Case study
ESSEC Business School Enlighten, Lead, Change
Client
ESSEC Business School
Project
ESSEC APAC Full Content Management · 2020 to 2025
Service
Guideline · Strategy · Production
Deliverables
1 content guideline · 12 content strategies · 550 blog posts · 250 EDMs · 1,500 social media posts · 25 podcast episodes · 20 profile videos
ESSEC Business School partnered with the founder of Zazoozoo, Zul Andra, to build a long-term, APAC-wide content engine that could do more than promote programmes. Over five years, we shaped a consistent editorial voice, launched a dedicated content hub, and produced multi-format stories that helped the school enlighten, lead, and change perceptions of business education in Asia-Pacific.
The challenge for ESSEC Asia-Pacific was to translate a globally recognised brand into everyday relevance for diverse audiences across the region. Prospective students, parents, working professionals, and corporate partners each needed different kinds of proof in various formats across different channels. ESSEC is also required to nurture its Singapore campus as a gateway to Asia, while remaining clearly connected to the institution’s research-driven, international identity. At the same time, internal teams required a content approach that could scale across programmes—without diluting academic rigour or sounding like generic higher education marketing.
Our solution was to design and manage an end-to-end content operation for ESSEC APAC from 2020 to 2025, grounded in a single, practical guideline and refreshed strategies each year. We built 12 content strategies that translated institutional priorities into clear pillars, themes, and channel plays, then delivered these through continuous production of blogs, newsletters, social media, podcasts, and video. Central to this system was essecapac.blog, a standalone hub for Asia-Pacific stories, where student experiences, career journeys, and campus life pieces could live beyond campaign cycles.
Over five years, this engine shifted ESSEC APAC’s content from episodic to compounding results. ESSEC’s social media following grew by 250 percent through consistent, organic posts that aligned platform formats with audience expectations. Engagement across channels increased by 500 percent, driven by stories that blended student outcomes, faculty perspectives, and practical guidance. Newsletter open rates rose by 50 percent as editorial calendars evolved from one-way announcements into value-led series for prospects and participants. The essecapac.blog hub drew more than 5,000 unique visitors at peak, supported by more than 2,500 content assets spanning written, audio, and video formats.
⸺ 250% increase in followers
Across all social media pages, including Facebook and LinkedIn, through consistent organic posts.
⸺ 500% increase in engagement
Across all social media channels including Facebook and LinkedIn based on the number of reactions and shares.
⸺ 50% increase in open rate
Average open rates across all newsletter distributions increased over time.
⸺ 5,000 unique visitors
Developed and launched essecapac.blog, drawing over 5,000 unique monthly visitors at its peak.
⸺ 2,500 content assets
Produced a large number of content assets across various formats to grow awareness and attention.
⸺ Refreshed content initiatives
Produced new styles and formats such as podcasts and video narratives across social media and blog site.
Behind these outcomes was a repeatable way of working. A single ESSEC APAC content guideline set the non-negotiables for voice, structure, and quality, so every asset could be created quickly without losing the school’s academic character. Each year, three-part strategies—covering campaigns, content, and channels—turned ESSEC’s business objectives into practical editorial roadmaps. From there, we ran always-on production cycles covering 550 blog posts, 250 EDMs, 1,500 social posts, 25 podcast episodes, and 20 profile videos, with feedback loops from performance data and admissions teams.
This content solution works because it connects clarity, consistency, and capacity. The guideline prevents fragmentation when multiple programmes, markets, and stakeholders are involved. The strategies ensure every story has a job to do across the awareness, consideration, and decision journey, rather than existing as isolated “content pieces.” The production model, built around batch creation and shared systems, makes it realistic to sustain multi-format storytelling—from student testimonials to campus-life guides and podcasts—without overloading internal teams.
The same approach can be tailored for your organisation. It begins with structured discovery across your leadership, teams, and customers, along with audits of current content and channels, to understand the reality, benchmarks, and opportunities. From there, you receive a clear guideline, strategic options across campaigns, content, and channels, and a production plan calibrated to your resources and timelines. Whether you need an owned hub like essecapac.blog, ongoing editorial support, or specific formats such as podcasts and profile videos, the goal is the same: a content engine that compounds attention, engagement, and trust over time.
