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Case study

RWE

RWE - Connecting with graduates for a global energy trading leader.

 

Powering a global graduate programme recruitment through an electrifying brand and relatable video content.

Category: Employer Brand
Client: RWE

Year-on-year performance has been off the scale…

6
million

impressions (increase of 518%)

11650

graduate applications (up 111%)

3000

applications for hard-to-fill IT roles (up 234%)

47
%

female placement hires (up 33%)

Energising an early careers audience

RWE Supply & Trading (RWEST) are a leading global energy trading company. They wanted talented graduates and apprentices to choose a career with them, but the problem was they’d never heard of them. So to understand what drove RWE’s current cohort – and why the next generation should apply, we listened.

  • We ran several focus groups across the world. 

  • We held a full day Youth Marketing Masterclass.

  • We conducted current creative and competitor analysis.

Our Process:

jackie_2

The approach

A distinct theme emerged: Choice.

We found that grads and apprentices believed that at RWE, their choices have more impact, more meaning, and more benefits for their career.  

The big idea then came naturally... From here, you have choice.

We needed a strategy that would:

  • bring their early careers offer to life from a standing start
  • flex across various channels
  • enable better monitoring and reporting
  • show wide-ranging roles beyond engineering
  • focus on the future of energy, to alleviate negative perceptions around non-renewables.

Lights. Camera. Attraction

We needed to bring this message to life and show the energy of a career with RWE. Something that showed real, relatable people, and gave an insight into the wide-ranging careers on offer. Something well suited to social. Video was the obvious choice, all supported with:

  • a messaging framework
  • a toolkit of assets across social, digital, job boards and OOH
  • on-campus activity
  • career fairs and event displays
  • digital displays in student accommodation.

We went big. To showcase the choice RWE offers, we created a polished hero video that grabbed attention and raised brand awareness. Filmed across three locations, the concept lived and breathed through their people, so we did lots of engagement work to get everyone on board, out of their comfort zone and stuck into filming. Even the CEO, COO and CFO got involved.

We also created guided user-generated content and compilations. These focused on depth interviews with interns and grads to provide follow-up content and more detail on individual grads’ ‘choices’.

1

What we learned:

Having the right messages running through the right assets is only half the solution. To get the work in front of the people we needed, we took a hyper-targeted approach to geographically activating the campaign and maximising ROI. This included using our own Student Market Insights tool to pinpoint and target the right universities for RWE.

Key takeaways:

  • Understand your audience.
  • Find what makes your career experiences better.
  • Keep messaging consistent (without getting boring).
  • Inspire your own people to share their stories.

The outcome:

We tracked all our live assets and content and optimised to the highest performers, working closely with RWE to upweight messages aligned to particular programmes or to appeal to certain audiences by showcasing people of specific demographics. The campaign delivered a strong reach across all channels, with standout performances from TikTok (0.80% CTR) and paid search (CTR 4%) outperforming industry benchmarks.

Key takeaways:

  • 6m impressions (518% increase year on year)
  • 11,650 graduate applications (111% increase)
  • 3,000 applications to hard-to-fill IT roles (234% increase)
  • 110k clicks (348% increase)
RWE
RWE

In their own words

RWE

In their
own words

Madlen Krembel

Head of Global Talent Attraction, Recruiting & Early Careers

“Working with SMRS was a game-changer. Their in-depth analysis of our target audience was evident in the creative conceptual ideas they brought to the table. What stood out for us was not just their creativity, but how well they captured the essence of our company. It wasn’t a typical agency collaboration – it felt more like great teamwork. We weren’t just clients, but partners refining and fine-tuning ideas together. We crafted a messaging framework that hit the mark – empowering young individuals to shape the future of energy. These messages resonate perfectly with RWE’s employer brand. The result definitely met our expectations, and the campaign effectively positions us as an employer of choice for Early Careers talent – thanks to the pragmatic approach of SMRS, who developed a customised and non-standard solution together with us!”

Meet a few members of our team

Jackie Grisdale

Meet a few members of our team

Jackie Grisdale

This project has been a real highlight for me. A multi-site shoot, filming on a live trading floor, bringing the choice RWE offers to graduates to life…all leading to an uplift in brand awareness and a positive impact on the quality of grads they attract. What’s not to love. 

- Jackie Grisdale

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