It's a game of Guess Who

By Michelle Ramsumair, Marketing Administrator

It's nice to see what is going on at the campus, but being located off campus we don't get to. So opportunities where we can take a quick wonder round to feel part of the buzz, we head for a meeting there. It amazes me how much we can interact with people but if we were to see them in the street we wouldn't have a clue. I always try to put a face to a voice or name so met with a couple contacts I have been working with when I book directly for media activity for campaigns. That's always a good way to build the relationship, negotiate deals and get to meet new people.

We've never worked with a media agency before so we were not too sure what to expect when we went to London to meet the team. However, they were reassuring and we soon realised just how much they can do. Also, we finally have budget approval for the Pre-Clearing campaign! I just need to rework it to fit and then it's go go GO! It's always a massive team effort to execute these plans successfully and promptly. We do tend to work on the edge here, but will be much better once the Campaigns Officer starts. Next month we have a few new faces to welcome which will be exciting.We're a very welcoming bunch and thanks to Sarah's induction schedule they will feel like part of the team in no time.

I do enjoy sitting at the Marketing team's pod as I got to see the little victory dance my colleague did when she finally signed off the UG 2015 prospectus (no video footage available unfortunately). We work super hard so a celebratory outing is definitely in order. However, hot desking waiting for my PC I now occupy two desks and somehow with the same amount of paperwork on both. I must say for an Administrator I am rather messy.

I have my next CIM exam next week so have been studying for what feels like forever. I know it will all pay off  in the end so just got to keep pushing through. During the stressful times it's always worth having things to look forward to though like one of my closest friend's weddings in Easter and I booked my flight to Israel for the summer. I'm so excited!

Becoming a proof reading pro.

This week seems to be drawing to a close before it’s even started! It’s been really busy - full of interesting new experiences.

On Monday I was out of the office and in London completing the CiM Effective Proofreading course. It was great to be learning again, especially developing skills that will help me do my job more effectively on a day-to-day basis... Bring on the PG Prospectus proofing!

Our course leader shared his years of experience, talking us through lots things to watch out for when we’re proof reading. He also explained lots of writing and proofing methods. Some of the things that stood out to me were:



Follow the University of Bedfordshire style guide.
Our course leader asked us to write down the date and when we each revealed how we had written it, we realised that all eight people in the room had written it differently but that no version was incorrect; this exercise pointed out how important it is for everyone in an organisation to be writing and proofing with our specific style guide in mind. Our style guide is really easy to access on in.beds

Take the sense out of the copy by reading it backwards to begin with.
It is difficult to proof when you are invested in the story so reading it from end to start allows you to thoroughly proof the copy for grammatical and spelling errors. Proofing for sense should come later.

Keep the customer in mind when writing, editing or proofing.
Consider what their greatest challenge is and tailor your copy to address their needs. Keep it simple.

Ask somebody else to proof read your work, and be prepared to proof read for others.

Not only did I leave with loads of tried and tested proof reading methods, but the course was also a really good refresher for spelling, grammar and punctuation meaning that my writing will hopefully benefit lots too.

At the end of the day we each got a certificate. I don't think I've been given a certificate since I was about ten years old so that was a very exciting moment.

On Wednesday I was tasked with meeting and greeting all our candidates at the Campaign Officer interviews. It was not so long ago that I was being questioned by a very similar panel, so I felt nervous for everyone as they arrived! I met some really interesting people throughout what was a very busy day, and I look forward to finding out who the successful interviewee is.

As you can imagine, with all that going on, the week has slipped by very, very quickly! I’m looking forward to a week off next week but before I can relax there’s a lot left to do…

See you on the other side!

Clare

Offline To Online; The Big Debate

By Sarah Hampton, Marketing Manager

It's good to talk:
Postgraduate Marketing Forums

As usual, it's been another busy few weeks in the central Marketing team. I've been getting out and about; this time attending one of my favourite training sessions: the Postgraduate Marketing Forum. Run by Postgraduate Studentships, these forums are great for two reasons. 1: It's like group therapy, where we get to share problems in the sector and get some great reassurance that we're actually ahead of the game when it comes to many marketing initiatives. 2: It's great to talk to other Postgraduate Marketers from universities across the UK, and hear what they are up to and what they are planning.

