UNIVERSAL TECHNICAL INSTITUTE — Josh Robertson

CLIENT: UNIVERSAL TECHNICAL INSTITUTE
MISSION: AWARENESS AND COMMUNITY THROUGH SOCIAL MEDIA

With Universal Technical Institute, I saw an opportunity for a brand to raise its profile with editorial content. The young people who attend UTI are gearheads who follow car blogs and love Fast and Furious movies. They will talk about cars all day -- what if UTI's social feed could be a venue for these conversations? Using an editorial approach, I packed the UTI social pages with comment-worthy content: authentic car-show photography, concept art for vehicles of the future, and PR photos of new technology from manufacturers. Yes, it's important for UTI to tout the benefits of its curriculum. It's just as important for UTI to identify with these prospective students, to show them that the school is full of like-minded individuals. It's about learning the culture and staking out a place in it.
PLATFORM: Facebook, Instagram. AGENCY: Mediabrands Society. ART: Herbert Lacsina, Diana Chao, Ryan Hamsher.

Aromatherapy

With Universal Tech, I did my best to see the world through the eyes of a young person who dreams of working on cars. And on this occasion, to smell the world through that nose. The combination of relatability and humor drove this post to double the typical engagement figure, and 10x the number of comments.

Aventador Intakes

Universal Tech teaches kids to fix all sorts of cars — but Lamborghinis are not among them. Still, a kid can dream, right? The supercar phenomenon proved an effective way of connecting with the audience, with this post spiking to 3x the typical engagement on Instagram.

Trucks of Tomorrow

This concept art of electric 18-wheelers, posted with UTI’s truck-repair students in mind, went viral and sparked significant discussion. The post was among the top 10 most engaging of 2016, remarkable given that most UTI students do not take the truck-repair elective.

Pop Quiz

I asked followers to explain the principle of “negative camber,” a debated issue among car tuners. The question inspired users to tag friends in their replies, resulting in a spike in reach that translated to a 200% pickup in new followers for the week.

Have You Seen Me?

Read your users’ comments and they’ll give you content ideas. It’s a running joke among mechanics that 10mm sockets have a habit of wandering off. This post garnered triple the usual reach and engagement on Facebook.

Godzilla

You don’t have to see every car at every show to get the coolest stuff for your social feeds. This picture was obtained for free from a hobbyist photographer. UTI’s Instagram followers went wild for it, showering it with four times the average likes for posts on the feed.

Dream Job

Stats about graduation rates and the job market can help sell a Universal Tech education — but so can oohs and ahhs over a future workplace. This photo of classic cars in a customizing shop struck Universal Tech followers as an ideal day at the office.

Let's Talk

Do: Start conversations. Don’t: Try to own them. The post above sparked a 1500% spike in comments from UTI Facebook followers.

Know Your Stuff

Social media is of-the-moment — it’s a news source, if you want it to be. I established relationships with the publicity departments for major manufacturers so that we could bring the UTI prospects fresh information. This shot of Infiniti’s new variable compression engine impressed followers as need-to-know future tech.

CLIENT: UNIVERSAL TECHNICAL INSTITUTEMISSION: AWARENESS AND COMMUNITY THROUGH SOCIAL MEDIA

CLIENT: UNIVERSAL TECHNICAL INSTITUTE
MISSION: AWARENESS AND COMMUNITY THROUGH SOCIAL MEDIA