The Dean's View; a lay person's view on the importance of 'twitterisation'

This week; a guest spot. Huge thanks to Sally Bentley, Executive Dean of Education and Sport & Health and Social Sciences, who shares her insight into social media

I suspect that neither most of my faculty executive, nor the vast majority of my portfolio leaders across HSS and E&S have ever been on Twitter. We don’t really understand it - being of the email generation - and most of us haven’t even got a Facebook account let alone those other social media apps that we hear about. Indeed we are rather proud to be able to use the word app without putting inverted commas around it in an embarrassed way.

That said we know it's important and so we listen when anyone briefs us (as happened at Senior Leaders' Team last year) and we try to get ourselves better informed (inviting Claudia to present to Faculty Executive Group on a couple of occasions). We write actions into plans and monitor their progress – noting that not much has changed and doing a bit of mea culpa along the way. We appoint staff to lead on School Twitter accounts and exhort everyone to share stories.

So far so good, and let’s not mock the progress we’ve made, but we’ve plateaued and this blog is to explore the blockage. The slight fly in the ointment is it is written from the perspective of naïve ignorance, but that’s never stopped me before so here goes. 

Some accounts are thriving and have for a while now – the School of Sport Science and Physical Activity (SSPA) for example. Why is that: perhaps the subject is more photogenic and the activities of broader appeal?  I’m convinced about the former but not the latter. Do the staff have a younger demographic? Or is it just about Claudia’s personal/professional connections with the sports staff that gets people participating? I suspect a bit of both.

Other accounts have stalled – Education exists but isn’t flying high. Why not? In Education Studies key members of staff have left or are off on leave. Then there is Teacher Education (TE) which of course is a Professional, Statutory and Regulatory Body (PSRB) and they get special exemption don’t they because PSRBs are different. Or are they? Do the rest even tweet at all?  So what else is the problem … Are the stories less tweetable?

Maybe that tells us something about the engaging outward facing nature of the subject area and the interesting activities embedded in the curriculum. Are these staff less well-connected, less out-and-about? If any of the above that would be disappointing. Okay so let’s speak the unspeakable - is the subject more ‘boring’? Surely that can’t be the case; what would get you more worked up, your kid failing at school or your sport team playing on Sunday? Are we being lazy – there are plenty of stories to be had out there aren’t there? For example, why aren’t we tweeting this week on ‘parents’ being marked on the support they give their child? Scary thought! Can we piggy back a tweet on every local or national news story about education?   

So we’ve managed to get some stories to our twitter leads, how well do we do with them?  Sport’s got it cracked. It has pictures and friends and networks that bounce things around. They’ve got it easy, you might say, there’s a culture that’s alive and kicking.

And Education? We only need to be better than our competitors in Education – not in sport. So let’s be canny. Almost any picture of children or adults learning, talking in groups, reading, writing, playing, running, jumping, looking happy, looking worried, thinking etc can represent any story, so how hard can it be to take pictures that don’t infringe personal identity but provide us with a bank of pictures that ostensibly represent the topic in question? Or can we send text messages to staff every week asking for their photo of the week and award a decent prize for the one that produces the best 3 in a month?

Next barrier: ‘I don’t have any networks on Twitter’ who will re-tweet my stories. How can we help people? Here I’m too ignorant to even suggest anything, but you will know a way. Should we be tweeting on other people’s accounts? Is there a list of good blogs that we can point staff at? Can we link up with our students in some ways?

And then there’s this funny little creature the # ! Okay, I confess, I just had to search my keyboard to find the little blighter. I know he’s important, and yes, for me, he’s a he, but I never know what to do with him when I’ve found him, just that it was important. Over to you, I’ve found him, what shall I do with him?

So Claudia and the central team continue to browse the world of tweets and trying to cajole us to take our first steps in the world of twitter, while most of us prefer the safety of crawling on all fours. The good news is that we all learn to walk sooner or later.

If you are interested in contributing to this blog and telling your own University of Bedfordshire Marketing story, please let us know.

Wrapping up for winter

It's a wrap

This time of year tends to be a time of reflection – we’re looking back, evaluating the cycle with the help of UCAS end of year data, which is due this week, and the National Clearing Survey (NCS), which has just been released. We’ve been listening to commentators and thinking about lessons learned.

The consensus is that the undergraduate market is changing and not just because of the increased competition amongst HEIs. Student behaviours are changing too.

Commentators tell us that 49% of our recruitment will be from direct applicants through Feb- Aug and that more students will enter through clearing in 2017-18 than ever before. The NCS tells us that 67% of clearing students hadn’t visited the HEI they chose before they went there, but that 77% had visited the website and, apparently, attendance at open days is falling across the sector.

What’s our lesson? That we can’t rely on past behaviours or be complacent about the recruitment cycle or confirmation and clearing?! This is evidenced in sector wide undergraduate applications for 2017 entry, which are currently 8.6% down and the likelihood that HEIs will experience the submission of 20% of applications just before the January 15th deadline.

