Facebook ads conjure up images of selling, whether of a new gym membership, a couch or a news subscription. Users tend not to think of them as having a positive impact on the world—but what if they could do just that? 

Creative that ran in Alight's campaign

For Ukrainian refugees fleeing their cities, leaving behind their immediate family and everything they know, resettling temporarily in a faraway town became a condition of survival. Suddenly, the need for safety and stability became more important than anticipating the next step. It’s in this dire setting that Facebook ads in Ukrainian turn up a welcome headline: Eligible Ukrainians Displaced by War, Live & Work in the U.S. 

Clicking through the ad yields further information about the program’s qualifications. In the space of 10 minutes, viewers can apply to live and work in the United States. They interview with potential employers, and once they receive a job offer, they will be on the path to resettling with their families in a new country far away from war within a few months. 

For the last six months, Kepler has partnered with Alight, an organization dedicated to building meaningful lives for and with displaced people all over the world. In January 2023, Alight launched its Uniting for Ukraine Jobs Sponsorship Pathway program, which “allows Ukrainians and their immediate family members to live and work in the USA for up to two years”. Candidates who qualify are matched with a job opportunity from a visa-providing company, provided support to help relocate, and connected to additional resources upon arrival in the U.S. 

Upon launching the program, Alight encountered the question: “how do we find refugees?” Word of mouth only goes so far. Out-of-home isn’t a great solution when there’s a war outside. Social media was the clear answer, with paid ads to reach as many displaced people as possible. Facebook, the most-used social media platform in Ukraine was the winning platform. 

The Kepler team developed a targeting strategy to reach the largest number of Ukrainian refugees. They would launch ads in both English and Ukrainian, as knowing English is a resettlement requirement. They targeted people in and recently in Ukraine, Poland, and Moldova, as the highest number of refugees temporarily reside in or have recently fled from these countries. The team optimized the campaign toward users with a higher likelihood of clicking through to the website. Clicking on a “Get Started” button on the homepage was designed not just to capture users who click the most, but those with the most interest in learning more about the program. All genders and ages over 18 were included. 

The first leg of the campaign ran from the end of December 2022 to early February 2023. The team made a few key changes over the course of the campaign to improve performance, including shifting more budget to Ukrainian creatives instead of English, and allocating more budget toward users located in Ukraine over those in Poland or Moldova.

Additionally, Kepler suggested and launched a supplementary Google Ads search campaign targeting keywords such as “Uniting for Ukraine” and “Ukraine refugee move to U.S.” to capture lower-funnel traffic. The team launched these ads in both English and Ukrainian. 

After the campaign’s February conclusion, Alight informed Kepler that thanks to the advertising push, their website had received nearly 8,700 relocation applications. While the actual number of relocated refugees is still to be determined, the first two resettling families are currently on their way to the U.S.

In March and April, Kepler launched the Uniting for Ukraine campaign’s second leg targeting users with specific industry experiences. This phase, designed to improve applicant and U.S. company match rates by finding workers with the most in-demand skill sets, brought in over 600 additional applicants. 

Over the next few months, more stories will emerge featuring  the people Kepler has helped resettle to the U.S. through innovative Facebook ads. Campaigns like these help the Kepler team step back and appreciate the humanity behind all the metrics floating around. Sometimes clicks and impressions can feel inconsequential, but realizing that thousands upon thousands of displaced people stood on the other side of those impressions—and saw a light at the end of the tunnel—makes Kepler’s digital marketing expertise feel truly inspirational. 

‍Want to learn more about our work with Alight? Get in touch at alight@keplergrp.com