Getting ready to graduate can become a frustrating experience when it comes to booking tickets to the ceremony, meeting deadlines to rent a grad cap, and finding the right time slot to attend. Alex Howie created a graduation social media execution for UBC Okanagan that helped guide students through this process with clarity and ease.
Here’s a summary of the award-winning strategy that transformed the graduation experience.
The Objectives
When Alex joined the University Relations team in mid-2021, graduation content didn’t fully reflect the emotional weight of the occasion. Recognizing graduation as UBCO’s single most engaging digital moment, she set out to elevate it into a brand-aligned, emotionally resonant experience with three core objectives: increase impressions, grow engagement, and gain new followers across social channels.
The Strategy
Alex transformed the tone of graduation content to reflect the pride and significance of the day. Collaborating with UBCO’s design team and drawing on research from other universities and brands, she developed a creative direction that balanced gravity with joy. Instagram Stories was chosen as the primary platform, with a mix of pre-planned and live content mapped around three key messages: celebrate graduates, welcome them as new alumni, and express gratitude to supporters.
The Process
Alex guided the creative team through detailed storyboards while remaining open to input, providing photographers and videographers with a clear shot list and schedule. Photos and videos were assembled in Canva and synced to music, building emotional momentum throughout the day, resulting in some viewers reportedly being moved to tears and student speakers searching for themselves in the content.
The Content
A pre-grad checklist post published three days before ceremonies covered everything students and guests needed to know. Instagram Stories across five days captured pre-graduation traditions and live ceremony content. Feed posts spanned countdown reels, graduate carousels, user-generated content, and supporter appreciation videos, all organized around the campaign’s three key messages.
The Result
The results spoke for themselves. Impressions grew from 273K in 2022 to 637K in 2025, engagements rose from 18K to 47K, and new followers peaked at over 1,400 in 2024. Alex’s approach has since been adopted across other major UBCO campus events, and her work earned her the Rising Star Award at the BCAMA Marketer of the Year event. Her award is a true reflection of the impact she has made on the graduation experience at UBC Okanagan.
