All tarted up for Clearing

Clearing. Yes, Clearing. That. From where you are, it might feel like "that time of year", though various parts of MAR are already "on it" ready to fight the annual rearguard with our finely honed collateral. Clearing, I suspect, will take on its familiar air of desperation masquerading as opportunity. Or should that be the other way round? Either or both ways, business as usual.

Or is it? This year, you could say, is more of the same. However, shifts in the market seem to have conspired against the Uni:

• lower numbers of 18 year olds;
• apprenticeships still being talked about and anticipated (leading to late engagement in the recruitment process), though not fully understood by some in the sector, let alone the students;
• greater levels of offer making by medium and higher tariff HEIs, some of whom have lowered their tariffs; 
• much wider use and abuse of unconditional offers;
• more vigorous marketing by a wider selection of HEIs, with institutions coming in earlier and wielding what appear to be higher spends and shinier incentives (e.g. Northampton laptops and Bucks New's new Clearing Access bursaries).

Mood music from UCAS and others  continues to encourage applicants to pursue aspirational choices, without a thought of whether Russell Group and - forgive the vernacular - "posh" unis are right for everybody. While choice and opportunities are abundant for students, universities are focussed on the bottom line and, as a result, becoming less touch-feely and more hard nosed in their approach.

University recruitment 2020?

All a far cry from what feels like the old, pastoral days of Clearing, but which - as Ellie pointed out last week - was only a few years ago. New Clearing has HEIs of all stripes and colours snarling and promising and focussing their attention on students who don't have the same level of impartial advice in schools. I would suggest that this state of affairs gives a far greater likelihood of hasty, hypnotised entrants entering academic worlds which may feel more hectic and, potentially more – well – "academic" than they had hoped.

University marketing 2020?

We owe it to potential students and to each other to make sure we give people the best information and the best opportunity we can. Most students, one hopes, will have a fulfilling life changing experience; most who come to Bedfordshire will also acquire life changing debts. Manageable, justifiable - arguably. But certainly nothing most sane people would blithely rush to embrace.

What will I be doing this year? I'm getting out of the office and will need to brush up on my phone manner. The continually stretching gap between initiatives/day-to-day departmental operation and resource has seen me drafted into manning phones in the PG Centre for the first couple of days of Clearing this year. I'm half looking forward/half dreading it. Talking to people on the telephone rather than fighting fires on email will be interesting and quite a departure from the blinkered monster that is email.

The author sends an email

Phones, eh? Many colleagues will still have them on their desks. Take a look. It's that funny black wedge with the handset with coily lead coming out of it. Remember? A device enabling people in remote locations to talk to each other. But not on the internet.

When telephones were bad....

This telephone thing was debunked in the second half of the last century, but really comes into its own in Clearing, when people from different backgrounds and frames of reference need to talk and really understand each other, rather than just shouting directives. Could there be a wider use for it in the normal working week, I wonder?

When telephones were good....

9 reasons unconditional offers are a BAD IDEA

In the last few years, a number of institutions of various shapes, sizes and repute have been dishing out unconditional offers on the basis of predicted grades. But is this good practice? Do students benefit?

For my money, the answers are usually a resounding 'no' to both questions.

1. Some applicants will receive an offer and think 'game over'. The foot will come off the gas and performance will slip (recent UCAS research show that those who receive unconditional offers are 23% more likely to miss their grades than those who didn't - see this chart borrowed from a 2016 UCAS research paper);
   
   
   
2. Employers look at A level grades (particularly for apprenticeships, graduate schemes etc), and will disadvantage those who have slipped as a result of the above;
3. Schools are put in a double bind of a) trying to re-engage unconditional offer holders and b) trying to mitigate against knock on effects to classmates and colleagues;
4. Schools may also 'play the system' and encourage enrolment at more 'prestigious' institutions if, for example, they predict grades which will see applicants accept a place at (for example) Poppleton rather than Poppleton Metropolitan;
   
   

   

   Sorry; I think, I might be in the wrong place

5. Students who may receive more support and fare better at Poppleton Met but who are lured to Poppleton, may end up at the 'wrong' uni and become disenfranchised and alienated from higher education altogether;
   
   
6. Similarly, course choice may be driven, not by passion for the course or research into the uni, course content, teaching etc., as by a decision based on flattery and an HEI's reputation and/or ability to promote itself;
7. Long term effects on many universities are likely to be damaging - "Lower tariff" institutions will lose income and "Higher tariff" will see a reduction in their league table scores after a few years of declining entry tariff points;
8. If the logical endgame of this process is the reduction in the number of departments, courses and institutions, there will be less choice in the market;
9. The enthusiasm for unconditionally offering to students evidently regarded as little more than three years' worth of fees (or at least one, if things do inevitably go belly up) is - to my mind - indefensible. And another sign the HE system is on a trajectory where, however much students are said to be at the centre of the system, they're not. Market is king and institutions manipulative and resourced enough to succeed will fight, claw and elbow their way to the surface.

