Le Cordon Bleu International's US account needed one steady point of contact who could hold the full picture across paid, organic, print, and web, while still opening the door to new markets.
Stayed hands-on as content strategist, writing and shaping the content itself, while also leading the account end to end as Account Manager and running the proposals that grew it.
Audience growth up to 630% across channels, 700K+ site visitors from paid search, and the account itself grew nearly 76% in scope value.
Challenge
Le Cordon Bleu International, the US-based, US-market account under the globally renowned, Paris-founded Le Cordon Bleu culinary institute, brought Raxo on in 2017 through a pitch built and led personally, initially to manage the strategy and content for its social media accounts. As the relationship proved out, expectations grew with it. The client needed one person who could hold the full picture, not just execute campaigns, but understand the brand well enough to represent it in every channel, defend the account's value year over year, and spot where the relationship could grow next.
Approach
The role was never purely managerial. As Content Strategist, the day-to-day meant building the content strategy itself, tone and voice, messaging, campaign concepts, and the social copy that went out across Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. As Account Manager, it also meant being the client's main point of contact and leading the proposal decks and business development that expanded the account, working closely with a designer, developer, and analyst to deliver on it. Over the course of the relationship, scope grew from social media management and content creation into:
- Content strategy, social copywriting, and campaign concepts across Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.
- Google Ads and paid search campaigns.
- Print media management and ad design.
- Analytics reporting across every channel.
- Website management and content changes.
- Business development for new markets, including a Le Cordon Bleu Canada expansion proposal.
Impact
Growth showed up everywhere the account touched, built directly on the content strategy and copy behind each post, not just the media spend around it.
- Audience growth, year over year: Instagram grew from 1,090 to 17,418 followers, Twitter from 116 to 2,078, and Facebook from 19,795 to 42,826, a combined total of roughly 21,000 to over 62,000 followers, with engagement running above 160% on all three.
- Paid search & display: Over 719,000 site visitors driven in a single year, and the best-performing Google Ads banner, "Discover the Delights of Gastronomy," pulled 315,369 clicks from 31.7 million impressions on a lean search and display budget of roughly $280/day.
- Account growth: Scope value rose from $8,299 to $14,580 a month heading into 2019, close to a 76% increase, on the strength of the relationship and the results behind it.
Creative Work Samples
A closer look at the actual content strategy, copywriting, and campaign creative behind the results above.
To streamline content creation, a monthly content plan followed four always-on themes: promotion, education, inspiration, and entertainment.
Encourages the audience to try exclusive recipes crafted by Le Cordon Bleu chefs from their homes, and tag the brand for a chance to be featured on official channels.
Current students share their journey and showcase their best culinary creations. By leveraging dedicated hashtags and tags, students could highlight their experiences, from classroom training to their proudest dishes. Selected stories and images were featured on Le Cordon Bleu International's official page, giving students a platform to shine while inspiring future applicants.
Stories of the famous Le Cordon Bleu alumni.
Promotion of Le Cordon Bleu's most sought-after programs, with a special focus on Pastry, Bakery, and Hospitality through behind-the-scenes glimpses into the classes.
Highlights Le Cordon Bleu's expert chefs and instructors through engaging teacher profiles, showcasing their culinary expertise, professional achievements, and passion for teaching.
Highlights the history, values, and expertise of Le Cordon Bleu as a brand.
The rich history of French culinary arts, as well as local cuisine from each international campus.
International student experiences, study abroad benefits, and behind-the-scenes glimpses of Le Cordon Bleu's global campuses, made to inspire U.S.-based potential students to enroll on the international campuses.
Showcases exclusive culinary products and essentials from Le Cordon Bleu's e-commerce platform.
Headlines and messaging across social media, website banners, print ads, Google display ads, and newsletters.
The paid budget was modest: Facebook ads reached 850K+ people across 232 campaigns on roughly $12K a year, and Google's search and display spend ran about $280 a day.