was commercial: generate enough qualified enquiries from a small, competitive market without increasing the budget. Campaign performance depended on more than advertising alone; the route from initial interest to a conversation with recruitment also needed attention.
The second was about perception. The college’s online presence felt corporate. I wanted prospective students to encounter the people, experiences and opportunities behind the institution, through a more approachable, student-focused experience.
02 / Audience & campaigns
Make each platform work for the audience.
I developed audience personas and identified where our prospective students spent their time. That informed a more deliberate platform mix: moving advertising away from Facebook, focusing on Instagram, Google and LinkedIn, and introducing Snapchat campaigns.
Campaigns were planned around each platform, with multiple creative variations and more frequent rotation to reduce repetition in Qatar’s relatively small market. I also introduced Arabic-language campaigns, drawing on our video bank to make greater use of existing content.
Audience-led planning
Personas and platform choices helped focus activity on the audiences we wanted to reach.
A broader creative mix
Platform-specific variations, regular creative rotation and Arabic content expanded how we communicated the offer.
Selected postgraduate recruitment campaign creative
A consistent visual approach adapted across programmes and square, landscape and vertical placements.
03 / The enquiry journey
Remove friction between interest and conversation.
I shortened the enquiry process by using native platform lead forms and removing unnecessary questions. The aim was to make expressing interest quick and straightforward, while retaining the information recruitment needed to follow up.
Working with the recruitment team, I changed lead handover from once a week to every morning. This gave the team the opportunity to contact prospective students while their interest was still fresh. Without a CRM system, I focused on practical process improvements that made the existing workflow more responsive.
Before
Longer enquiry forms and a weekly transfer of leads to recruitment.
After
Shorter forms, native platform enquiries and a daily morning handover.
04 / A more human presence
Put real people at the centre.
I introduced a human-face policy: increasing the use of real people across our online platforms. Student testimonials, lecturer introductions and event coverage helped prospective students see the community behind the institution.
Short-form video became a central part of the content strategy. These assets served both our everyday online presence and paid campaigns, connecting recruitment messages with recognisable people and lived experiences.
Strategy carried through to production
I created videos and graphic elements myself and directed junior team members on other projects. This connected campaign planning with the practical work of filming, editing, design and delivery.
Across nearly five years, the work extended from recruitment content to alumni stories, graduations, institutional events and collaboration with the University of Aberdeen’s main campus.
05 / Campaign concept to event delivery
International Women’s Day
One of my first major projects was the International Women’s Day conference, in my third month. The portrait-led design concept brought people into the visual identity and was well received.
Beyond creative direction
My contribution also included event planning, supplier liaison, venue coordination and working with event planners. On the day, I helped organise delivery, checked the execution of creative materials and coordinated with technical AV teams on the visuals, lighting and audio.
06 / Selected films & collaborations
Stories shaped around people and place.
Alumni interview / Hamad International Airport
An alumni interview I filmed and directed, involving coordination with Hamad International Airport.
Qatar World Cup / Aberdeen collaboration
A project developed with the University of Aberdeen’s main campus, coordinating filming in Aberdeen as part of the production.
International Women’s Day
More from the video portfolio
University video →
Graduation film →
Graduation film — additional selection →
Graduation film — further selection →
07 / The result
More qualified interest, with the same resources.
Together, the audience strategy, platform-specific campaigns, creative rotation and enquiry-process improvements contributed to a 120% increase in qualified leads within my first year, using the existing advertising budget.
Alongside that growth, I established a content direction built around students, lecturers, alumni and the wider college community. The work connected performance marketing with the people and experiences that gave the institution its character.