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Lead Designer

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https://www.thinkdesignagency.co.uk/case-study/nwadass-step-into-social-care/

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Designing a social-first campaign to recruit 18–35s into adult social care

Overview

NW ADASS needed to recruit a younger audience into adult social care and shift long-held perceptions of the sector. We created ‘Step into Social Care’ - a social-first campaign designed around the platforms, formats and visual behaviours of 18-35s, using bold graphic design and authentic storytelling to make social care feel aspirational, relatable and real.

The challenge

Adult social care was under intense workforce pressure, with local authorities facing staffing shortages that risked leaving vulnerable people without support. NW ADASS asked us to create a recruitment campaign aimed specifically at 18-35s, including college leavers and graduates at a career crossroads.

The campaign needed to do more than advertise roles. It had to challenge stereotypes, broaden understanding of who social care supports, and communicate the positive side of the sector in a way that would stop the scroll.

The idea: social-native storytelling people actually want to watch
Younger audiences don’t respond to ‘recruitment ads’ — they respond to formats they recognise. So, we built the creative around a familiar, high-performing social structure: ‘a day in the life’.

Working with NW ADASS, we recruited young care workers to film their own footage. We then edited the content into platform-native videos that felt authentic, energetic and optimistic — encouraging viewers to imagine themselves in social care and to #stepintosocialcare.

Design approach: bold, graphic, and built to cut through the noise

To ensure impact on fast-moving feeds, we leaned into bold typography and graphic design led layouts, built to stand out against visual clutter and perform in short-form formats. Building on learnings from earlier campaigns, this iteration was made more dynamic and youth-focused, using punchy stills and graphic assets to amplify reach and reinforce recognition across channels.

We also tailored the rollout to audience behaviours by platform:
- TikTok for under 21s
- Instagram for 22–25s
- Instagram and Facebook for 26+

Extending social into a consistent journey

To maintain momentum from social to action, we designed a campaign microsite to create consistency across the journey, both supporting engagement, improving UX and driving applications for the jobs available across the region.

Results

Delivered over eight weeks (including the Christmas period), the campaign achieved standout performance for a sector known to be challenging to recruit for — especially with younger audiences:

- 595k reach
- 41k likes
- 8k website visitors
- 125 applications
- 1.5% conversion rate

Channel reach highlights:
- 167k Facebook reach
- 35k Instagram reach
- 356k TikTok reach
- 38k X reach

NW ADASS described the campaign as a resounding success, with local authorities calling it ‘fantastic’. Due to performance, there were plans to refresh and re-run the creative later in the year.

Why this is design for social media

This project was designed for social, not adapted for it. It combines:

- native storytelling formats (UGC and ‘day in the life’ content)
- bold, scroll-stopping graphic design built for feed environments
- platform strategy aligned to age-led channel behaviours
- a consistent end-to-end experience via a supporting microsite


Gold Winner in Integrated Graphic Design for Social Change

Silver Winner in Design for Social Media for Graphic Design

Step into Social Care