A constant state of change

By Sarah Hampton, Marketing Manager

Back to the day job
after a wonderful few
weeks!

This weeks post is focused on change. No matter how much we all try to resist sometimes, its the one thing that's always remains constant. And for us fellow Marketers, embracing change, and being responsive to change is all in the job. The sector and marketing environment is constantly adapting and changing, and therefore so must we!

Slightly off topic, but a change nonetheless, is me! After three long weeks, I'm back in the office and back to the day job after taking a few weeks off to get married. So, if you start to see Sarah De Guzman popping up every now and then in your inbox don't be alarmed, it's just me!

Getting back into the daily grind always takes some time, especially when there's literally hundreds of emails to catch up on. And so that's exactly how my first few days have been spent. It's amazing how quickly you can switch your mind off as you go into holiday mode, and then all the information, meetings and work updates come flooding back upon your return, as though that holiday was a thing of the past. I wish the same could be said for the jet lag!

Pretty much what my desk
looks like at the moment!

Well, it's now week two, post holiday, and the emails have been read, the calendar has been updated, and it's pretty much back to normality for me. Clearing is still underway, just about - we expect this to slowly tail off in the next week or so, as we firmly focus our attentions to the 2016 cycle, which has quietly been ticking along in the background since April this year.

Change in tactic
Ok so back to the focus of my blog post - change. The main focus of the marketing team has been in supporting the Recruitment team in the promotion of the September open day and lots of changes have been made to this years plan; from the media inventory selected to the times of communications. We've implemented a much more aggressive Digital Marketing campaign this time round, pulled back some communications based on intelligence learnt from previous plans, and we're very pleased with the results. If you happened to be on campus (Luton and Bedford) on that day you'll have seen that it was very busy indeed, and had a great vibe on campus, and that's always great to see. Take a look at our open day picture gallery - kindly taken by Sara, Marketing Assistant. And a big shout out to the recruitment team who really pulled it out of the bag with the number of schools in attendance. The day was a resounding success. That's one event down and on to the next, as we're already busily preparing a promotional push for our October events.

Krystle, far left, is setting off for
new adventures

Team change
This week will be offering up a bit of a mixed bag for the Marketing team. Krystle, our Campaign Officer is sadly leaving us on Wednesday, after being part of the Marketing team for about 18 months now. We're really sad to see her go, and to see our mighty marketing team reduced to just three colleagues now. In the relatively short time that Krystle has been with us, she's made a significant difference to the way in which campaigns are planned, implemented and evaluated, and she will be very much missed by us all. We'll be sending Krystle off and wishing her well over lunch on Wednesday. And, to pick up our mood, the remaining Marketing team will be heading off to Homerton College in Cambridge on Thursday, for this year's coveted CIPRide awards. We're up for two awards: Best Integrated Campaign for our 2014 Clearing campaign, and Best Low Budget Campaign for our September 2014 open day promotions. So a good evening out shall definitely pick up our moods, and provide a much needed evening out to re group, celebrate our achievements and look ahead to the future.

Keep everything crossed for us, and follow @CIPR_Awards to watch the evenings events unfold!

So change can mean many different things to many people. And boy are we experiencing a lot of it at the moment. From changing the way we do things and implemented planned changes to be more effective, all the way through to adapting to unforeseen changes, and changes in team resource and dynamics, we remain a positive marketing force to be reckoned with - it may just take us that bit longer to reply to your email, so please bear with us!

MARC 2.0

Krystle Hall, Campaign Officer

The burning question on everyones lips is surely ‘what have you been up to?,’ well …For UCMK and Pre-Clearing campaigns I have been updating the copy to keep our adverts fresh, tracking activity and adjusting targeting to optimise return; I have also obtained media quotes and put together a plan for additional advertising throughout May to boost applications.

I have just finished budgeting and planning the Clearing plan options and written my proposal. Once a verdict has been reached I can begin scheduling. In the meantime I have been working with our design agency to progress the artwork, organising students, location etc. for the photo shoot and arranging 3 methods of testing to ensure that the final design reflects our student body. I try to get as much student input as possible, with a student centric approach.

Having been at the University for a year now I have been reflecting on the campaigns cycle, having come back around to Clearing again, my very first campaign at the University. We are a busy, hardworking team and if you read this blog regularly you’ll know that we turnover an unbelievable amount of work; the Marketing Team is small but mighty. What makes us successful is the passion that we have for our field; our eyes and ears are always open to competitor and wider advertising trends. It is also the pride that we take in our work and a willingness to go above and beyond to get the job done. We are always looking to develop our work, improve and excel.

