Skip to content

Winning the graduate
audience with EY.

How we tapped into new talent and grew a workforce at one of the world’s largest advisory firms.
Atomic Image
Client
Ernst & Young Global Limited is a multinational professional services network that provides assurance, tax, consulting & advisory services to its clients.
Headquarters
London, UK.
Industry
Accounting.

Taking applications to a whole new level.

EY likes to set bold targets. That’s why they’re one the most successful organisations in their field. But even our eyebrows were raised when they set us a challenge to increase completed graduate applications by 100 percent.

Research confirmed that EY was trailing its competition in the competitive graduate market. Our job was to turn things around. We loved EY’s ambition, honesty, and willingness to challenge the status quo. Collectively, we resolved to develop the best graduate campaign in the market.

Campaign at a glance:
  • Campaign videos & graduate blogs
  • Social media advertising
  • Engaging web copy and designs
  • Internal advocacy campaign
Atomic Image
Diving deep into research.

Our team conducted extensive qualitative research with current and recent graduates. The main takeaway was that graduates wanted to bring their authentic selves to work. Additionally, we saw an opportunity to differentiate EY based on key qualities – its diverse workforce, its people-oriented culture, its international structure, and its strong consulting heritage.

Atomic Image
Creating a compelling proposition.

Having gathered and analysed our findings, we needed to capture EY’s unique focus on graduates. Something that resonated with both internal and external audiences. Then the light bulb moment came. We arrived at our campaign proposition: ‘Is this you?’.

Atomic Image
Tailoring to our audience’s needs.

As befits the audience, our campaign took a completely digital, social, and mobile approach. We produced 18 short and punchy social videos that stripped away cringey interviews and jargon, in favour of a bright, fun and human tone.

Empowering the people behind the firm.

Working with the EY team, we helped galvanise the entire firm behind the message and campaign – right down to personalised digital avatars for all the recruitment team. Internal advocacy became a major driver of traffic and engagement.

Reaping the benefits of hard work.

The campaign helped propel EY back to its rightful position as a leading graduate employer. All target KPIs were smashed, with completed applications increasing by 234%.

Website visits increased from 7000 in 2015 to over 18000. Most rewarding though was joining EY in celebrating winning Graduate Employer of the Year, Best Student Marketing Campaign of the Year and three other Grad Ireland awards.

''Creating an authentic, socially led campaign exceeded all our objectives and helped us win Graduate Employer of the Year for the first time. EY and Atomic DNA worked as genuine partners to create something unique.''

Caroline McAniff
Head of Recruitment, EY
Related case studies
Helping Bank of Ireland attract highly-skilled graduates
Creating a compelling employer brand story with Grab
Intercom - social card
Rethinking Intercom’s recruitment journey to secure top talent