One of the many slides: discussing the many
media platforms

This particular forum was entitled "From offline to online... and keeping them there". It was a great nod to the shift towards digital marketing, but had a strong emphasis on not leaving traditional media (print) behind - sounds like a recipe for integrated marketing if you ask me! The slides provided an overview of the national picture, which showed a decline in Postgraduate recruitment nationally. However we're pleased to share that for our September intake of PGT students we had a 30% increase compared with the previous year - so it's great to see that we're bucking the national trend ;-). Overall it was an engaging and informative session. The forum highlighted what we're already doing really well, and threw up some ideas which we may dabble with, and test, over the coming months to see what impact this has, if any, on our marketing and recruitment strategies.

Back in the office, and it's been all go on the publications front. Not only have we signed off the Mini Undergraduate guide for print, but as of today the main Undergraduate 2015 Prospectus has been approved for print (hurrah!). It'll be making its way over to our printers for tomorrow morning, and then we move swiftly into the print production stage of our schedule. That means there's one more round of proofing standing in the way of the finished product. It'll be ready for the 7 March (ready to be included in the Heist mailing to schools and careers advisers nationally) so we'll keep you posted as to when it's ready for your perusal.

Moving online: Postgraduate Virtual Event

This week has also seen us take part in our third Postgraduate Virtual Open Event - a culmination of 6 weeks of hard campaign work from our Marketing Assistant Clare, as she actioned a lot of marketing activity to drive up enquiries for this event. This year a lot of work was done from our digital counterparts (thank you!) to refresh video content and the way in which we capture data for the event so that we can continue with our conversion efforts post event. Now that the event is over we'll be pulling together all of our stats for an event wash up report, and will be able to make some further recommendations as to how we can improve these events in the future.

There's still no progress in writing awards entries, and we're coming up to the CIPR deadline. And Heist are not far behind; they're already touting their deadline dates. So, now that the main UG publications have been completed, here's hoping we can turn some attention to report writing and demonstrating our success!

Work hard and...work harder

By Michelle Ramsumair

Recently I attended the CIM Writing an integrated marketing communications plan training day in Euston, London. The title is pretty self explanatory and it’s something we should all be doing in some way but we don't always take the time to step back from the daily grind to really consider exactly why we are doing what we are doing. It was reassuring so see we are on the right track but learnt a lot from the workshop leader and hearing feedback from other organisations in different industries.

We are currently looking to work with a media agency to assist with the logistics of the campaigns. We have never done this before but with the number of campaigns we roll out now it has become more apparent this is needed. The challenge will be making sure everything from the bookings to the artwork is as transparent and integrated as possible. However, here we do enjoy a challenge and for me it’s a new project to sink my teeth into.

We had our first Applicant Open Day this Saturday gone at our Bedford campus which was very successful. I always enjoy working these and helping nervous applicants and parents as much as possible. Everyone enjoyed the day and improvements for this type of event definitely paid off. Our next one is at our Luton campus this Saturday 08 February where more registrants are expected. I think flat shoes are in order again! For further information about our open days feel free to visit www.beds.ac.uk and click '2014 Applicant Open Days' for more details. 

I am currently working on a campaign for Aylesbury to promote the March intake for Adult Nursing. As we haven’t done much promoting for this in the past, it is very interesting to work on as we will be able to better measure and review throughout as it is very specific. If you know anyone who maybe interested why not recommend they come along to our healthcare open day on Saturday 15 February at our Aylesbury campus.

With all the above going on it's important to just break away, maybe to some scenic views and fresh air. I was either rather brave or silly but I decided to take a trip to The Downs on what was possibly the windiest day of the week. Enjoy the view!