The delivery of our corporate campaigns has come a long way in a mere year. With each campaign we have assessed the impact, the damage and rewired, reinforced; recalibrated. Questioning, how did we perform in the field? How did we stand up against the competition? Where is there further potential for growth? Investigating, tearing apart those answers, drilling down to each individual coil and spring. Gauging, welding, carving, pummelling.  The result…Let me introduce you to MARC 2.0.

• Featuring streamlined processes - Plans and schedules that span wider and deliver the optimum advertising platforms
• Enhanced targeting - Each individual platform delivered is based on location, interest, demographics, behavioural targeting to start.  We know where our audience is and how to reach them
• Improved tracking - With each campaign lessons have been learnt and we have been able to devise new tracking strategies. Google analytics has always provided a wealth of data but we have become smarter in the way that we use it; we’ve got the special tricks down. We are able to track a user’s journey across multiple platforms, as well as, tracking their onward journey online. This will provide greater insight into consumer behaviour allowing for more efficient advertising models. We have come up with new methods of tracking offline activity and are about to roll out a new and improved strategy for Clearing to enhance data capture.
• The latest marketing technology - We are using new, exciting platforms to reach and communicate with our audience in a new way
• Synergy - The channels that we use complement each other and are fully integrated to enhance the user experience and strengthen brand power
• Competitor intelligence - With more knowledge and insight into competitor campaign scope and delivery
• Added shine - Our campaign artwork is slick, it’s polished with commercial finesse

 Slicker. Faster. Stronger. Smarter. MARC 2.0. Raising the bar!

 Krystle

In the heart of the Clearing data jungle

Krystle Hall, Campaign Officer 

It’s all about the analysis right now.  As current campaigns have been delivered and some are now coming to a close I have begun evaluating the activity. The ‘mother of all evaluations’ is Clearing, which is currently at about 52 pages and counting. I have been looking at trends in the market as a whole, as well as, our direct competitors. Our Market Research, Admissions and Digital teams produce reams of quality data and I have been able to use their findings to measure the success of the campaign in greater detail. You want it; they’ve got it, the old ‘kid in a candy store’ chestnut.

I have created a campaign map that indicates what activity ran where across the country and it is really telling. It captures the sheer volume of advertising that we ran and our practical utilisation of geo-targeting. I nearly broke google maps (don’t be giving me none of that ‘no more layers’ google, no one’s got time for that). I have then been able to plot that against applications and enrolment figures. Outdoor and print based activity has been the most challenging to pin down as these platforms are notoriously difficult to track and evidence, so I have been formulating more innovative metrics to squeeze as much information as possible.

Really, I need to bring it to a close now, for my own sanity’s sake. There is such a wealth of data that you can really get lost in it if you’re not careful. *David Attenborough voice* Here we are in the heart of the Clearing data jungle, and it really is a thing to behold. To my left the radio schedule, its rich spots on full show. To my right the digital display stats scrap; the Student Room ready to do battle with Hotcourses. In the distance the tall bars of the SOI graph waving in the breeze, Google adwords towering over his brothers; perched just on the edge we catch a rare glimpse of the regal twitter bird flying high above its social media counterparts. Here we have a bright outdoor demographic pie chart spreading its wings to ward off predators; a young print readership line graph looks to its mother and cries ‘what are my proof points’…Like I say, for my own sanity…

The next step is the campaign plan. I already have a head start on myself last year and grand plans afoot. We have highly ambitious targets to hit so I am determined to use all the information that I have gained on performance to produce the most robust plan to date. The team has already been discussing what bright ideas we can come up with to give a unique spin on Clearing; I’m looking forward to seeing how they develop. Lest we forget, keeping it fresh, at the forefront and allowing room for experimentation is essential.

What else; I have been doing some gap analysis looking at the platform spend across campaigns to determine where we have made cost savings and where there is room for negotiation. I have really been scrutinising and crunching those numbers and made some interesting findings. Sometimes it isn’t until you really strip apart the components of a project that you really find clarity.