It's a rap

We know that we’re operating in a shrinking market with fewer 16-18 year olds in the UK; a situation that is not predicted to improve until 2020. We also know that there are more alternatives to university on offer, such as apprenticeships. A buyers’ market clearly now exists for UG enabling the prospective student to wait until clearing before applying.

So how do we identify and engage our potential students? It’s challenging - we have to engage early, interact and make loyal, so that at the point of decision, the University of Bedfordshire is front of mind and a positive choice. Students need to have heard of us to consider us in clearing; the NCS states that 85% are aware of the institution they enrol at prior to results day.

Top motivations for students are still subject 1st, career 2nd and institution ranking 3rd, but students also want to see and experience student life. They want to know about the community that they could become part of, so the opportunities we have to engage with them have to create emotion and connection.

So in 2017 watch out for more storytelling from students, virtual open days, web chats with academics, web tools to ease decision making, interactive video to select the content that is relevant to the student (mature, international etc.), digital champions and social media across the University, user generated content, more use of alumni, social media engagement not broadcast, softer calls to action that lead and nurture relationships and communications that connect with segmented audiences; parents, mature students, teachers.

Oh to be like the film industry and have a party at the end of every project, but working in marketing we can never really say ‘It’s a wrap’ because relationships are on-going, they evolve, take new forms and provide us with new communication challenges.

It's a rapper

Our shop window needs refitting, it has to look awesome and here is why

For a while now the university website has needed a refresh from its current tired design. As the storefront to what the university has to offer, we’ve questioned whether the current site is reflective of the vibrant, modern culture rooted in Bedfordshire. Awesomeness however is hard to achieve, so let’s talk about some of the challenges we face and how we plan to overcome them.

Is less more? 
Choosing what to display in your window is tricky, I’m assuming it is a little like the poor merchandiser working for John Lewis at Christmas. Faced with hundreds of great products, but what to display, where and how? We are taking the approach of showcasing our key messages, the real need to know and the real conversion points for our users.

Deciding on key messages
Internally we talk about showcasing ‘key messages’, but for us the challenge is how do we get these across to the user in an implicit way? News highlights many of our values and harnesses subject matter around topics such as student experience and investment, in a way that gets it out to the public domain. Dressed as news however this content can often be overlooked, so in order to elevate it we will be presenting the news stories in the same format as any other content on the homepage, but with functionality to make it dynamically pull in those exciting achievements we shout about in press releases.

Driving users away

#bedsmas +University of Bedfordshire 

Convert, convert, convert is the aim, yet so often you work so hard to get the user on to a page you then send them off in another direction. Twitter feeds and Facebook comments were cool, once. They still have their place, but where you want to convert a user, do you want to be the one to turn the user away from the site. My only exception to this is Instagram, sometimes a little visual gratification works wonders in bringing otherwise seemingly dull content alive, but still, this doesn’t have a place on a homepage, unless of course it is a #bedsmas pic of me in a Santa suit.

Don’t put key content below the fold.. 
… was the hard and fast rule, the F shape, the don’t scroll, but times are changing. Look it is nearly 2017 and anything could happen, I mean a celebrity President, a female Prime Minister and talk of a wall, oh wait, actually it could be 1989! Now I’m not going to suggest these rules of the web are dead, but with over 40% of our users accessing our website via mobile, scrolling is the only way to navigate, and the way we write content for a stacking format needs to reflect that.

Search 
The wider topic of search is best left for a blog in itself, but I will say this. In 2017 we will revolutionised the way user’s find what they need on our website, and their journey through the site will be more personal and tailored, like we’ve come along and measured their inside leg. I will keep you in suspense on that one.

Purpose
Staff always want everything on the website, from seeing HR's Tracey in her wedding pictures to student information on how to hand an assignment in. But is this content right for an external, recruitment focused website? From the homepage we will be directing staff to the university’s intranet and current students to their learning resources, getting them off a site that’s content is (or at least should be) irrelevant to them.

Final thoughts
There are so many influences to a web project. You have your core users to think about, the users you don’t want on the site but have a say regardless, and the stakeholders who hold the purse strings. There are so many people having their two pence worth and so many to please, it is a tough old job being the one to get it right. Like being in the shadow cabinet, the jobs really important, but no one really wants to be the one to do it. Although I believe Jeremy Corbyn does have some staff in place now, and like us with our website, has a plan, let’s hope we deliver and our challenges are overcome.

Check back to www.beds.ac.uk before Christmas to see our new shop window, and we’d love to know what you think.

Generation Z; or Generation Zzzzzzzzzzzzzz........?

Hello viewers. Cold enough?

For this week's blog, I thought it would be a good idea to tackle our 'traditional' 18 year old undergrad market and look at the sort of people they are. Millennials, right?

WRONG. That is so last year. We’ve got a new group to understand, reckon with and talk to; the rather less-than-imaginatively-named ‘Generation Z’.

Like me, you may be unimpressed with marketers’ attempts to boil essences, traits and foibles, let alone socio-political characteristics of individuals into one easy to identify, easy to deride and easy to pigeonhole group of people. Or "tribe" (shudder). But it happens, and it’s something some of us need to get to grips with.

