Who we are
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Technology
Creativity
We are trusted by:
What we do
High performance enrollment specialists
From award winning research to game-changing strategy and zero-based planning, our experts will challenge your preconceptions and change your whole approach to student enrollment marketing. By combining in-depth sector knowledge with inspiration and innovation from the furthest reaches of the marketing world, we’ve helped hundreds of institutions like yours steal a march on the competition.
Talk to us about: Advertising, Campaign Planning, and Nurture and Conversion Strategy
Win attention. Create connections. Drive action.
Unleash your brand’s full potential with bold unignorable creative and innovative campaign planning, to win your audience’s attention, create deep connections and drive meaningful action when it counts. Our integrated insight-led approach delivers content-led campaigns that cut through at key moments, make an impact on your audience and drive growth for your institution.
Talk to us about: Creative Strategy, Messaging and Positioning, and Content Marketing
Exclusive data, insight and access
In 2021 alone we tracked more than one million student records and analyzed more than three billion adverts across 6,000 campaigns in 80 countries. Our award-winning Market Research Society Accredited research has fundamentally changed the way the sector understands students globally. And direct access to an exclusive community of more than 150,000 students and influencers, gives us real-time insight into the latest content trends, and what inspires, motivates and matters to them.
Talk to us about: Research, Student Insight, Student Behaviors, Brand Tracking, and Social Media Analysis
Work smarter. Better. Faster.
Our revolutionary AI-powered technology, Akero, allows our experts to work smarter and faster for you, surfacing the data and insights, and automating the processes they need to deliver results. Your bespoke client portal provides a single source of truth for all campaign activity, with live performance dashboards and clear management of briefs, plans and assets, all in one place, making production, feedback and approval - even with multiple stakeholders - as frictionless as possible.
Talk to us about: Enrollment Attribution, Predictive Advertising Performance, Automated Production Management, and Slate Integration
Meet the team
Steve Evans
CEO and Founder
About Me
I'm pretty sure I can whistle louder than anyone in both the UK and US offices.
Murray Simpson
Chief Growth Officer
About Me
I can spend an entire day doing an American accent, without anyone noticing it's fake.
Kaja Szczechura-Evans
Operations Director
About Me
If I could talk to any animal, I'd choose cats. Only so I could ask my cat why she loves my husband more.
Jennifer Lonchar
Vice President, Strategy and Partnerships
About Me
I'm an avid equestrian who also dabbles in silly party tricks, and can touch my nose with my tongue.
Luke Kirkpatrick
Chief Technology Officer
About Me
My first pets name was IAMNOTPOSTINGSECRET-QUESTIONANSWERSONLINE.
Charlie Penrose
Creative Director
About Me
Previous roles include 'artist', 'ice-cream truck driver', 'pasty baker', 'painter and decorator' and 'person that picks mud out of golf shoes'
Kas Nicholls
Research Director
About Me
I've skydived out of a plane from 14,000 feet.
Matt Byerly
Vice President, Marketing
About Me
I can recite every Doc Holliday line in Tombstone - which I am 100% convinced is the greatest movie ever made. “Isn’t that a daisy?”
Carrie Hopkins
Director of Client Growth and Media Strategy
About Me
My ideal day starts with ocean views, a strong cup of coffee, and an even stronger wifi signal.
Robyn Zohdy
Head of People
Ed Millikin
Head of Finance
Cem Topcam
Head of Copy and Content
About Me
I’m into professional wrestling. In my thirties. You can learn a lot about storytelling from pro wrestling. Honest.
Gus Bolognesi
Head of Client Services (US)
About Me
I have lived in five different countries, and cannot get enough of travelling!
James Brown
Head of Client Services (UK)
About Me
I listen to Cinematic soundtracks whilst I work and The Lord of the Rings dominates my 'Spotify Wrapped'.
Petra Maister
Head of Campaign Strategy (US)
About Me
I can speak six languages.
Ammie Macnaghten
Head of Campaign Strategy (UK)
Join our global family
Our story
2008
This was the year Net Natives was established, to provide digital advertising services to the education sector.
2009
In 2009, we launched the UK’s first student-focused Facebook advertising campaign.
2010
We launched the first student data capture app (and hired our first developer - who is still employed at Net Natives, over a decade later!).
2011
The year we got the stamp of approval from Google and Facebook, achieving our agency partner status.
2012
Edurank.net was born, tracking all social media content across all education institutions.
We also launched the #ThinkStudent newsletter (which has grown from strength to strength, with over 50,000 global student marketer subscribers today).
2013
A big year in 2013, as we secured our first multi-year exclusive media buying contract for a UK University.
2015
We evolved our data capture apps into a Saas product, and Akero was born (which has since tracked over 1 million student data details). 2015 was also the year our in-house creative department was established.
2016
We launched across the pond and opened our US office in NYC. This was also the year we launched China student advertising campaign, achieved Google Premier Partner status and set up the research and data department.
2017
We welcomed Student Hut to the Net Natives family and develop a D2C and data proposition.
2019
One for the books; the year Akero AI was launched. Developing a self-service advertising portal, which is evolved into the Akero we all know today.
2020
Two words: Unprecedented times. Retained and supported key staff and clients, delivering increased revenues and profits, during the Covid-19 pandemic. All while transitioning all advertising clients to purchase and engage through the Akero platform.
2021
Launched Akero's Insight portal to help universities all over the world keep up to date with the latest market and student trends and behaviors.
Causes we support
Diversity, equality and inclusivity
We’re an equal opportunities employer. A diverse workforce is central to our success – the more ideas and perspectives on our table, the better our work, culture and enjoyment gets.
That’s why we have a Diversity, Equality & Inclusion group (DICE) made up of employees, who meet fortnightly to discuss issues and implement improvements to a range of topics including (but not limited to) race, disability, and LGBTQIA+ equality and rights, mental health, and so much more. Anyone can join and have their say.
We also support inclusive subjects such as time off for menopause, fertility treatment, child bereavement and miscarriage leave. We think it's important to give employees the confidence to ask for help and support on those subjects that can be tricky at times.
Helping the planet
As part of our journey towards becoming more environmentally and socially conscious, we’ve partnered with One Tree Planted, the world’s tree-planting charity, to ensure that advertising to the Akero Student MarketPlace is part of the solution.
Akero is the only student advertising product that contributes to various sustainability projects across the world. And, as well as monitoring your campaigns through Akero, you’ll be able to track the projects you help support at any time within your live dashboards.
Your advertising will work towards restoring the Atlantic forest and endangered habitats in Brazil, improving livelihoods and ecosystems in Indonesia, rebuilding communities affected by the Australian 2019 wildfires and restoring critical habitat in Romania in the Carpathian mountains.
Recent awards
Best Automation Project
Bishop Grosseteste University and Net Natives were shortlisted for Best Automation Project at the AI & Machine Learning Awards
2022
AI & Machine Learning Awards
Best Automation Project
2022
Gold award winners at the 36th Annual Educational Advertising Awards
Gold Award for Digital Marketing Recruitment Strategy for this campaign at the 2021 Educational Advertising Awards
2021
Drum Agency Business Awards
Nominated for Best Response to Change
2021
UK Search Award
Shortlisted for best low budget campaign
2021
Digital.com
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