Over the past couple of weeks I have delivered the last bits of Aylesbury and Pre-Clearing copy, the Radio LaB brand guidelines are pretty much complete, just a case of final approvals, and I have been monitoring current activity to see if there is any room for optimisation. I have also been updating some of our online profile copy. We now have an enhanced profile on WhatUni.com with new images, video and content. Lots of other little projects chugging along in the backdrop too. And back to the jungle I go.

Later skaters,

Krystle

2015, let’s do this thing

Krystle Hall, Campaign Officer

A belated happy new year to you all! I have emerged from my festivity coma and remembered my name, profession and passwords so 2015, let’s do this thing.

As Sarah mentioned in the previous post we had our first ‘meet the suppliers day’ on Wednesday. It was a great opportunity to peruse the latest products, approaches and gain fresh market insight. With Clearing Campaign planning looming it was great to emerge from the day feeling clued up and inspired.

Speaking of Clearing, I have plunged into evaluating the activity that we ran in 2014 and what a beast of a campaign it was. We rolled out a plethora of platforms over a 4 month period that had the whole MARC department breaking out in a sweat. I’m currently wading through all the data and analysing what was most effective and what wasn’t. We put detailed and robust tracking in place so I have a wealth of data to play with. I will share my findings with you in due course. That was my first ever campaign at the University, I can hardly believe that I am about to begin planning it again; how time flies when you’re having fun.  

So what else is happening…Well, now that we have a Radio LaB logo finalised, I am working with our designer to produce a set of brand guidelines and will be looking to put together a plan to push out the brand imminently.

With the launch of our new Paramedic Science course comes some shiny new artwork produced by our very own Graeme Stenhouse. Feast your eyes on these beauties:

We did a lot of market research in preparation for the Aylesbury campaign to drill down to exact profiling, geo-targeting and appropriate platforms etc. which resulted in 2 bespoke plans. We are running a range of advertising including radio, print and extensive digital search and display. We also have a range of advertorials published in the local press throughout January. I got to interview the new Paramedic Science course co-ordinator, Mark Cutler, which was great. He is really passionate about his subject and is excited to begin the new course in March with a dynamic approach.  I also interviewed a couple of our students, Catherine Jelly, who is studying Adult Nursing and Giles Loch, who is studying Mental Health Nursing. Both students are currently on placement and it was really interesting to hear how they got into their respective fields, their practical experiences and their future aspirations. I think what came across most was the high level of support and guidance that they had received from their tutors which is always wonderful to hear.  

My top priority at the moment is Pre-Clearing. I have been working with our new design agency Fabrik on the artwork which has reached completion. It’s now a case of production and delivery. We are all about invention and innovation in MARC; with cutting edge market intelligence at the forefront and the Pre-Clearing plan is no exception. There has been a real seismic shift in our approach to campaigns towards digital platforms. We have a large range of inventory on external education sites, as well as, a strong outdoor presence in Luton, Milton Keynes, Stevenage and Hemel Hempstead. Look out for the new campaign artwork winging its way to you soon.

Anyway, I better get back to it but type to you soon,

Krystle

Festive Cheer and The Call of the Beautiful North

Krystle Hall, Campaign Officer

This is possibly the busiest time of the year for Campaigns so apologies for the hurried, garbled blog. As Kylie says it’s all a mad dash to get everything done before the Christmas break. I feel like a manic parent flailing around Debenhams, willing to scratch eyes out to get my hands on the last One Direction calendar for my precious princess. You’d all better back up because I’ve got some hefty deadlines to hit.  I have to keep telling ‘festive cheer’ and ‘the call of the beautiful North’ to pipe down; not yet guys, it’s not time. "But we have music, chocolate, shiny things and bottles filled with joy" 

"No" I say, for it isn't time.

So January Start and UCMK activity is all live and the campaigns are going strong. There will be two advertorials running in January to promote our EmployAble scheme and Business courses, as well as, our Psychology research. The lamppost banners have been confirmed, artwork is delivered and they will go up for the UCMK campaign in central Milton Keynes within the next few days.

I completed the Aylesbury Campaign photo-shoots a couple of weeks back at our Buckinghamshire and Bedford campus.’ The artwork will complement the Winter suite but we have used bespoke imagery.  Graeme from our Digital Team has been hard at work finalising the designs and they should be ready by the end of the week. The two radio adverts went live on Monday so listen out for them on Vibe fm and Mix 96. I am also working on a couple of advertorials to promote the courses in the local press.