All comments, criticism and name calling in the box below please.

Unonditionally Guaranteed.
The Captain's reviled
commercial effort. 'Nuff said.

Bedfordshire's tariff requirements are low. While this impacts on league table and other reputation measures, it demonstrates our widening participation mission. It also presents an awkward question; do we want to make unconditional offers to non-ABB students and risk helping damage applicants' A level results, denying them the chance to shop around with more points in Adjustment or Clearing and/or restrict their future career choices?

We have an alternative to unconditional offers. Our foundation year option and the 'guaranteed place' may sound similar to an unconditional, but it is different. We do not offer unconditional entry to level 4, but have a foundation offer for students who - for whatever reason - need it. This could quite conceivably include those who have been burned and underachieved after being falsely lured in by an unconditional offer in the past. If and when we get these people, great. The fear is, however, that they will already have been put off by HE altogether.

A league of our own?

Hmm. The relevant question here is: Who are our competitors?

The OED defines a business competitor as "an organisation competing with others in business.”

Right, so we might be a business and we might have customers. Or not. We might have partners rather than students who may or may not be entitled to all sorts of associated contractual rights and an ‘experience’. Or, indeed, a right to enjoyment. Or not. All or some of these apply (or don't) depending on any given policy, briefing and/or individuals’ point (or points) of view.

Blogs are supposed to be clear and fun. Admittedly, this one's already a "BIT OF A MESS". However, the element of marketisation I’d strongly suggest can’t be fudged or denied is that we, along with every other HE provider, have competitors.

By competitors, we usually refer to those institutions to whom our UCAS applicants are most likely to apply. Applicants have five choices, remember, so everyone we see and everyone who hopefully and eventually enrols with us may have applied to four other universities. Or more if they’ve come through Clearing. Or deferred. Et cetera.

Our UCAS competitor set is – and for some time has been:

• ·         Anglia Ruskin;
• ·         Bucks New;
• ·         Hertfordshire;
• ·         Middlesex;
• ·         Northampton, and…..
• ·         Coventry.

Coventry?

Yes; Coventry. Shiny, friendly, happy, dynamic, league table bustin’, sector-irritating Coventry. Being sent to Coventry is no longer a bad thing and its once deserted, ghosty streets are now full of deliriously happy students, plaiting each others' hair, being impeccably hip and getting firsts. As a community, Coventry’s council, uni and press have decided to coexist and help each other out. The uni has expanded, both within the city (Coventry University College has a different model delivering a more blended, flexible and less costly offer) as well as setting up campuses in London and Scarborough.

How do they do it?

Today Scarborough…… tomorrow THE WORLD

What is Southampton Solent?

The rest of our UCAS competitors, as anyone worth their salt will have spotted, are local. Easy. Except that this isn’t the full story; our competitors vary by subject. Southampton Solent, anyone? Who? For most subjects, ‘Solent’ are small fry, but some of what they do, they do well enough to lure students away from us and are particular threats to us in Biological Sciences, Law and Mass Communications & Documentation.

Locality is important to our students and we recruit heavily from Bedfordshire and London. And bits of Herts and Bucks. The trouble is, so do Herts, Middlesex, Northampton et al. And the bigger picture presents even bigger problems. Like toxic gas, competitors are all around us, pinching, poaching and getting up to the sort of hijinx the sector didn’t used to tolerate. Nottingham Trent and Lincoln are current ‘outliers’ making an impression at events and (in Trent’s case) in Bedfordshire’s schools. While neither are within commuting distance, they’re not so remote, particularly for students north of Bedford whose sights aren’t set on either Sport or Education.

In this context, DeMontfort are also in the mix and will pose a significant threat in the forthcoming years, what with their slick, almost constant advertising and a prediction of a fabulously rosy TEF score.

Serious stuff; serious money, by the look of it.
Without the sound on, it made me chuckle

So there you have it. In summary, defining our competitors is, I’d suggest, an art rather than a science. I’ve looked at institutions in the East Midlands; add the complexities of all sorts of institutions in London and your head will start to whirl.