Before we look at what makes Generation Z, it might be best to go back. After the post war Baby Boomers, we had Generation X (definitions vary, but tend to hover around those born between the mid 60s and early 80s. Plus Billy Idol).

Wow; your references are BANG UP TO DATE. What was Generation X?

Generation X anyone?

Sulky kids obsessed with MTV, grunge, hip hop and generally being slack. Unforgivable until you consider that many in this group were formed by the Winter of Discontent, reports and/or experience of Northern Ireland paramilitaries and Margaret Thatcher. No wonder they said “whatever” a good deal. They have, however, been responsible for start-ups (hurrah! start-ups!) and prodigiously wolfing down fast food, and thus giving ushering in the age of obesity.

Then we had Millennials, born between the early 1980s and mid-1990s.

Yes! I’ve heard of that. Them, sorry. Tell me more.

Well, they seem to be given a rough time by those categorising them. Millennials come across as narcissistic and entitled and constantly expecting to be told how they’re doing. Usually how well they're doing. They’re pleasure seekers more likely to immerse themselves in subjects that fascinate them over those which might help their careers. They all have mobiles, can’t remain in a job for more than two years before looking elsewhere and live with parents longer.

Pretty grubby, although in those last two cases, the rise of zero hour contracts and property prices puts Millennials on the back foot, no?

Yeh, ok. Enough about the past.

You’re right. Time is money, after all. Let’s look at this whole new generation. Generation Z.

First off, they’re described as being similar to the Millennials (smart guys, these marketers), although there are a few differences. They are variously described, mainly by Americans (i.e. Wiki), in the following ways:

"No one likes me. It's not fair".

• Many are kids of Millennials. Think about that; Millennials are parents, and therefore, in the minds of 18 year olds, aren’t so much groovy hepcats as lumbering dinosaurs. As an example; as far social media platforms go, Facebook is ‘so yesterday’;
• Tarzan and King Kong grew up in the jungle; Gen Zers grew up in the virtual jungle. Everything is available, free and instantly, so there's less need for intermediaries in sourcing and communicating info;
• Tarzan and Kong had their own problems, although Generation Z has grown up surrounded by global, national and in some case parental economic demise, random shootings and war. As a result, it’s thought they will strive to create and surround themselves with stability;
• On the plus side, all this swiping, gaming and information is churning out some pretty smart cookies; Generation Z kids are highly educated, likely to be more entrepreneurial and pragmatic about their money than their antecedents;
• On the even more plus side, Generation Z kids are considered as wanting to make a difference in the world. Just as well, given recent political lurches to the right. And not just a cosy old school tie kind of right, but an absolute snarling bonkers right;
• Some describe Generation Z as 'brand weary' and thus a challenge for marketers;
• And, happily, eight in ten American Gen Zs view a college degree as necessary in achieving career goals. (At least they did, before Trump). As anyone will tell you, the “Special Relationship” means that when America sneezes, in the UK. we all get covered. (At least we did, before Trump).

So, take this on whatever level you like. Even if you’re full of scorn, it’s good to know the thinking when people start bandying the term around. Let’s look forward, too, to the next generation and the attempts to name it, now we’ve sailed past the 26^th letter of the alphabet. Until then, here's something which isn't American, which provides some useful Singaporean context, and for a term with shifting definitions, asserts some disputed elements of Generation Z (e.g. the extremely short attention span and constant need to be surrounded by a multiple number of screens and gadgets).

Staff colleagues - go here for more on market research at the University of Bedfordshire.

Back to the office...

I’m back from my Aussie adventure - I had an amazing time, it's such a beautiful place! And Ithink I’m back up to speed with everything. I don’t have too much to update you on this week as I’ve only been back in office for two weeks. But here’s a picture of me feeding a kangaroo in Australia…

So,work is well underway on the undergraduate 2018 prospectus. The team has been writing copy and sending it over to the design agency and we’re expecting the first proof on Monday. The first proof is usually quite raw as there is often still some uncertainties on copy and courses, but it’s good to see the first proof with the new design approach.

Alongside the undergraduate prospectus, we’re also starting work on the undergraduate mini guide, which is a smaller A5 version of the main guide. So we’re reducing copy to fit the space allocation and getting that off to the design agency too.

I’ve also been working on the applicant newsletters, playing catch up with proofing and sourcing outstanding stories and pictures. We’re expecting second proofs of these next week, with final sign off next month.

Planning ahead…  

As Christmas is almost upon us (yes,I said it!) I’m also looking ahead to the new year and working on the Spring season open day plans – planning activity and allocating tasks to the relevant teams.

I also attended a meeting this week to start planning the UCAS convention for June next year, so I’ll be working up production schedules so we can make sure we have a good head start on the project.

I think this is my last blog of 2016 so speak to you all in the New Year!

K

Location, location, location

Last week I spent two days in Bedford with Spectrecom filming a location video to showcase our Bedford campus and some of the highlights of the town. The weather tried to hold us back on Wednesday so we focused on indoor shots, capturing footage from one of our dance classes, a performing arts class, and our very own SU bar, before heading over to the Harpur Centre to get some shots of the shopping centre.

