All I want for Christmas is segmentation

Hello Uni chums. Everyone ok?


Looking forward to the break? Looking forward to consigning the Christmas jumper to the back of the cupboard and returning to more sensible work clothes.

AK relaxin' in civvies

As some of you may know, MARC's Market Research team is 'deep in' segmentation at the moment. Or what, at least, we're calling segmentation. Others will call it 'profiling with a bit of fancy analysis on the side'.

For some, segmentation is a process which takes years and involve a 20 minute attitudinal survey which a large proportion (and certainly the majority of the Uni's students) need to answer. It's the right way; the bells and whistles way. The way we could consider, and other unis could consider, if only people didn't have so many other things to do, and students not quite so many damned surveys to fill in.

Someone may recently have written a recent post all about how it's so hard to engage students in the recent past. It's not easy.

So, before we can run off into the sunset with the Rolls Royce 20 min, 600 response attitudinal survey which will generate a stack of data others can consider and use as the starting point of "proper segmentation", we'll take whatever we can from wherever we can. Good old geo-demographic data. Like instant noodles; quick, dirty and nourishing.


What's going on then?

Essentially, we're working to be more smart in the way we target visits - both from Recruitment and faculties - and communications to potential students. Targetting. You don't, after all, go into a caff and expect the owner to throw several plates of food at you at once, without thinking or asking what you as the customer might want to eat. Do you?

If you want more info on segmentation, let me know. The process we're looking at is "cheap and cheerful" and - relatively speaking - "speedy". Though of course, these things are all relative.

Segmentation is my number one priority. Definitely. Still, in the last two weeks, it's been unseated by urgent requests for data looking at PG fees and the market potential in the Middle East. The applicant survey's also been brought up and I'm now knee deep in that, while trying to fight a rearguard action against looking at the market potential from the former Soviet Republics and the End of Cycle report, which in typical UCAS fashion, is EXTENSIVELY reported.

Yeh, I know right? If someone made a film of my professional life, I'd be played by Lee Majors, no problem.

Lee - if you're reading this, you've got my number. Seriously; let's chat.

In other news, we had our Christmas dinner yesterday. It was great. You should have come. It was in Harpenden. We lowered the tone. Here are some of things which happened.

Party mode

Loading the Powerpoint UoB 'review of the year

Candy Man

I think the beer's off

David Fryer

"Class"

Twin Peaks/weird pudding (to left of phone)

Tips for video production if you have no idea what you’re doing

Anyone who knows me professionally knows that writing is my passion and one of the few things I’m good at. But sometimes I wonder if anyone is actually reading the press releases, blog posts or features that I put together.

One of my objectives for the coming year is to include more rich content in everything I do. So over the past few months, I’ve been filming and putting together short videos for the staff newsletter, press releases and social media using Adobe Premiere Pro.

Before I go any further, I need to point out that I am a complete novice when it comes to video production. Everything I’ve learnt has been down to trial and error. So I thought I would share a few tips for anyone who wants to produce videos but doesn’t know where to start.

I’d also like to give a shout-out to Michael Hann, who has joined the Communications Team as maternity cover. We have worked as a team – Michael has gathered excellent footage which I have then turned into videos. Without his help, this whole process would have been a lot harder, so thank you Michael!

You don’t need expensive equipment

This is the kit we use - you can buy it here

We don’t use a fancy camera – just an iPad. The tech available on smart devices like iPads and iPhones nowadays means you don’t need to spend a fortune on cameras. We recently purchased some equipment, like a tripod which is designed to hold smart devices and a mic, which all cost about £25 from Amazon. You don’t need to spend a fortune.

You don’t need to produce an Oscar-winner
People don’t except Spielberg standard videos, unless they have paid a company to make it of course! Don’t worry too much if your first videos are a bit rough around the edges – at least you’re trying! Also, you’ll find that the more videos you make, the better they will become. You’ll get the knack for what works (and what doesn’t) and the process will get quicker and slicker.

Less is not more!

When gathering footage for your video, get as many different bits of footage from as many angles as you can. That way when it comes to editing you’ll have lots of footage to choose from. Remember you can’t add what you don’t have, but you can always cut what is already there.

When in doubt, YouTube it!
YouTube is full of short tutorials on how to do anything and everything in Premiere Pro. So take advantage of this free resource if you are not sure how to achieve something with your video, like adding a fade or adjusting the volume of the audio.

Below are some examples of what I’ve produced over the last few months. Like I said, I am no expert, but I am proud of what I’ve made and I’m looking forward to making more!