Why Learning Campaigns Are The Secret Sauce For L&D Success

The horrible truth about L&D is that a lot of content is sitting gathering dust on an LMS, LXP or intranet. Simply put: you built it, but they didn’t come. But that doesn’t mean you’ve got a learning problem. No, in most cases I’ve seen, the learning is phenomenal. But what most L&D teams do have a problem with is marketing. And that’s why I truly believe campaigns are the secret sauce for L&D success.

Learning campaigns shouldn’t be a nice-to-have. Or a last-minute rush at the end of your development cycle. They’re essential, and should be thought about before you ever put the metaphorical pen to paper to start designing your learning.

That’s if you actually want real learning impact, of course. If you’re happy with subpar engagement, well you may as well close this tab now.

LEARNING CAMPAIGNS TURN TRAINING FROM OPTIONAL TO UNMISSABLE

The truth is, most of the adult population know they should be invested in their own personal development. But other things always seem to get in the way. From busy jobs to chit-chats with colleagues, learning tends to fall down the priority list. But learning campaigns change that. They change learning from something your employees should do, to something they absolutely do not want to miss.

That’s because campaigns take your employees on a journey through the decision-making funnel. All the way from awareness, to interest, desire and action. One email can never do that. A lone banner on your LMS won’t make your people desire your content. And one isolated shout-out to your latest initiative in an all-hands meeting? That’s easily forgotten.

That’s why you need campaigns if you want your learning to create a real impact. They’re a long-term journey, with multiple touch points and using multiple channels. Instead of a one-and-done email approach, think about teaser emails, peer shout-outs, Slack snippets, intranet takeovers, manager packs. Drip-fed messages that build intrigue, land benefits, and repeat the call-to-action until it sticks.

Ultimately, campaigns make learning visible, desirable and timely. And in a world where attention is the hardest currency, that changes everything.

CAMPAIGNS SPEAK TO THE ‘WHY NOW’

Most existing L&D messaging focuses on the ‘what’. I.e. “New course: Coaching for Managers. Four modules. Self-paced.” Cool. But who cares? Not your learners, that’s for sure. And the reason they don’t care — it’s about the course, the business, and nothing to do with them.

Campaigns flip the focus to the learner. That coaching course could be pitched along the lines of… “Struggling to have honest conversations with your team? Learn how one question can shift the tone in minutes.” That makes the training hyper-relevant, emotional and makes your audience think “Yep, I need this.”

The secret sauce of campaigns isn’t noise. It’s not going full gung-ho and launching a guerilla marketing campaign in your org. It’s about timing, targeting and talking like a human. Oh, and of course, always answering the “what’s in it for me?” (WIIFM).

WHAT IS THE WIIFM? 🤔
Ultimately answering the all-important WIIFM question is a task of empathy. It’s about putting yourself in your audience’s shoes and thinking “why would they care about this?” The WIIFM is never about the business. Nor is it about ticking the compliance tick-box. It’s about them, their motivations, goals and pain points.

LEARNING CAMPAIGNS ADD CONTEXT FOR ALL

Another thing most existing learning messaging misses is context. Why is this learning important for that particular person and their role? And sometimes when I present this challenge to L&D I get pushback… how can you possibly answer that question for all employees in one campaign? And the simple answer is: learner personas.

But in a nutshell, not everyone learns for the same reason. Some want to get promoted. Some want to survive the week. Some want to lead better. Some just want to feel less lost. And personas help you group those emotions into buckets for your organisation. Then, with those personas in hand you can segment your campaign, and add context for all.

CAMPAIGNS KEEP LEARNING ALIVE AFTER LAUNCH

The concept of making learning ‘sticky’ isn’t new to L&D. But it’s often overlooked. Oftentimes L&D find themselves churning out content, and not thinking about the long-term impact of it. And the truth is, that’s not just detrimental to your audience, but to your learning brand too.

If employees are coming along to training, eager and ready to learn (or perhaps they're dragging their feet and fuelled by coffee… it doesn’t matter either way!) And leave the training wondering ‘what was that about?’ and ‘was that worth my time?’ They’re not going to come back to you for more training, are they?

And campaigns help you change that too. Marketers are great at making things stick. It’s why ad jingles get stuck in your head. It’s why slogans fall into popular culture. It’s why people go wild comparing Christmas adverts every year. And that’s why L&D needs to adopt campaign thinking, to make learning sticky.

Campaigns don’t stop at the “Go live” date. They extend through reminders, application nudges, manager check-ins, and success stories.

• 30 days after the programme? Share how others are using it.

• 60 days in? Drop a quick-use template or “now try this” moment.

• 90 days? Ask for reflection — and share impact.

Training isn’t a one-day event, but all too often they’re treated like it. But campaign-thinking? That gets you treating learning like a 90-day shift. And that’s how you drive behaviour change (not just course completions!)

LEARNING CAMPAIGNS FUEL MOMENTUM

Let’s talk about psychology and learning. We all know that brain-friendly learning is the way to go (and if you don’t, check out Stella Collins and her book Neuroscience for Learning and Development). But there’s one psychological trick that marketers love, and L&D should adopt: FOMO. The fear of missing out.

People hate missing out. If others are sharing wins, giving shoutouts, or clearly levelling up — that creates social proof. And those that aren’t involved? They feel like they’re falling behind, missing out on the fun and more often than not, are full of regret.

And the truth is, campaigns help you fuel FOMO (and therefore engagement momentum) in a really easy, structured way. The best campaigns spotlight learners who took action and celebrate their progress. They make your training look like the place to be — not the thing to avoid. Suddenly, people start asking to join — voluntarily. Yes, really.

Learning campaigns do what a simple upload to your learning platform can’t: they create momentum.

CAMPAIGNS AREN’T ABOUT MORE WORK. THEY’RE ABOUT BETTER RESULTS.

We get it, you’ve probably read all of this thinking “that sounds great, but I don’t have the time”. L&D teams are stretched, and your days are already jam packed. So you feel like you haven’t got time for marketing. But here’s the thing: campaigns don’t add more. They make what you’ve already built work harder.

It’s the same course. Just with smarter positioning. Smarter sequencing. Smarter storytelling. That’s not more work. That’s better return on what you’ve already invested. And there’s nothing worse than putting all your time, effort and energy into a programme that doesn’t get the engagement rates it deserves, is there?! So, if you’re going to spend time, money and energy building training, don’t waste it by whispering at launch. Campaign it. Own it. Make it impossible to ignore.