Elevating Young People's Soft Skills With AI | International Youth Foundation

Equipping young people for an AI-driven future

Partner: International Youth Foundation
Cause: Philanthropy & Impact Investing
Location: US, India & The Philippines

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Marketing, PR & Social Media
Purpose Advertising & Campaigns

In 2024, the International Youth Foundation and Microsoft partnered with us to reframe life skills as critical to career success in an AI-driven world.

Through a bold, youth-focused campaign across the US, India, and the Philippines, we set out to show that skills like resilience, communication, and problem-solving aren’t just “soft”, they’re essential. By combining these life skills with AI learning tools, the campaign aimed to prepare the next generation to thrive, not just survive, in the future of work.

At the centre of the campaign is a rainbow bracelet, only available when you put your money where your mouth is by donating to protect human rights and fight for the queer community.

Over 5.4 million campaign views

Across platforms, the campaign reached 5,468,356 total views. This far exceeded original targets and proved that bold, youth-focused creative works.

71,000 full views of the hero video

Young people stayed engaged all the way through a 2-minute film, proving powerful storytelling still works.

6.65% CTR on META

Our best-performing ad in India smashed platform benchmarks, achieving a 6.65% CTR, nearly 8x the Meta average (0.84%).

The challenge

Young people today feel more digitally fluent and career-ready than ever. But confidence doesn’t always mean capability, especially when it comes to life skills. In a world where AI is reshaping how we work, soft skills like communication, resilience, adaptability, and emotional intelligence have become harder to teach, but more essential than ever.

Our challenge was to shift the narrative: to reframe life skills as future-proof assets, not afterthoughts. And to show that with the right AI tools, learning these skills doesn’t have to be boring.

The solution

Our creative platform, “Exciting Lives Need Boring Skills,” set out to change the way young people think about life skills by showing them that the seemingly boring stuff like resilience, communication and time management are actually the secret weapons behind the jobs they dream about.

To bring this idea to life, we developed a hero film and six short-form videos, each built around relatable career paths like music, gaming, medicine, entrepreneurship, film, and influencers. Instead of lectures or how-to guides, we leaned into bold storytelling to dramatise how life skills really show up in these industries and how AI can help build them faster and smarter.

We launched a digital campaign across YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn, tailoring messaging and tone to suit each platform. Short, scroll-stopping videos were backed by a clear, single CTA: start learning through IYF’s Passport to Success platform. And with content designed to reflect diverse experiences, across India, the US, and the Philippines, we created space for young people to see themselves in the story.

The two-minute hero video defied expectations. Despite its length, 217K+ viewers watched it to completion. Why? Strong storytelling and audience-first framing. When the concept works, the “rules” don’t always apply.

The most niche videos performed the best. Campaign themes like gaming, medicine, and influencer culture, paired with short, punchy videos, hit CTRs up to 0.5% and completion rates nearing 60%.

Know your audience, speak their language

From tone to typography, the campaign worked because it sounded and looked like Gen Z. We ditched traditional ad-speak and leaned into bold visuals and straight-talking messaging that resonated with young people across all three countries.