Hughes worked with StudyAdelaide, the statutory authority charged with marketing Adelaide as a welcoming study destination and providing support programs, to amplify positive stories about international students. 

NewsCorp publications The Advertiser and Sunday Mail already held a clearly-stated editorial position that supported a ‘bigger and better SA’, which was in alignment with StudyAdelaide’s objectives. 

Our strategy was to leverage this alignment by participating in News Corp’s Future SA initiative and amplifying positive stories through a complementary digital campaign delivered on Meta. 

Objectives

The primary objectives were to: 

• Influence audiences at strategic dates: new year and mid-year study intakes. 
• Gain coverage in at least six The Advertiser/Sunday Mail stories. 
• Shift sentiment through compelling case studies of international students. 
• Share these case studies through a paid social media campaign, increasing visibility and awareness. 
• Support the FutureSA 2026 event and gain earned media. 

Our Approach 

Media and engagement 

Hughes joined students in home, work and social settings to capture authentic stories about their positive contribution to our community, workforce and economy. We deliberately focused on stories that demonstrated international students as contributors to South Australian communities, rather than focusing on statistics or political debate. 

We researched and pitched news stories to The Advertiser and Sunday Mail about regional towns welcoming graduates working in areas of critical skills need, connecting journalists with newsworthy case studies. 

StudyAdelaide attended the FutureSA event in February 2026, with Chief Executive Jane Johnston appearing on a panel in front of business and political leaders, setting out the contribution international education makes to the South Australian economy, workforce and community. 

Our top two digital stories featured the selfless contribution of international student volunteers, and an unexpected friendship between a local mature-aged student and a young international student. 

Digital campaign 

The digital campaign was launched at the end of 2025, with the first phase building an audience that could be retargeted through additional campaign bursts in 2026. This phased approach was designed to build awareness, reinforce positive sentiment and maintain engagement over time. 

Phase one used a broad-reach strategy and a mix of single image, carousel and 15, 30 and 60 second video content across two creative sets - one showcase of student value in SA and one student case study.  

In phases two and three, we retargeted people who had watched more than three seconds of the videos from phase one or any previous campaign, allowing us to continue engaging and nurturing audiences already exposed. We also rotated case study creative sets across the phases to maintain interest and expand on the campaign messaging