Repositioning a work experience programme around what schools actually buy

The short version

Problem: Sold to schools as an exciting experience for students.
Insight: Schools bought it as a last-minute fix for students without a placement.
What I did: Repositioned it around the school's problem, and tested each version of the message out loud with buyers.
Result: Became the best-performing programme by bookings.

Abstract painting: the same cluster of paper shapes shown twice, the second turned, on a slate blue field

The full story

Sold as an experience

An edtech company sold careers programmes to UK schools. Its work experience simulation for 14 to 18 year olds was sold as an exciting experience for students: three days as an intern at a fictional agency.

I was Head of Marketing, later with a marketer reporting to me.

Bought as a fix

A handful of interviews with clients and prospects, plus what sales was hearing, told a different story. Schools bought it as a last-minute fallback for students who couldn't find a placement.

Their real problem was operational: chasing employers, paying for safety checks, and meeting the Gatsby benchmarks for every student.

Tested out loud

I tested each version of the page two ways: clarity tests on trymyUI, and walkthroughs with people from the target schools. I stayed quiet and asked them to narrate what they saw, what they liked, and what confused them.

What failed was mostly clarity. People couldn't tell what it was, what format it came in, or how it was delivered.

Each headline moved closer to the school's problem

Each version moved further from what the student gets, towards the problem the school has to solve.

StartIntern with us for three days.
V1Make your students well-prepared for the modern workplace.
V2Ensure 100% of your students are work-ready.
V3Solve work experience for all your students in hours.

It became the easiest programme to sell

It became the best-performing programme by bookings, and the easiest to sell through outbound. The customer story further down was written on the new positioning.

The work

Before

Intern with us for three days.

Gain an introduction to work experience
Get insight into the future jobs market
Hear from global guest speakers

Now

Solve work experience in hours.

Save time and reduce per-student costs
Minimise admin with easy health and safety checks
Reduce the need to coordinate with dozens of employers

The headline, before and now

From interviews with school work experience leads

Pains	Admin and safety checks	Chasing employers	Per-student cost
Proof	Gatsby benchmarks	Sector award	100+ schools
Segments	No placement found	Needs motivation	Rural students

What the research found

The customer story

Written and published with one of the colleges, told through the new positioning: the coordinator's problem first, the student experience second.

Customer story, sixth form college, 2023

How one college gave nearly 500 students a modern alternative to work experience

≈500students enrolled in the first cohorts

7Gatsby benchmarks met

1industry award

100net promoter score

The challenge

Hundreds of students, not enough placements

Work experience coordinators are often asked to find placements for hundreds of students. At one sixth form college, the coordinator faced exactly that during the pandemic, with a hard deadline and too few employers able to take students.

The solution

One programme for every student

The college ran the programme as its work experience alternative. Students worked on real business problems, from fundraising to building a website and designing a product, first virtually and later in person. Instead of chasing dozens of employers, staff covered every student at once.

The results

More than 1,000 students since 2021

Nearly 500 students took part in the first cohorts, and the college now runs it every year. Health and safety checks are simpler, the admin is a fraction of what it was, and every student leaves with a certificate and a portfolio they can put on their CV.

Still from the video interview with the college's work experience coordinator — Video interview with the coordinator

Still from a video interview with a student who took part — Video interview with a student

Read the published story, with both videos →

What I'd do differently

I'd keep the positioning, but build more free, brand-led assets around the programme itself, to help spread the word.