Luckily for us the rain stopped around lunch time so we ventured outside and got some shots of the market, Bedford Corn Exchange and St. Paul's Church. We were then off once again, first to Priory Park and then to the cinema (to film I promise!).

The sun was out on Thursday so the team got some lovely shots along the Embankment, and, quite surprisingly, I was only asked once what we were doing! We also captured shots of the train station, Silver Street, Bedford Park and Bedford International Athletics Stadium; so a jam-packed couple of days!

The team also spent two days at Milton Keynes (thanks again Jenny and Pete!) capturing footage for a MK location video. We're already excited to see how they're going to look and we can't wait to share both videos with you in a couple of months.

With the video shoots last week and the photography shoots the week before, it's been a busy couple of weeks in the Marketing Department! This week I'm back in the office and working on our 2018 undergraduate prospectus (yes, already!), our applicant newsletters and some open day emails.

I'm also trying to arrange to film some industry talks and master classes, and some student interviews so I'm sure you'll see me around campus sometime soon.

A picture is worth a thousand words

By Sarah De Guzman, Marketing Manager

Perfecting the pose - on our
quest for the perfect marketing
pictures

Unsurprisingly, there's quite an emphasis placed on imagery when it comes to Marketing. After all, the more visual, the more it can drive engagement, right? Marketing is all about communicating value to our 'customers', and so presenting good marketing photos, makes for good marketing; as it not only conveys quality but also supports us in showcasing our 'products' and in telling the story of our brand.

We're all now living in the age of visual culture, where the focus is firmly placed on the 'show rather than tell' mentality. Don't get me wrong, there's still very much a place for the written word. Heck, we'd be out of a job if it wasn't for information hungry students; but the need to convey stories and to showcase reality means that there is a real appetite for rich media and dynamic visual content.

Projecting the right kind of content is a hot topic. With the latest technologies and must-haves, there's more or less a camera in everyone's pocket, and so practically anyone and everyone becomes a content generator. However, whilst we can all patrol campus armed with the latest iphone filled with snazzy apps and filters to capture those moments as they happen, in order to have that 'zing' factor, we bring in the professionals...

Campaign photoshoots in action -
Roy Mehta Photography

Over the last week we've worked with two professional photographers on a rather jam-packed schedule to support our Marketing work and increase of bank of photography. Scene Photography supports with our campus based imagery and architectural shots, and Roy Mehta specialises in portrait photography and executes our case studies and corporate campaign visuals.

We've spent a lot of time working on our visual identity, and carving out our creative proposition and point of differentiation. All of this culminated in this year's Clearing campaign visuals. If you haven't seen it yet, where have you been? The latest round of campaign photography was focused on plugging the gaps and expanding the range of campaign images we offer - we've broadened out to capture Sports Therapy, Psychology and Accounting & Finance, on top of the many subjects already being represented.

Prospectus cover shoot - with
Chris from Scene

In addition to the campaign photography, we've also been running the 2018 prospectus photography at the same time, which is no mean feat. You may have seen us running around campus over the last few days, dipping into classes to capture the latest goings on. The most challenging aspect of this photography by far, is the prospectus cover. A lot of emphasis is placed on this one single image. It's the one image that most of our enquirers may see as their first introduction to the University. It's the window in to university experience, and needs to appeal to a wide range of people from a wide range of backgrounds world-wide. No pressure then. Overall the shoots went really well, and the students who took part were great and incredibly giving of their time. Stay tuned over the next few weeks, and we'll keep you posted on our new imagery as the prospectus cover starts to take shape, as we select that one single 'hero' shot that sells the University.

Visual content is critical to marketing
and story telling strategies - source: Blog Hub Spot

The power of the image is reinforced by LifeLearn who state that when people hear information, they are likely to remember approximately 10%. However, if a relevant image is paired with that same information, people retained 65% of the information three days later.

Good marketing photos which showcase our campuses, the latest facilities, and the student experience go a long way in engaging an audience as opposed to text alone. And I always find it fascinating that many companies, and indeed many universities, don't always invest in commissioning custom photography, and instead turn to stock. For us at Bedfordshire, that's not an option. We pride ourselves on showcasing the real student environment and working with real students across our prospectus and campaign photography to tell our story and to convey our brand narrative. We ensure that our visual identity is unique to us, and ultimately stands out in the mind's of our prospective students.

Top tips to get the most out of your visual content:

1. Mood board ideas - and build up a bank of images or ideas that inspire you; from poses to props, it's great to have visual inspiration to help shape your shoots
2. Consider the type of image you need - is it to showcase a course or event, or are you trying to present statistics in a visual way (ie through infographics which is fast becoming a powerhouse for any content strategy)
3. Use real students - as much as possible. What better advocates for a brand than to work with the people experiencing the University themselves
4. Refer to style guides - and brand guidelines as a helpful reference for an over-arching look and feel of the brand - whether it be for profiles and case studies, action shots to exterior architecture, that way the images work towards increasing a bank of good quality content that reinforces the brand and creative proposition
5. Be aware of your environment - from the people in the shots to cultural sensitivities. And also do a reckie around campus to scout out possible locations before the day - watching out for those pesky bins in the background!
6. Get creative - an don't be afraid to try shots and set ups that are slightly 'outside of the box' - there's only one way to see if it works - and that's to snap it!

