ORCA.nrw:
Getting started with your studies, powered by influencers.
You can reach students on campus. And school pupils interested in studying? Of course, at school. But schools are a very challenging and fragmented advertising environment. That’s why ORCA.nrw, the state portal for studying and teaching, took a different (advertising) approach to provide targeted support for young people in North Rhine-Westphalia as they begin their studies and make it easier for them to access free learning materials and aptitude tests: TikTok. The platform is especially popular among school pupils, making it a good channel for reaching this young audience.
Help getting started with your studies via TikTok!
Key facts
- Campaign launch: Winter semester 2024/25
- Online presence, focusing on school pupils in North Rhine-Westphalia
- Target audience: School pupils interested in studying, particularly those in upper secondary school and final-year students
- Channel: TikTok
- Campaign: Influencer campaign with 20 creators from the education sector
Idea
- Directly engaging the target audience in their digital world
- Bypassing the hard-to-access school environment through social media
- Authentically communicating topics related to starting university through influencers
- Focusing on easy access to learning materials and aptitude tests
Objectives
- Supporting school pupils in North Rhine-Westphalia as they start their studies
- Increasing awareness and use of ORCA.nrw
- Communicating free educational resources on an equal footing
- Building trust through credible, personal content
Strategy
- Platform choice: TikTok as the target audience’s preferred channel
- Influencer selection: 20 creators, including students from various fields
- Content formats: Day-in-the-life insights, tips on choosing a degree, recommendations for learning materials
- Success story: Influencer @hosnamadina with over 31,000 views and 2,500 saves
Key takeaways
- TikTok is an excellent platform for education marketing aimed at young audiences
- Influencers create connection, relevance and credibility
- ORCA.nrw significantly increased its reach
- Successfully reaching school pupils without wastage in the school environment
“School pupils are a particularly media-savvy audience who spend a lot of time on social media—especially TikTok. So it made sense for us to share our information right there.
In collaboration with education influencers, we were able to engage this young audience authentically and on an equal footing, and introduce them to our portal in a credible, relatable way.”
Saskia Helbeck-Prepens, �
Content Manager at
ORCA.nrw
55%
of respondents aged 14 to 27 said they use TikTok.
Source: Survey of 34,257 respondents aged 14 and over, D21 Digital Index 2024/2025, Initiative D21.
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