Case Study
Reinventing Student Recruitment Through Creative-Led Targeting
About Ahuntsic
Founded in 1967, Collège Ahuntsic is one of Quebec’s largest colleges, welcoming more than 10,000 students in the heart of Montreal. Recognized for its academic excellence and student-centered approach, the institution is committed to inclusion, innovation, and sustainable development. Its academic offering is built around three main areas: pre-university programs, technical diploma programs (DEC), and continuing education (AEC).
With state-of-the-art laboratories and work-study programs (ATE), Collège Ahuntsic prepares students for the realities of today’s workforce while fulfilling its educational and social mission.
The Challenge
For several years, Collège Ahuntsic’s media strategy relied primarily on demographic and interest-based audience segmentation. While effective at the time, this approach gradually became less efficient as advertising platforms and their algorithms evolved. After analyzing the performance of previous recruitment campaigns, our team identified an opportunity to completely rethink the media strategy by leveraging the latest algorithmic optimization capabilities.
The objective was to shift from an audience-targeting approach to a Creative-Led Targeting strategy, where creative assets become the primary driver of campaign performance. This approach allows algorithms to automatically identify the users most likely to engage with the campaigns while prioritizing the delivery of the highest-performing messages.
The Solution
To accelerate acquisition efforts from the outset, we leveraged historical CRM data as well as pixel data from the Skyspa (former brand) and Strøm ecosystems, enabling us to To support this transformation, Bloom adopted a phased approach, evolving the strategy throughout the key moments of the student recruitment cycle, including Open House events and the different SRAM admission rounds.
We worked closely with the Collège Ahuntsic team, particularly Aksana Kachan, whose expertise and creative vision played a key role in making this transition a success.
Phase 1: Observation & Analysis
During the first Open House campaign, we analyzed the performance of the existing campaign structure to identify key optimization opportunities and establish a performance benchmark before launching the new brand identity.
Phase 2: Creative-Led Pilot Project
The new model was first deployed for the Engineering program family.
This was a strategic choice, as Engineering generated a stable volume of applications, providing reliable performance data without being influenced by enrollment caps or program-specific fluctuations.
This phase allowed us to test a wider range of creative assets, messaging, and ad formats to measure the impact of the new approach before rolling it out across all programs.
Phase 3: Full Rollout
Following the success of the pilot, the Creative-Led strategy was expanded to all academic programs during the first SRAM admission round.
Insights gathered during the pilot were incorporated to optimize campaign performance and maximize reach, engagement, and application volume.
Phase 4: Continuous Optimization
During the second SRAM admission round, the team continued refining campaigns by adapting creative assets based on performance data and the unique needs of each program.
This agile approach allowed us to adjust media investments in real time, continuously improve message relevance, and optimize budget allocation.
The Results
Phase 2 (Engineering Programs vs. Other Program Families)
+50% website engagement on the Engineering program landing page from our campaigns compared to other program landing pages.
+10% click-through rate (CTR).
-17% CPA compared to the average of the other program families.
Phase 3
+94% Year-over-Year applications generated through our Meta campaigns.
+33% clicks. (Impressions remained flat year over year, demonstrating that our 2026 Creative-Led targeting generated significantly more qualified impressions and drove more meaningful website actions than in 2025.)
Phase 4
+13.5% impressions (SRAM Round 2 vs. SRAM Round 1).
+130% Year-over-Year applications.
-45% CPA Year over Year.
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