Clearing. Consigned to the bleedin’ choir invisible…..?

The last few posts on this blog have all been about Clearing. No surprise; MARC, in common with other parts of the Uni and other unis countrywide, was consumed by it. But, I can confirm, it’s finished. No ifs; no buts. It’s over. Stone dead. It’s demised; nailed to the perch: is an ex-campaign and off the twig. Its metabolic processes are now history. Clearing has shuffled off its mortal coil, run down the curtain and joined the bleedin' choir invisible.

 

Or has it? Just like crusty comedy sketches of yore, Clearing has the rather distasteful knack of repeating. It’s as tiresomely regular as Southern Rail train cancellations and should really come as no surprise to anyone in Higher Education. Our Marketing team is happy, bruised and battered by a tumultuous run and conclusion to 2016’s activity, though we’re carefully looking at what worked and what didn’t.

And guess what? We’re ALREADY BOOKING SLOTS and planning for next summer when the whole damn thing starts again. And there are already signs, from aggressive uni behaviours this year, that next year’s process will be even more dramatic and, err, fiery.

So, are Marketing and Communications important in Clearing?

Yes. YES! Of course they are. 

At an event in December 2014, UCAS head honcho Mary Curnock-Cook stressed the importance of university marketing in reaching out, differentiating and persuading. Granted, she was trying to sell UCAS products, but the point stands, and if we’ve learnt anything from Clearing over the last few years, it is that while applicants make a decision about which university to choose, we need to be heard.

And to be heard in a noisy, frantic marketplace, we have to shout loud. To be actually noticed and listened to we need to keep shouting, loud and l – o – n – g, to make our point. 

Even before all that, the team’s work on brand and pr builds up and helps applicants, another subset of whom is researching choices early and thereby coming to a more timely decision. If it doesn’t feel like the pressure is already on for 2017, it really is. Or, in modern marketing terms:

It.  Really.  Is.

Go Marketing and Communications! Go MARC! We love you!!
Err, and by the looks of it, looks like you’ve got it covered….

Well, yes we have; and no, we haven’t. This year, we received invaluable help and everyone was great. But as per the opening salvo, Clearing comes round, the Dead Parrot comes round, everything comes round. Except, hopefully, avocado on toast.

We have a story, but it’s one which is developing. Suggestions for case studies and being given advance warning of news stories always help us out. If you have one you’d like to share, then SHARE AWAY. Please.

For profits; the new face of HE?

We had hugely ambitious Clearing targets this year and as a Uni, we pulled it off in the face of hard nosed, intense pressure, from all angles. The number cap removal lead to an immediate response and expansion at some unis last year, with an increasing number girding loins and getting ready to ‘go for it’ next year and in subsequent years. And, thanks to the Government’s enthusiasm for marketising the living daylights out of the system, more and more private providers are entering the market, some of whom may have the odd altruistic aim.

So, where will all this leave us next year?

Bob, MARC Director, in training for 2017 Clearing

We’re confident we’ll continue to have good news (e.g.  our new STEM building) and so promote a successful University of Bedfordshire story. UCAS has changed the tariff system (as if it wasn’t confusing enough already) and has made other noises and rumbles about changing Clearing. Which is just as well, given that applicants have already seen fit to change it themselves.

More confusion, more nasty tactics, more firing MARC directors out of cannons. All in all, it’s going to be an interesting and, doubtless, another fast and frantic ride.

We smashed it (clearing that is, not a pumpkin)

We’ve been recruiting students through clearing for many years, providing an essential service to students looking to be accepted on to an undergraduate course.  It’s an opportunity for students who are just considering university and haven't applied in main cycle, those who have not been accepted on to their chosen course and those wanting to change their decision.  But with the increasing marketisation of HE we have faced growing competition from other universities in clearing; some entering for the first time.  So this has caused us some nervousness in believing we could achieve our objectives.

However, we prepare well, draw on past performance to determine our objectives and targets and, given the changes in the external environment in which we operate, we give a significant focus to competitor response.  This year we deliberately set ourselves some challenging targets and went all out to achieve them.

Recently our bloggers have made comparisons with running and cycling challenges, so now it’s my turn and as I’m an obsessive dancer the comparison is ballroom!  

I recently attended the 64th International Ballroom Championships at the Royal Albert hall.  It's a fantastic spectacle but really hard for a spectator to judge the dancers as the pairs seem to be offering something very similar, in a confined space for a short time span (one tune) – but eventually they are knocked out and whittled down to the final six.  The dancers move around the ballroom with skill, speed and fluidity, but bump they do - politely apologise and dance on. 

