Side-by-side stills from the campaign, saying: 'Speaking up in meetings' and 'Finding the right job for you'

LinkedIn Targets Gen-Z To Highlight New Immersive Video Feature

The humour-filled campaign with VCCP London highlights how the brand's latest feature can help young professionals

By Creative Salon

23 October 2024

LinkedIn launches an episode of its latest social-first campaign, “Know-How That Sticks", in partnership with integrated agency VCCP London.

The three social-first films aim to target Gen Z and bring awareness to the platform’s newly implemented i mmersive video feature. This feature offers short-form, authentic content focused on delivering valuable tips, insights, and industry news, helping professionals advance their careers, grow their businesses, and stay informed.

Immersive video allows users to browse content, watch videos in full-screen and swipe vertically to watch more. The roll-out of this new feature responds to the fact that since video content became available on LinkedIn in 2017, it has become the fastest-growing format - with a 34 per cent increase in video uploads and offering 40 per cent more engagement than with written posts.

According to recent LinkedIn research, young professionals are struggling to navigate their careers1, and 18-to-25-year-olds are the least confident out of all generations in their current job or role2. Seeking out career advice online can often be overwhelming, when there are so many places to look - as a result, young Brits often don’t know where to start or who to ask for help. This is the challenge that LinkedIn aims to tackle with this campaign. As the world’s largest professional network: it can provide young people with access to experienced and credible professionals.

The three part “Know-How That Sticks” series covers essential career tips such as how to find the right job, how to succeed in interviews, and how to speak confidently in meetings. Each episode features a different influencer that LinkedIn has teamed up with. Patrick Quinton-Smith, founder of The Gen Z Coach, specialises in helping businesses unlock the untapped potential of Gen Z. In the first episode, Patrick covers what individuals should look for when trying to find the right job. Shola West, a content creator who provides young and underrepresented job-seekers with advice on careers in marketing, explains how to do well in an interview. The third and final episode, which launches today, features Heather Elkington, founder of Fresh Leadership World, a TedX speaker, writer and coach. In this episode, she guides young professionals through finding the confidence to speak up in meetings.

Throughout the series, quirky animated talking stickers humorously provide questionable advice - to a young professional starting out in the world of work. Feeling overwhelmed by the noise of the stickers, the LinkedIn sticker saves the day by directing her to videos by Creators who provide useful tips and advice. Each film ends with the line: “Get the right know-how, from the right people.”

The stickers aim to represent unsolicited advice young people are often barraged with when starting their professional careers, and were animated by VCCP’s global content creation studio, Girl&Bear.

Through the campaign, LinkedIn aims to reach a broader audience natively on LinkedIn and across Meta.

Zara Easton, group head of brand marketing UK at LinkedIn, said: “When you’re just starting out, everyone wants to give you advice and it can be overwhelming. We brought this to life in a weird and wonderful way - tapping into Gen Z’s love for self-expression through stickers on their laptops. Our LinkedIn sticker cuts through the noise, grounds us and directs us to LinkedIn’s new ‘Videos For You’ feature - the go-to place for informative, career-driven content that you’ll actually find useful. Our aim is to share practical tools and tips that empower young professionals in today’s fast-paced world, featuring influential voices like Patrick Quinton-Smith, Shola West, and Heather Elkington.”

Matt Lloyd, deputy executive creative director, VCCP London added: “As a career starter, everyone's lining up to give you advice and career hacks. Not all of it helpful. We brought this to life using a random cast of stickers found on laptops and phones etc. A cacophony of conflicting opinions, bombarding our career starter with unsolicited advice. Just as it gets too much, our LinkedIn sticker steps in as the helpful voice of reason. We covered subjects that the next generation of workers want to get real, actionable advice on, demonstrating the importance of getting the right know-how from the right people. Price James not only directed brilliantly, he also made a wonderfully pompous cat.”

Campaign credits

CAMPAIGN TITLE: Know-How that sticks social series

CLIENT: LinkedIn

ADVERTISING AGENCY: VCCP

CREATIVE DIRECTOR: Matt Lloyd

COPYWRITER AND ART DIRECTOR: Tom Lee & Alice Goodrich

MANAGING PARTNER: Lindsey George

ACCOUNT DIRECTOR: Nicole Mouawad & Harriet Sweetman

ACCOUNT MANAGER: Mark Jones

PLANNING DIRECTOR: Tiffany Mondesir

PLANNER: George Poynter

AGENCY TV PRODUCER: Richard Guy