Honors Symposium

The Executive Leadership Council (The ELC) annually provides more than $1.5 million in scholarships for Black college students. The ELC Scholarship Program awards high-achieving students with scholarships, internships, mentorships, and unique access to ELC members and their companies. The ELC’s motto is “From the Classroom to the Boardroom,” which represents The ELC’s mission to build a pipeline of Black corporate talent by supporting the academic achievement and development of Black students.

The Challenge

The ELC needed help targeting institutions to fund scholarships and find students who would be the recipients of those scholarships. The scholarship program required its own social media strategy and microsite that lauded the financial value of the scholarships and the Honors Symposium. The in-person events also required branding on everything from the booklets to the stage to the dance floor.

Our Solution

Black Digital used paid advertising and created a strong brand identity across The ELC’s social media account to interest schools and companies in the ELC Scholarship Program. Because of these efforts, we helped connect huge corporations such as Bank of America, Coca-Cola, the NBA, and Nationwide with predominantly historically Black colleges and universities.

The ELC Scholarship Program required a multi-layered digital advertising strategy tailored for a specific audience that encouraged that audience’s members to apply to the program. We created easy-to-read infographics to get the scholarship messages across to potential applicants. We also streamlined the application process so that interviewers could easily get in touch with students digitally.

The Results

Reached 2 million users in 30 days

With our help, The ELC reached two million users in 30 days with a targeted advertising and media-buying campaign. This resulted in a 300% increase in student scholarship applications. More than 130 scholars were awarded more than $1.5 million in scholarships from 16 companies.

Black Digital provided well-designed branding collateral, intentional marketing strategies, and social media engagement that encouraged scholar participation throughout the conference.

The vibrant color scheme and logo design aligned with the youthful yet professional look and feel of the week. [Our] brand awareness has increased and is recognizable by scholars and their networks due to the established online presence and scholar testimonials.

Krysta Omeir

The Executive Leadership Council