Case Study

Background

IN4 Group is one of the UK’s leading organisations focused on developing digital talent and supporting economic growth through technology, innovation and education.

Through Skills City, the organisation delivers industry-led programmes designed to equip people with highly sought-after technical skills across areas including software development, cyber security, data, AI and games development.

One of the challenges was attracting the right people into highly specialised training programmes. Unlike traditional recruitment campaigns, success depended on reaching individuals with genuine interest and potential within niche technology sectors, while also generating sufficient awareness amongst audiences who may not previously have considered these career paths.

The Challenge

Games development is an extremely competitive sector.

Finding people who already possess an interest in games development is difficult enough. Convincing them to commit to an intensive skills programme requires trust, awareness and highly targeted communication.

Traditional advertising alone would not achieve the required outcomes.

Our Approach

ThinkinCircles developed a multi-channel attraction campaign that combined digital marketing with innovative offline activity.

Rather than relying on a single advertising platform, we created an integrated campaign designed to place Skills City in front of potential candidates wherever they were already spending their time.

The offline initiatives reached audiences in places where traditional recruitment marketing would rarely appear. These activities complemented the online campaigns and helped create wider awareness beyond purely digital advertising.

The combination of online and offline marketing created multiple opportunities for prospective applicants to discover the programme before directing them towards the application process.

Throughout the campaign, we continually monitored performance, refined audience targeting and adjusted creative messaging to maximise both application quality and overall campaign effectiveness.

What Changed

The campaign generated strong awareness amongst the target audience and significantly increased visibility for the Skills City Games Development programme.

Applications increased throughout the campaign, while the quality of applicants improved through more focused audience targeting and messaging.

By combining innovative offline activity with highly targeted digital marketing, the campaign reached individuals who would have been unlikely to engage through traditional recruitment advertising alone.

The programme successfully attracted candidates who not only applied but also attended the course, helping Skills City achieve its objective of filling specialist training places with engaged participants.

Results

Why It Mattered

Attracting people into specialist education programmes requires many of the same principles as attracting difficult-to-find talent.

It is rarely enough to advertise and hope the right people respond.

Success comes from understanding where the audience spends its time, creating messaging that resonates with their ambitions and delivering that message consistently across multiple channels.

By combining strategic audience targeting with creative online and offline marketing, ThinkinCircles helped Skills City and IN4 Group increase awareness, generate quality applications and connect more aspiring games developers with valuable career opportunities.

Services Delivered