Addressing the widespread myths about traditional learning methods and skills assessment.
Skillable, a recognized leader in both e-learning and skills management, sought to deepen its footprint in these areas by addressing widespread myths about traditional learning methods and skills assessment. The company’s platform, which enables learners to demonstrate real-world competencies, allows organizations to better understand and manage the skills within their workforce. With a strong client base, including Microsoft, Amazon, IBM, and Skillsoft, Skillable’s goal was to challenge misconceptions about learning and skills management and demonstrate how the platform could transform these areas.
Traditional learning strategies, such as self-paced learning and instructor-led training, have inherent limitations in how much knowledge can be transferred to learners. Skillable’s hands-on approach to skill development performed so much better than traditional methods that they needed to break some commonly held beliefs about how effective learning could be. Skillable needed to challenge these misconceptions and position its platform as the key to understanding and managing workforce competencies, helping organizations assess and develop their talent more effectively.
Yeager designed Skillable’s go-to-market strategy to directly challenge the assumptions surrounding learning and skills management. The central message of the “That’s BS” campaign aimed to debunk the inadequacies of traditional learning methods such as instructor-led and self-paced training. Skillable’s platform was positioned as the solution for organizations needing real-world skills validation, helping them to truly understand the competencies of their workforce.
This strategy focused on decision-makers in IT, Learning & Development (L&D), and Customer Enablement roles, targeting those responsible for workforce skills and project success. The campaign also introduced the tagline “Doing is Different,” reinforcing Skillable’s focus on hands-on learning and skills management, which offered a fundamentally different and superior way to assess and develop competencies compared to traditional learning models.
The creative execution of the “That’s BS” campaign was designed to visually disrupt traditional beliefs around learning and skills assessment. Yeager utilized existing Skillable brand elements but introduced fresh visuals that combined buyer stories, statistics, and common misconceptions about learning and skills management. The visuals highlighted the gap between traditional methods and Skillable’s real-world performance-based learning approach.
Yeager partnered with Gantry to produce the hero video, which blended buyer experiences and statistical insights to showcase how Skillable’s platform outperforms traditional learning methods. Edited into 30-second and 15-second versions, this video ran on Connected TV (CTV) and Over-the-Top (OTT) platforms, providing wide visibility for the campaign. The narrative in the video used buyer stories to expose the limitations of traditional learning methods, while statistics demonstrated their lower knowledge transfer rates.
Six 15-second audio ads were produced for podcast networks and streaming platforms, extending the campaign’s reach. These ads reinforced the “That’s BS” messaging while highlighting the tangible benefits of Skillable’s hands-on approach. Digital out-of-home (DOOH) signage was created for a variety of strategic placements across 27 major US markets in locations where the target audience was likely to be located.
On LinkedIn, Yeager released eight animated video ads, launching one each week. These ads were designed to keep the campaign engaging and relevant by addressing different aspects of Skillable’s platform and how it solves the challenges faced by organizations with outdated learning models.
The demand generation strategy was aimed at converting awareness into engagement and leads. The campaign targeted decision-makers across multiple digital channels, driving them to Skillable’s website to explore how the platform could transform their approach to learning and skills management. Yeager deployed a mix of channels, including:
Each ad featured clear calls-to-action, driving users to Skillable’s landing pages for further engagement. The campaign was continually optimized using real-time analytics to ensure high performance and lead generation.
The “That’s BS” campaign launched in Q4 2024 and is still compiling data but the initial branding results show direct traffic to the homepage is up 80%, organic search traffic is up 67%, paid search traffic is up 90%. These results will be updated as they come in but the campaign is out in the market, challenging traditional beliefs about learning and skills assessment, while addressing the misbelief that organizations cannot fully assess their internal skills.
Direct traffic to the homepage is up 80%
Initial increase in organic search traffic
Promising increase in paid search traffic