Clearing feels like this - meticulously choreographed, staged, rehearsed and performed - highly competitive but in a sector that is respectful and for the most part plays within the rules, for a very finite period of time in a crowded market place. It's a performance where we are trying to outdo each other with our visual spectacle; we compete hard for the best space in front of the judges (students) and capture their attention.  

So what can I say - we definitely reached the final.  We know we smashed it (thanks Pete for this inspired phrase) in terms of the targets we set ourselves - web hits, phone calls, offers and accepts.  We know the campaign was successful because we have evidence of a strong positive correlation between campaign channels and web goals, phone calls and live chat.

But the best part of this achievement is that our success is infectious - it enthuses and inspires us to achieve more.  The language we are using is positive and uplifting ‘smashed it’ – it’s no wonder competitors go on to multiple success.  Roll on clearing 2017 – we’ll be ready for you. 

Developing my skills

With any career it’s important to develop and learn new things. So over the last few months I’ve been looking at projects I can get involved in to help my own development.

The first project I’ve been working on is managing the print tender for the 2018 prospectuses. Don’t worry – you haven’t nodded off and missed Christmas! As you’ll know by now, we’re always working way ahead in marketing. I sourced potential suppliers (it was also open to any other suppliers who wanted to put themselves forward for the job), updated the tender documents, worked on a questionnaire for the suppliers, and evaluated the pricing and questionnaire in order to select the company who will print our 2018 publications. I’ve now selected the company we’ll be working with and they even suggested an alternative paper stock which will make us a little cost saving! The next step is to meet with the company to discuss ways of working, new paper stock, timings etc.

I’m also looking to appoint people as part of the University’s graduate development scheme and student internship scheme. These schemes allow us to take on a recent graduate or intern to work in the team for a short period of time (usually 4-6 weeks) to gain valuable work experience. So I’ll be helping to choose the applicants for the department and managing them once they are here. I’m keen to lead on this project and gain more experience in managing people. So far I’m collating a list of appropriate projects they could work on and drafting up job specs.

Some current jobs...

The team have recently started work on the undergraduate 2018 prospectus – working with the design agency on the design concepts and progressing the look and feel from the current prospectus, agreeing production schedules and sourcing photography opportunities for photoshoots next month. I’m now looking to agree the definitive course list – our course offering – for the 2018 cycle and updating course copy from the current prospectus in line with any course modifications.

And as we’re well into the winter Open Day season now, as well as working on implementing the campaign plans, I’ve started my rolling evaluation report, in the hope that if I keep on top of this after each event, when it comes to the end of the season I can wrap it up quite quickly ready for the Spring season starting in the new year.

And less work related…

I’m off to Australia on 19th October for three weeks, to visit family. I’m really looking forward to some winter sun and seeing my sister, brother-in-law and niece and nephew for the first time in almost three years!! And obviously having almost four weeks away from the office isn’t bad either. So I’ve been planning ahead over the last week or so and trying to get a head start on my projects so the team just need to send things out on my behalf while I’m not around.

Be gentle with Sarah and Sara while I’m away…enjoying the sun…and the beach…and the coral reef.

Speak soon,
K

You can never know too much

Last month I was invited to attend the "Award-winning postgraduate marketing" seminar, hosted by Find a University. The event was held in Liverpool, so I traveled up the night before and was particularly impressed with the wallpaper in my hotel room!

The next morning I had one too many pastries at the buffet breakfast and set of for the day. The seminar featured talks from marketing professionals from both home and international universities, as well as speakers from marketing agencies.

Events like this are invaluable as they provide an opportunity to network, and to learn more about what is happening in the higher education sector, both nationally and internationally. The talks identified some of the challenges the industry is facing, and the different tactics various institutions are using to combat said challenges and reach out to audiences in new ways.

The event ended with a panel discussion on Brexit and how this will impact PG recruitment. It's a very interesting topic, with most people holding very strong opinions on the subject, so it will be interesting to see how this pans out for the sector over the next few years.

Next week I'll also be attending the Higher Education Show in London. The day is filled with various talks from key speakers in the industry focusing on different areas within the sector including the student experience, marketing and admissions, facilities and technology, and research and collaboration. This will be my first time attending this particular event so I'm excited to see exactly what the day holds.

In other news, last week I was out and about around the University, photographing some of the freshers events (one of the many perks of working for the University is picking up some freebies at the freshers fayre and indulging in the £1 domino's pizza!). There were some great events happening, and it was great to be able to speak to some of our new students as they start to settle in and find their way around the campus and town. My favourite event was, of course, the puppy room. If you missed it, where were you?!

Taking PRide in our work

Sarah De Guzman, Marketing Manager

Pre-drinks at Homerton College -
Sarah, Kylie, Beverley & Sara
(Left to right)

For those who keep up to speed with us on Social Media, this post will come as no surprise, as last Thursday we dusted off our log ins for our Twitter accounts to document our evening through a series of tweets - keeping everyone at MARC HQ informed as the evening unfolded. After many discussions over what to wear, we were on our way to this year's CIPRide Awards, which was being held at the lovely venue that is Homerton College, which had a slightly Harry Potter-esque vibe about it - much to the joy of our Marketing Assistant and die-hard HP fan, Sara.

