Introduction
The National Institute of Fashion Design (NIFD) is a leading educational institution offering specialized courses in fashion design. This campaign was designed by Socks n Shoes Media Advertising agency in Pune. Prior to the campaign, NIFD aimed to increase brand visibility and engagement among prospective students, particularly in Maharashtra, focusing on Pune and Mumbai. The challenge was building awareness about their courses and showcasing student success stories to attract new enrollments.
Campaign Overview
The primary objective of the campaign was to enhance NIFD's visibility and engagement by leveraging influencer marketing. The initial brief emphasized creating content that highlighted NIFD’s innovative courses, student experiences, and the institute's vibrant campus life. The campaign targeted prospective students aged 18-25, as well as parents looking for credible educational institutions.
Key messages included:
NIFD as a hub of creative excellence
Successful careers of alumni
A fun and educational campus environment
Campaign Strategy
To execute the campaign, NIFD collaborated with 30 influencers from different categories, such as Nano and Micro-influencers, to ensure a mix of high engagement and niche audience targeting. The influencers were chosen based on their relevance to fashion, education, and lifestyle content.
Platforms utilized:
Instagram: Primarily for stories, reels, and feed posts.
YouTube: Long-form content focusing on interviews with NIFD alumni and course showcases.
The content creation process revolved around authentic storytelling. Influencers shared their own educational journeys or created fashion-related content linked to NIFD’s offerings. The diverse content included reels, testimonials, and day-in-the-life videos.
Campaign Performance Metrics
The campaign exceeded initial expectations across multiple performance indicators.
Key performance indicators (KPIs) were as follows:
Total Impressions: 132.29K, with an average of 2.76K impressions per post
Reach (unique users): Data not directly available, but impressions suggest high exposure.
Engagement: 6.32K total engagements, 101.92 average engagements per post
Engagement Rate: 1.37%
Likes: 5.85K total likes, 167.14 average likes per post
Comments: 469 total comments, 17.37 average comments per post
Content Performance
The top-performing posts included video content, specifically Instagram reels and stories, where influencers showcased their campus visits and interactions with NIFD students. The audience's sentiment was overwhelmingly positive, with 95.2% of the comments expressing positive feedback, and a small portion (0.4%) reflecting purchase intent—demonstrating interest in enrolling at NIFD.
A qualitative analysis of the audience's feedback indicated that viewers were impressed by the creative atmosphere and the real-life student success stories.
Influencer Performance
Several influencers demonstrated standout performance:
Palak Gosavi: 34K views, engagement rate of 4.5%
Aishu: Consistent engagement across multiple posts with 20K+ views per post
Mehakashi: Generated 27K views and a high interaction rate through creative reels
These influencers showed significant growth in follower count post-campaign, reflecting increased trust and credibility.
Return on Investment (ROI)
While exact Cost per Engagement (CPE) and Cost per Mille (CPM) were not provided, the total media value generated from this campaign was estimated at 10K, with relatively low spend given the choice of nano- and micro-influencers. This demonstrated a solid return on investment, with the campaign driving meaningful brand awareness and app engagement at a cost-effective rate.
Challenges and Solutions
One major challenge was ensuring consistent messaging across a diverse group of influencers. Some influencers initially struggled to align with NIFD’s core messages. To address this, NIFD conducted workshops with influencers, ensuring they understood the brand's vision and tone before posting.
Another challenge was managing content fatigue, as several influencers posted around the same time. The campaign overcame this by staggering content release schedules.
Recommendations
Influencer Diversity: For future campaigns, include more mid-tier influencers to balance niche engagement and wider reach.
Enhanced Video Content: Focus more on long-form YouTube content, as it allows for deeper storytelling, particularly in interviews and campus tours.
Community Engagement: Foster more two-way interactions between prospective students and influencers to enhance engagement, such as live Q&A sessions.
Timely Content Release: Stagger content release more effectively to avoid oversaturation and extend the campaign’s reach over a longer period.
Conclusion
The influencer marketing campaign was a resounding success for NIFD, achieving strong engagement, impressions, and a positive audience sentiment. By leveraging influencer-generated content, NIFD successfully raised brand awareness and positioned itself as a top choice for aspiring fashion designers. The campaign’s learnings will serve as a foundation for future influencer marketing strategies, ensuring continued growth and engagement for NIFD's brand.
The campaign not only met but exceeded its objectives, helping NIFD strengthen its presence in the competitive educational landscape of Maharashtra
(Source =NIFD_Campaign Report.pdf).
