Strategy and Campaign for Swedish Institute Leadership Programmes

Background 

The Swedish Institute (SI) is a government agency promoting Sweden and Swedish values internationally, with flagship programmes aimed at emerging global leaders. One such programme, the Swedish Institute Management Programme (SIMP), offers leadership development in sustainability and responsible business for professionals from Africa, Asia, and Eastern Europe. 

In 2021, EduEnable was contracted to support SI in improving the visibility, reach, and strategic positioning of SIMP. The work included both foundational analysis and practical campaign planning, and led to a multi-year engagement across SI’s broader leadership programme portfolio. 

Challenges

SIMP had a strong academic and diplomatic mandate but was underperforming in key areas: 

• Its value proposition was unclear to international applicants and lacked distinct positioning in a competitive field. 

• Marketing relied on short-term bursts with limited continuity or channel targeting. 

• Application conversions were low, with a poorly defined user journey and a hand-off to an external portal that broke the funnel. 

• Alumni were not involved in outreach or brand-building. 

• SI staff had limited experience with structured social media campaigning, and LinkedIn presence was minimal. 

A structured, insight-led approach was needed to align the programme’s strategic intent with its communications and applicant engagement. 

EduEnable’s Role 

EduEnable led the full delivery of the assignment, including:

Market Analysis

We conducted a structured landscape review of SIMP’s positioning, campaign performance, and user journeys. The analysis identified key bottlenecks in visibility, targeting, and application path design, and recommended actions across content, systems, and internal coordination.

Strategy Development

We designed a three-year global marketing strategy for SIMP, covering: 

• Differentiated messaging for individual applicants and employers; 

• A sequenced campaign structure aligned to key stages: awareness, lead engagement, application, and onboarding; 

• Persona-based content formats, including trainer videos and alumni-led storytelling; 

• Use of LinkedIn as the primary outreach platform for quality applicant reach; 

• Engagement of Sweden’s diplomatic and alumni networks to increase credibility.

Campaign Implementation

EduEnable coordinated the 2022 campaign delivery across LinkedIn and Facebook. This included: 

• Case study interviews with alumni; 

• Design and rollout of campaign materials; 

• Post sequencing, channel monitoring, and analytics reporting; 

• Organising customised LinkedIn training for SI staff to build internal capability. 

Although applications were processed via a third-party platform, SI saw a significant increase in traffic, visibility, and engagement. Page views on SIMP country sites doubled; time on page increased and bounce rates dropped across the board. 

Outcomes 

The SIMP campaign delivered a clear shift in outreach performance: 

• A new LinkedIn showcase page was launched and grew from zero to over 12,000 followers by mid-2025; 

• Audience quality improved, with engagement rates consistently above benchmark and strong representation from senior professionals in key regions; 

• Alumni and partners became active contributors to content and outreach; 

• The structured campaign model proved replicable across other SI programmes. 

Based on these results, EduEnable were commissioned to support additional SI initiatives, including SI Leader Lab and SHE Entrepreneurs. Similar methodologies were applied and adapted to reflect each programme’s regional focus, sectoral audience, and delivery model. 

The engagement contributed to a shift from fragmented, ad hoc promotion towards coordinated, data-informed outreach across SI’s leadership programme portfolio, delivered with clarity, consistency, and long-term usability in mind.