The Challenge
Canada Learning Code was in the middle of a significant strategic shift. The organization was moving away from teaching people how to code and pivoting toward AI upskilling and demystifying emerging technology for underrepresented communities. Career Collective was the product built around that new direction.
The campaign had to do two things at once: reintroduce the organization to its existing community, many of whom would be skeptical or simply no longer the right fit, while recruiting a new audience who needed something they didn’t yet know existed.
Losing some followers was an accepted reality. The goal wasn’t to hold onto everyone. It was to retain goodwill, keep existing supporters as amplifiers, and build a new community from the ground up; fast, with no agency and no paid media budget.
Visual Showcase
My Role
I led the development and execution of the Career Collective awareness and recruitment campaign; owning both the creative direction and copy across all channels. Working within a three-week brief-to-launch window, I developed the content strategy, wrote campaign copy, and directed the visual execution using the existing Career Collective brand identity. Two team members supported asset and content development throughout.
The
Approach
The campaign strategy was built around one core principle: meaningful engagement over paid promotion. With no agency budget and a three-week runway, every content decision had to work harder.
The channel mix was deliberately focused; LinkedIn and Instagram, where the target audience was most reachable. Content was structured around four pillars: thought leadership to build credibility, member success stories to demonstrate real impact, interactive Q&A sessions to foster connection, and behind-the-scenes content to humanize the brand.
Email played a supporting role, segmented outreach to existing Canada Learning Code contacts who needed to understand that the organization had evolved and that Career Collective was built for where they were going next.
Community partnerships were integral from the start. Collaborations with industry professionals, career coaches, and advocacy groups extended reach organically and added third-party credibility that paid media can’t buy.
The tone across everything was consistent with the brand: warm, informal, and deliberately accessible. Not because the work wasn’t serious, but because tech can intimidate and we wanted to bring those walls down.
The Outcome
In 8 months, Career Collective grew from zero to 250+ members, entirely through organic channels, community partnerships, and content that prioritized connection over promotion.
The community has continued to grow since the campaign wrapped. Membership has now surpassed 500; a signal that the foundation built during those first eight months was the right one.
In 2025, Canada Learning Code was acquired by Ampere. Career Collective continues under their stewardship — a product that outlasted the organization that created it.
Ready to talk about what community-driven marketing could look like for your organization?