We have just updated the online Winter copy again. I was sad to change the festive copy as I’d grown rather attached to it but the open evening has been and gone so I must let go; anyway it’s time to let the world know that they should ‘apply now’ for September 2015 courses. We are utilising our market research agency Statistics into Decisions to delve into the response to our activity so that we can continually make adjustments to the plan to ensure that mediums work for us. I am also liaising with them on wider market Intel and benchmarking against our competitors.  

*cough* don’t leave Clare *cough, cough*

Our new design agency Fabrik has been honing the artwork designs for Pre-Clearing. We have a strong concept to run with, it’s just a case of tweaking and finalising now. I won’t tell you too much about that until the big reveal in the New Year. I have been organising the photo-shoot for that; graduates to take part, location, scheduling, shot list and art direction. It’s tomorrow so touch wood *knock, knock* all will go to plan and I will share the spoils with you in my next blog. I am nearly finished finalising the Pre-Clearing Campaign plan. Once that’s done I will sort the scheduling.

The results of the Radio LaB logo survey are in and the resounding winner is….

I will look to campaign planning to see how we can get the logo out there.

Clearing…. I’m not gonna lie guys I’ve been too busy to do any Clearing Campaign analysis  or gap analysis the past couple of weeks but lets face it the only one who's hurting is me there because I love a pie chart as much as I love pies. Well bring it on in the New year.

*Cough* Clare don’t go *sniff, cough*

So I intend to claw my way through these last couple of days before I set off up North to see my family and friends. I can then relax, overindulge and party hard returning refreshed and raring to go. I hope that you all have an outstanding time wherever you are.

OK ‘festive cheer’ and ‘the call of the beautiful North’ now it’s time…

Happy Christmas All,

Krystle

Roll up, roll up

Krystle Hall, Campaign Officer

Things are really heating up on the Campaigns front. It is that time of year, much like the elusive eclipse, when all the campaigns align in the same spot, at the same time. And it’s all a matter of spinning plates. January starts, January Starts, hold on January Start ooo there goes Winter, keep it spinning, and UCMK’s still turning, but watch it, waaaatch it, let’s get Aylesbury and Pre-Clearing going, don’t you fall Winter annnnnd with the left arm Clearing! Phew!

I have been pulling new advertising  ideas out of the hat for Winter Campaign to enhance our current activity. With the help of the digital and design teams I have been refreshing the artwork to promote our latest open days. The digital team has produced some beautiful and highly festive designs for our online copy featuring snowflakes; look how shiny it is…

Next up is January Starts Campaign. The artworks done, the PO’s have been raised, the tracking is in place. It’s bold, its dynamic, the ultimate strong man. With online display, google, email and print, there is sure to be something for everyone.

With much leaping, flipping and jumping the UCMK Campaign has been booked and is in full swing. Witness the bus ads fly by, coffee cups whirr and lamppost banners sway. 

Pre-Clearing is no joke. With the evaluation complete, planning and artwork concept in hand, let’s see just how many platforms we can shove into that clown car.

Watch me walk the Aylesbury Campaign tightrope with Adult Nursing on one side and Paramedic Science on the other. Two plans have been carefully constructed based on extensive analysis to promote our Adult Nursing course starting in March 2015. We also have a new Paramedic Science course running, designed in partnership with the East of England Ambulance Service Trust and Health Education East of England. I have been busy organising the photography of students and graduates for the artwork.

I have only just begun taming the beast that is Clearing. We ran an enormous campaign earlier this year.  I am in the process of pulling together all the data collected to analyse which mediums were most successful. This set us in good stead for campaign planning. We are always working on ways to be better here in MARC and we are conducting evaluations and analysis earlier and earlier so that we can produce the best strategy possible. We have already started booking in activity for August 2015 to make sure that we purchase quality advertising ahead of the competition.

And for my next trick I will be working on a new logo and branding project for our community radio station, Radio LaB. We have created and narrowed it down to 3 logos which our Market Research team are in the process of testing. More news on that to follow.

So be amazed, look on in awe at all the acts we have in store…

Krystle

Once upon a midnight dreary

Krystle Hall, Campaign Officer

As it was Halloween on Friday and you may have noticed my mild obsession with macabre literature…

“and the Raven, never flitting, still is sitting, still is sitting, on the pallid bust of Pallas just above my chamber door…” – bit of Poe (The Raven) there for you.  Bringing a bit of culture to the blog.