Then the International Office have their own competitor set, and in my own work and analysis, I look further than the same old trusty and faithful six listed at the head of this blog; when a task suggests it, I might peek at aspirational competitors (e.g. City, Brunel, Oxford Brookes) or other institutions, nationwide, who have a similar reputational standing, but who may do things differently and – potentially – give us some ideas we may want to ‘adapt’ for our own institution.

This look at competitors highlights some of the challenge we’re increasingly facing in MARC (and elsewhere in the Uni), even as internal resources are "challenged" and the amount of work we're asked to do increases. We're always happy to help, but please, try and help us plan, bring your own insight to play and, as far as possible, ensure that outcomes are clearly anticipated and realised.

For more information about MARC’s work with competitors, including a breakdown of subject specific competitors, please see our intranet page.

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.

Hitting the ground running - Clearing, campaign and carbs!

Sarah De Guzman, Marketing Manager

Take your marks. Get set...
Advertise!

Planning for, and implementing, the Clearing Campaign is like getting ready for a race (well, to us anyway). And it requires a certain amount of training and groundwork to see you through. See our handy guide to getting set, and getting through Clearing below...

Preparation
Clearing for many becomes a hot topic of conversation in the run up to A level results day. But for us in Marketing HQ, it's never far from our minds. Planning for the campaign starts almost straight after the previous Clearing Campaign has concluded - that's a whole year before results day! From evaluating performance, to working out ROI, and assessing which channels provided the greatest return. We've even been known to secure our top inventory before we break for Christmas. In to the New Year, and it's all about the creative - running photoshoots, filming videos, writing compelling copy and initial design work, as well as working with Andy, our Market Research Manager to crunch some data and provide us with valuable insight to develop our plan and strategy further.

Future-proofing and predicting
our campaign success

Set your goals
After all of the reports and analysis, and after all of the number crunching and data funnelling we're ready to set some targets. We closely monitor application numbers across the cycle, and how they funnel down to firm and insurance choices. It's then a case of looking at our overall recruitment targets, and digging out the evaluations to look at our cost per leads so we can see how heavy weight the campaign will need to be. Creating our dashboards, and getting on top of the figures and data is a crucial part of any campaign plan - it keeps us focused, and gives us clear direction as to what we're aiming to achieve - and provides real-time insight so we can continually adapt and change what we're doing to ensure that we remain on target once we've gone live.

Carb-load
We all know that before a race begins, it's important to have the correct fuel to boost performance. Over in the Atrium we are no stranger to a snack corner. This week to re-fuel for Clearing, we took a trip to Pizza Express with our fellow Digital and Press team members to get our carb fix.  All in the name of preparing for our big endurance event. Ok, so loading up on doughy treats wont help you through Clearing, but it's great to keep the morale going, and no-one likes to work on an empty stomach!

Racing ahead to secure the top
positions

Stepping up to the line
As part of the Clearing campaign, it's important that we're first past the post. It gets more and more competitive every year, and so all of the meticulous planning comes to the fore as we prepare to go live, and front load our campaign for maximum impact, As results day hits, it becomes a minute by minute and hour by hour observation to ensure that campaign activity is optimised, targeting refined, and budget flexed to make sure that we're leading the way and driving those all important phone calls - but the competition is never far behind and all too ready to crank up the budget to race for the top spot (of Google search that is).

One eye firmly on
the competition at
all times!

Eye up the competition
We continue to be amazed by just how fiercely competitive it's been this year. More and more universities are playing the long game, and are deploying some rather questionable tactics, but there's everything still to play for. Whilst it's been a manic few weeks, the buzz has certainly kept us all on our toes - scanning the environment, media monitoring, and generally keeping a firm eye on the competition to see what opportunities lie out there for some quick wins.

In and amongst the busyness of Clearing, we've remained relatively calm and self-assured; after all, we've got a great campaign in place, and our digital first strategy has really yielded some fantastic results. Each year, and from each and every campaign we're learning so much, and this year we have a solid action plan in place to keep the momentum going.

Add caption

Endurance
The most fundamental part to the Clearing campaign by any means, is endurance. A year in the making, it's all hands on deck to ensure the campaign delivers - and it's a great team effort.

Clearing provides many opportunities for many students. It's an opportunity to find a place if they didn't get the grades and were unsuccessful during main cycle. It's also for those students who did far better than they imagined, and presents a great opportunity to upgrade their choice. But most importantly, and interestingly, Clearing (over the last few years), has also become a first entry point for many when deciding if, and where, to go to University. Student's are taking their time, and are investigating their career avenues; resulting in a longer decision making period. And it is down to this reason, that the longevity of our campaign is so crucial. So whilst it may feel as though Clearing has been our hot topic for many months now, we've still got many more weeks to go before we conclude for the 2016 cycle - as we continue to promote the University, our core messaging, and present the many benefits not only of Bedfordshire, but of undertaking a degree qualification.

