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.