After failing miserably at the dinner entertainment last year, we were back with a vengeance ready to take that quiz by storm. We teamed up with our friends from the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, who we also sat with last year, and were ready to showcase our improved trivia knowledge. After some quick fire rounds, covering some of our specialty topics of Peppa Pig, trashy celebrities, movies and music, we got stumped at the questions about sport and the Olympics - note to self for next year! After a solid collective performance, we were pipped to the post - but this didn't dampen our mood, as it was finally time for the big event - the awards...

Scooping the Silver

Hurrah! It was great for us to win Silver in the category of Best Low Budget Campaign - for the second year running! Marketing Officer, Kylie had put this award entry together, celebrating the achievements of our marketing work to drive footfall to our open days. The submission showcased some great results, with a 16% increase in footfall against target, and a 24% increase against the previous year. It was such a great achievement to win a Silver, as it was a big category; we were up against six other companies. And it really is testament to the hard work of the team and showcases our ability to be really creative and innovative, especially when budgets are tight.

Best Integrated Campaign

It was time for our second category: Best Integrated Campaign - yet another big category with six companies all vying for the top spot. The Silver winner was announced as Carter Jonas Bradshaws: Your Next Chapter. That's when we all start to feel a little nervous, wondering whether we've done enough to win. I have to admit, I did have doubts - we were in one of the largest categories of the night, but we had also won Gold in this category last year, so all I was thinking was surely not, surely we won't win again? But win we did! Amazing!

Seeing the competition we were up against, and having scooped Gold in the previous year, we were nothing short of delighted to see that we have retained our title for the second consecutive year! A lot of hard word goes into the planning, implementation and evaluation of our Clearing campaign, and to see the results that we were able to generate, and to see that our work is being recognised as the best in the region is no mean feat, and it's great recognition for the team!

Going for Gold

We were really pleased with the campaign results: in an environment which saw our applicants increasingly using external sources (eg The Student Room), our unique page views to our main website still increased by 26%. Call volumes to the clearing line increased by 33%, live chats increased by 27%, with Live Chat offers increasing by 17%. And, the judges were also pleased, and gave us a glowing endorsement:


"A solid and comprehensive campaign based on sound research. It had a focused approach based on smart objectives, with a clearly targeted audience that delivered an exceptional return on investment, using all available channels to achieve the highest impact possible. It turned what can be a stressful time for many students into a positive experience and this entry demonstrates how PR helped the University of Bedfordshire make this happen"

Celebrating our big wins!

Once the awards were over, it was over to the photobooth for some celebratory team pics, and then it was time to hit the dance floor; busting out our best disco moves. 

After a busy few months implementing the 2016 Clearing Campaign, we're already seeing some great results, so fingers crossed we'll have some solid entries for next year's awards!

To round up this week's post, I'll share what was quite possibly my favourite memory of the awards evening...

Highlight of the night: Kylie whipping her hair to Tina Turner, and a group dance to Bewitched! Classic! #PRideATC #PRideAwards

— Sarah De Guzman (@Sarah_Hampton) September 22, 2016

Market Research Cycle Break

So, what’s been going on in the dreamy world of market research over the last few weeks? In truth, I can’t remember,  with Clearing casting a long reach over everything at work and, even more significantly, having just completed a gargantuan bike ride in support of the National Osteoporosis Society, pushing me, my trusty iron and too much luggage from London to Paris. Bon. While I’ve been delivering at work, thought and effort have been equally focussed on training and shopping for bike accessories.

Me in training. I reduced luggage needs for the trip itself, dispensing with need for back up rider.
I also learned to ride rather than carry the bike.

“All very well”, I hear you mutter, “but what’s this cycling got to do with the University of Bedfordshire?” A glib answer might be “nothing whatsoever”. And while this wouldn’t be totally unreasonable, when you think about all the dynamics, arrangements and the potential pitfalls and pratfalls of a middle-aged man with weepy eyes inflicting himself onto the Continent on two under powered wheels, all sorts of considerations come into play. Quite enough, I'd suggest, for an academic study. Here are just a few, with links to courses we undertake here at the Uni:

• ·         Sport and Exercise Science –obviously. I’m no sportsman. No, really. This may or may not have made me a suitable case for probing, measuring and hooking up to all the machines in our School of Sport Science and Physical Activity.
• ·         Nutrition. I usually exist on crisps and rice. Crisps were provided at rest stops on the bike trip, although they looked like a trap and no one seemed to touch them. I should have someone on our Health, Nutrition and Exercise course advise me on what to eat.
• ·         Stuff. You need a bike, right? Yes. And all the gear the organisers tell you about, as well as a load of gizmos you’re sort of expected to know. Like cleats, which literally lock you to your pedals and increase the chances of falling over. Oh, and there are bike computers with more technology than NASA used to send the men up to the Moon (see Computing). All this stuff, designed for cyclists, would surely provide a few serious case studies for our new, fun filled Product Design students.