…I jumped at the chance to go and see a screening of Danny Boyle’s Frankenstein in London last week.  It was the version with Benedict Cumberbatch (‘that one off of BBC’s Sherlock”) as Dr Frankenstein and Jonny Lee Miller (‘the bloke who dated Angelina Jolie when she bared semblance to a vampire’) as the Monster.  It was standard Boyle, amazing.  It was really visceral, cathartic and sombre; compelling.  If you get a chance, go and see it.

I hope that you all had an excellent Halloween, whatever you got up to.  I ended up going to a local fun fair and fire work display which was great fun. 

The Marketing Team never ceases to amaze me with their hidden talents; our resident Marketing Manager Sarah, emerged as quite the skilled pumpkin carver; who knew.  Ask her to see pictures of her Tigger creation.   

Camp-whaaaaat-CAMPAIGNS

So “what’s the latest in the world of campaigns” I hear to cry, well I’ll tell you.

We are in the middle of delivering a robust, multichannel Winter Campaign which will run until 15 January 2015 UCAS application deadline.  We are using a range of platforms including bus streetliners, cinema 6 sheets, digital display ads, open day listings, Google search, display, keywords  and retargeting, along with Facebook promoted posts.  We also have a range of online profiles on UCAS, Complete University Guide, Student Room, and Hotcourses.

I have been working closely with our in-house teams, our advertising agency SMRS and the media as part of live reporting to closely track an optimise activity.

Beyond Winter Campaign, we are about to launch activity for the January Start and UCMK Campaigns.  I have been busy finalising plans, organising media and arranging artwork for those.

After that will come Pre-Clearing.  I am meeting with the new appointed design agency for campaigns, Fabrik, on Thursday to get the ball rolling with the artwork concept.  I will be finalising the creative brief in readiness for our meeting.  I am very excited about this new collaboration and am looking forward to get going.  I am also arranging graduates and putting together a schedule for the photography.

I have been working with the Market Research team to arrange focus groups to get feedback on the Clearing Campaign and the current Winter Campaign.  We will be running interactive workshop sessions on Wednesday to get student feedback on our artwork and on competitor campaign activity.  This will feed into future briefs.  I will let you know the outcomes.

A really important part of my job is evaluating campaigns.  By using all the data at my disposal I am able to analyse activity and reflect on what worked, what didn’t and recommend progressive measures.  I have recently been working on the Aylesbury and Pre-Clearing evaluations, the recommendations of which will feed into the brief for this year’s plan of activity.

There’s a lot going on as ever so I better get back to it.  

Later skaters,

Krystle

Hello

By Krystle Hall, Campaign Officer

I am Krystle the new Campaign Officer at the University of Bedfordshire.  Trinidadian born and Wirralian raised I find myself living in Hertfordshire, which I have found to be a quaint and friendly part of the world.  I join you from a London based advertising agency where I project managed a portfolio of accounts.    

   

I have been at the University of Bedfordshire for almost 2 weeks now.  I received a very warm welcome on my first day with a tasty Thai lunch at Nakorn where I enjoyed a green Thai curry punctuated with good conversation.  I have since had the pleasure of meeting everyone in the MARC department and was given the opportunity to sit down with a number of colleagues to pick their vast brains during my initial induction.  I feel like I have learnt an awful lot already and look forward to expanding my knowledge further.  I have also had a chance to tour the labyrinth campus which I hope will become familiar to me in time. 

Last week I found myself on the set of our new cinema advert, shot “on location” in the Student Village.  The director stalked the scene, technicians honed set and lighting whilst the cameraman found that perfect shot. I even got to feature as a passing student in one scene, the most challenging part of which was resisting the plate of Haribo sweets that had been placed in front of me.  Look out for my acting debut where you may get to see the side of my head in a couple of frames.  It was a lot of fun seeing the Digital Team hard at work; their ideas being brought to life.

It has been all GO already! 

Walking, new face, ‘hello!’ handshake; meeting, listening, reciting, note take; talking, phone rings, ‘hello!’ pondering; what’s this? Where’s that?  Who’s this? Why do that? What’s his name? That’s that; print out, copy, ‘hello!’ typo; staff card, door card, parking card; line chart, pie chart, bar chart; note pad,  ipad, gel pen, empty pen, read, tap, type, write, click, send.

