Regular readers of this blog will know that I like to work with students from time to time on communications and marketing projects.

This semester I’ve been working with students from Internationella Engelska Gymnasiet again (read about a student social media case study here).

This week they’ve been giving presentations on their first taste of a Twitter campaign.

After reading the excellent Tao of Twitter they started out analyzing how a number of big brands including Starbucks and Subway were using Twitter. They then ran their own campaign to help promote a study programme at IEGS.

All the groups struggled to achieve their goals but one thing that stood out for me was the significance of having a great Twitter background. Starbucks, Subway, and so on tend to have impersonal backgrounds. Sure, they brand the profile for coffee or sandwiches, in this case, but they don’t engage. They are a visual turn off.

Many of the students went for similar, less personal backgrounds, believing it was better to go with a snazzy visual.

However, unlike the groups that went with what was basically relatively anonymous branding, Lovisa and Edward (pictured) along with Isabell and Olof, put themselves out there with a great picture that oozed personality and set the tone of their “brand”.

Although they were marketing to an incredibly difficult audience – 16 year old teens – the background oozes “approachable” and “fun”. Not bad for students not majoring in design.
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