  

  London to Paris in pumps. They stank and were left in a hotel bin in La Defense

• ·         Computing – I gave up on my own Dickensian bike computer in Kent after it recorded me bombing through country lanes at a ‘risky’ 185.1 mph. I didn’t; I didn’t have cleats. After I disengaged it and blew and rubbed on it a bit, it refused to acknowledge any forward motion on my part, so effectively changed from a ten function bit of kit to a “crap clock”. Serious end cyclists filmed their trip on one gadget and recorded bananas, jelly baby and calorific intakes and outputs on another.
• ·         Marketing –someone’s done some work here, with literally £000s spent on top-spec bikes, the aforementioned cleats and computers, and enough lycra to cover the Eiffel Tower. All that money on all that paraphernalia; someone’s really pulled a fast one……
• ·         Psychology – as this was a group event of about 70 riders and 10 or so in the support team, people watchers would have a field day looking at how different groups and alliances formed over the four days. Huzzah! I was largely aloof and occasionally awkward, although fell in with some lovely people here and there. Most of the wider group seemed on the lovely scale and shared the common goals of raising charity money and powering themselves to France, although some of the more serious racers were, well, a bit serious.
•      Were this epic voyage to be dramatised, it may need some help from our Creative Writing and Media Production experts..... 



Daniel Craig as Market Researcher Andy Kingston in "The Picardy Peddler"

• ·         Event Management – would I do the same ride again? Not sure. I like doing my own thing and am ok with the whole self-sufficiency lark, but the logistics, support and care from the event organisers was absolutely top notch. And with 70 or so people to direct, transfer, feed, care for and pacify, accommodate and steer, an award in Marketing, Tourism and Event Management may have come in handy. We do one here!

So, lots going on. For me, undertaking this ride was quite a rollercoaster. I managed to hit quite a hefty charity target and was humbled by the generosity and support of friends, family, colleagues and even the kindness of occasional strangers. And there’s still time to sponsor me over on my Just Giving page.

Thanks for reading, and Happy Cycling!

A joint effort

Come and see us between 10am and 6pm
on Friday or Saturday

In any given application cycle we always have lots of events. So, I'm going to be out and about a little over the next week. I'm helping out the recruitment team at the MK Job show tomorrow – 10-6 in the mall. It’s important that we put in a joint effort in ensuring a positive message is given about Bedfordshire, but also to ensure we offer support and guidance to people who are considering higher education.

A sneaky peak at our new Open Day webpage

We also have our first 2017 cycle Open Day on Wednesday, and I’ll be supporting the recruitment team then too. There is such a big emphasis put on our Open Day to ensure we give a great experience to everyone who sets foot on campus, and not just the prospective students, but the family, friends, or school teachers who come along too – as they are often key influencers in the decision making process. I’ve also been working with the digital team over the last three weeks to create a new Open Day webpage, to help aid conversation and sign ups to our Open Days. This will be live from 5pm on 21 September, ready for the October Open Day. It will be good to see what impact this has on our conversion, as well as dwell time and bounce rates on our webpage. I think it’s looking really nice – it’s a lot more visual, with more dynamic content and more marketing messages to reflect what Bedfordshire can offer students.

We also have the CIPR Awards on 22nd September, so we’re mulling over what outfit to wear and contemplating winning another two awards – keep your fingers crossed. We’ll be sure to let you know if we win!! Watch this space…

Thanks,
Kylie

Reflecting on my university experience

I recently read an article on Marketing Week questioning whether marketing experts really need a degree in marketing. It's an interesting question - and I'm sure the debate could go on for hours and hours with many pros and cons for each side. However the article did make me reflect on my time at university and how my degree has paved the way for me.

I studied Advertising and Marketing Communications, intrigued by the world of advertising and eager to find out more. Within the first year I knew that advertising wasn't for me and started considering the world of marketing more and more. During my second year of university I was able to choose between a 6 week advertising placement or a year-long marketing placement, due to commence that summer. You can probably guess what one I chose. I worked as a Marketing Assistant for an organisation in the higher education sector, where I got to put my theoretical knowledge into practice and helped to implement marketing campaigns, undertake market research, dabble at design, practice my copy writing skills, and many other tasks.

In my final year at university I also worked as a brand ambassador for a student travel organisation. As part of my role I implemented social media campaigns, was responsible for maintaining a brand presence around the university and helped to boost the brand reputation. Both roles enabled me to experience various aspects within marketing, and enabled me to identify what areas I really enjoyed and some areas that I wasn't as keen on.

Both placements have undoubtedly shaped my career path - and more importantly I wouldn't have been considered for either placement if my degree wasn't of a marketing discipline. The experience I received from these placements helped to enrich my CV - highlighting transferable skills that I had gained such as organisational skills, presentation skills, communication skills and the ability to make it through a working week and return the following Monday!

To anyone starting their university journey I would highly recommend that you seek out the opportunity to gain work experience, whether this be through a placement year or an internship. If you feel that you don't have enough time for such a commitment why not take a look at some of the other activities that we offer at Beds - from volunteering opportunities, to writing for our student magazine, to joining a club or society - there's plenty of options available to fit around your schedule and help to ensure that you get more than a degree.