I am now getting my first taste of planning, working on our Clearing Campaign.  I will keep you posted as the campaign develops.

Type to you soon,

Krystle

New month, new starters

By Sarah Hampton, Marketing Manager

Welcome to our new Marketing
Officer, Kylie

For many, the month of March signals the start of spring, and a time of new beginnings. And the same can be said for our very own marketing department. As we get going with a new month we extend a warm welcome to our new Marketing Officer, Kylie Aldridge who has started today. Later this month we'll also be joined by Krystle Hall, our new Campaign Officer. It's a very exciting time as we welcome new members to the team, and get going on lots of exciting new projects. Kylie will be working her way through her induction this week, as she gets to grips with the University environment, and the many teams that make up the MARC department, and so I'm sure you'll be hearing more about this when Kylie posts up her first blog in the comings weeks.

Snapshot from our email
communications - promoting
Project Management

In other news, we've been busy working with the Business School to devise and implement a bespoke small-scale campaign to generate enquiries for the new MSc Project Management (by Distance Learning) course which starts later this March. We've been working to a set budget, and have been actioning a mainly digital marketing plan over the last few weeks. We haven't had much time to work on this, as we usually would like a longer lead time to make any real impact, but we're already starting to see the fruits of our efforts, as the academics keep us informed of the enquiries that are coming through via email as a result of our marketing efforts. Teaching starts week commencing 17 March for this course and so we still have a few weeks for the campaign to continue to take effect. We'll keep you updated on the progress of this.

It's a particularly busy time for us in the marketing team. Now that the UCAS deadline is well and truly out of the way, all of our efforts are focused on conversion, and what we call pre-clearing - a campaign that runs until June to encourage late applications from a mature audience. It also doubles up as the start of our clearing activity, in generating interest amongst those who haven't secured a university place, or may be considering us after the August results are out. Michelle will be sharing more with you about the finer details of the campaign. The visuals have almost been firmed up, the media is being booked in and so you should be seeing this campaign up and around the local area very shortly! Let us know what you think.

Waiting to hear if we've made it into
the short list - fingers crossed!

In other news, after juggling the many marketing tasks we've had going on recently, we finally managed to get an award entry in for the CIPR Excellence awards, and with only a day to spare. We've put in for Best Low Budget Campaign, for some work we did late last year with the Faculty of Education and Sport, to drum up enquiries and applications to our PGT Sport courses. After evaluating the marketing campaign we were successful in increasing applications by 40%. So we're keeping everything crossed as we wait to see whether we've made it into the short-list.

All Change on the Marketing Front

Sarah Hampton, Marketing Manager

Interviewing for our
Marketing Officer

Last week saw many changes to the staffing in the central Marketing team. Firstly, I chaired an interview panel, alongside Paul Fryer (Digital Marketing Manager), and David Fryer (Web and Publications Officer in our LRC) on our quest to recruit a new Marketing Officer. It was a great day where we met a lot of promising candidates, each with a lot to offer. Michelle, our Marketing Administrator, provided a vital role on the day in doing the meet and greets, and getting each applicant to sit through a number of practical tests before each interview. The only thing to go wrong was on my part, whereby I actually forgot to allocate some time for us to have a lunch break - oops! Luckily, we managed to squeeze in sometime for a quick sandwich. Note to self for next time: actually provide a lunch break, or else I won't have a happy panel ;-). Towards the end of last week we came to a decision, and now look forward to our new Marketing Officer, Kylie Aldridge, joining us at the beginning of March.

Goodbye and good luck to
Rehanna (centre)

Secondly, Rehanna Khan, our Marketing Assistant left us for new adventures as a Marketing Officer at the University of Northampton. Rehanna had been part of the central marketing team for almost five years, and during this time had helped contribute towards our Undergraduate marketing and recruitment initiatives. The team gave her a send off in true Bedfordshire style, as we took her out for a leaving lunch to none other than Marketing favourite, Pizza Express, where we surprised her with banners, balloons, and many friends from her time at Bedfordshire.

In other news, applications for our Campaign Officer position close today, and so I'm gearing up for another week or short-listing, devising practical tests, preparing interview questions, and working up an interview schedule that actually includes time for a sandwich or two, if my panel are lucky! There are lots of changes within the team at the moment, but we look forward to welcoming each of our new starters, and shaping the next generation of university marketers.