Looking ahead - for the
multi-tasking marketer

Whilst the campaign is in full flow, we can't help but think ahead to our next campaign. And for the Marketing team, we're already implementing our Annual Campaign - also affectionately referred to as the 'Winter' campaign - which focuses on the key form filling period for our 2017 enquirers. Keep a watch out for future blog posts, as we'll launch into our next race - which is more of a marathon; as we once again play the long game - and plan ahead for September 2017.

Same difference - achieving stand out in a crowded market place

Sarah Hampton, Marketing Manager

Standing out from the crowd has never been more important. Gone are the days of simply shouting about the big 5: high quality teaching, state-of-the-art facilities, student support, great location, and employment. Times are changing, and these are now simply a basic expectation towards any student experience. Universities are having to up their game, and showcase what makes them truly special and distinct, after all, any and every university fundamentally offers the same product: a degree, and so the need to focus on brand building and highlighting what makes us different, is becoming increasingly important.

And it's for this very reason the University of Bedfordshire launched its Verbal Brand Project - a re- positioning exercise to establish our basic truths and aspirations, and promote our extra added value in order to boost our brand reputation and present a distinct and attractive proposition against our competitors.

Shift in messaging, sector wide

Spotted!
When in London I often think to myself; have I seen this ad because they are quite simply everywhere, and quite frankly there isn't much else to look at when waiting for the tube, or would I have still noticed this ad if I didn't work in marketing? IE are adverts so ingrained into my brain that you know you're never far from a lurking competitor ad. Perhaps it's a bit of both. Nevertheless, on my recent travels to London St Pancras I bumped into an advert from our neighbouring competitor, Anglia Ruskin and in true tourist style, papped away to snap their latest messaging to feed back to our Market Research team in the hope of making it into Andy's special editions of Competitor Watch. Anglia Ruskin's latest campaign messaging is quite similar to one branch of our new verbal brand messaging: focusing on entrepreneurship and not just employability, and so they are firmly on our radar as one's to watch. However, the good old saying "it's not what you say, it's how you say it" springs to mind :-) and we're more than confident that our new marketing materials and planned activity will keep us distinct and showcase the very best of what Bedfordshire has to offer - more on this soon!

Phone company or University?

We're better, connected
As social media remains a force to be reckoned with, so does the need for younger, new generations to build their own profiles and provide their own platforms to be heard. Suddenly a person's worth is dictated by how many 'likes' or 'follows' they have from many different networks. But more importantly, it's about extending reach and opening doors of opportunity on a wider scale. And that's where this idea of being connected really becomes important. Luckily I haven't spotted any of our competitors on this thread yet, so here's hoping! I have however, included an example from Southampton, who are definitely worth a watch if you haven't yet seen some of their videos, and their video on research in particular is very nicely done, if you ask me! At the risk of all sounding like phone companies, the focus on staying connected is growing in importance, but not just from a social media, and a 'it's good to talk' point of view. From a University perspective, the ability to offer opportunities to travel, network and operate on a global scale adds a whole new dimension to offering a well rounded, all encompassing 'international' experience. This is really quite an exciting concept for the UoB Marketeer, and really gives us something meaty to work with. So you may see us out and about around campus on the quest for case studies, content and concrete examples to back up these exciting messages, so we can feed them into our communications.

For current staff members, if you haven't yet got involved in the verbal brand project, take a look at the MARC staff intranet pages where you'll be able to look at/download a tool kit for your own department.

In other news, the Marketing team, and colleagues from the Digital Marketing team spent a day over at the Bedford campus this week as part of our PG Media Day. We had a day full of interesting insights, talks and discussions from PG Media providers, and discovered more about external factors affecting the sector, barriers and obstacles to PG study, as well as getting an overview into some new digital platforms which we're considering trialing over the coming weeks to grow our PG brand and our digital presence. As we progress this, we'll continue to share updates with you via this blog.

We also welcomed our two new Faculty Marketing Assistants, who will be part of the Marketing team until July - and will provide a central 'go-to' contact for the Faculties, to ensure that central and Faculty initiatives are not only collaborative, but well aligned to our overall objectives. It's great to have both on board, and I'm sure we'll be able to share some updates on the exciting content that they will be producing to support our recruitment efforts in the coming weeks. If you haven't yet met your FMA, let us know, and do get in touch!