Like a student before the approaching deadline

Time flies!.. I have just over two weeks until my contract with the MARC team ends. And as always, there are so many things I want to finish before I leave. I feel like a student before an approaching deadline, but I don't want to leave everything for the last minute!

With clearing coming up, I want to make sure that there is all relevant content on the course pages to help prospective students make the right decision. That involves filming and editing more interviews, adding accreditation logos and NSS stats, quotes, blogs, photo galleries and articles.

There are a number of other web updates for the Business School, and Health and Social Sciences faculties that I need to do. We are creating a new page clearly outlining the capacity of the simulation centre at Butterfield Park. I am also going to film some interviews there - can't wait to see the facility!

Speaking of interviews, I have started a project called Knowledge Sharing where students speak about the topic of their choice - something they have learned or researched as part of their study. So far we have an MBA student talking about the use of Big Data, and a nursing student talking about recovery in mental health. There will be more, so keep an eye on our Youtube channel!

We are also preparing a corporate video for the Business School, to show how we work and what we have achieved so far. The storyboard is there and now I am looking through all the footage and photos to pick the relevant ones for the final production.

And great news on the publication side - new edition of BedsBiz is almost ready! We're on final stages of proofreading and approval. There will be some great insights on various subjects in this issue.

So, it will be intensive couple of weeks for me, but coming back from the dance camp in Czech Republic, I am ready to dive back to work before I set off for more traveling, dance, teaching and performance!

All change, all change on the marketing front

By Sarah Hampton, Marketing Manager

Lots of new friendly faces!

A lot has been happening on the staffing front since my last blog post a few weeks ago. I think I've spent most of my time sat on interview panels lately, but it's great that we'll be welcoming lots of new friendly faces to the Marketing team in the coming weeks.

First up; we've been joined by James Blackburn, a final year BSc (Hons) Advertising and Marketing Communications student from the University. He's joined us for 10 weeks as Temporary Marketing Assistant to help us during a busy time in the recruitment cycle. It's great to have James on board as he's able to provide some valuable student insight to enhance our marketing initiatives.

As I mentioned above, I've been on countless interview panels, with the most recent one being for the recruitment of two brand new and shiny Faculty Marketing Assistants. We've only just appointed and so it's still very early days, but we're really looking forward to being joined by two new recruits. I'm now looking to get out and about into the Faculties in the next few weeks to discuss key priorities and to cement our focus on collaborative working before our new colleagues join us. More on this in early March.

New recruits - coming soon!

And what better way to round of my week, than by sitting on an interview panel once more; this time for our vacant Marketing Assistant position. We'll be meeting a group of fantastic candidates over the next two days, and we're really excited, as the quality of applications has been really high, and so I'm sure we're going to be in for some tough decisions. Hopefully by early April our team will be fully replenished, and so we'll be back up to full speed as we approach what we can only describe as our busiest time of the year, also known as Clearing!

As we come to the end of February, the team is rejoicing as our 2016 publications have now finally made their way to print. We're working with a new printer this year, so we're really keen to see the finished product in early March. But if you can't wait to take a look, then why not have a sneak peak at our Undergraduate 2016 Prospectus and Undergraduate 2016 Mini Guide online - go on, we know you want to!

Checking out the new Gateway building, Bedford

In other news, of the none staffing variety, I was able to spend an afternoon over at the Bedford campus yesterday, and so I took the opportunity to check out the new Gateway building whilst meeting up with colleagues from the Department of Education Studies to discuss short-term and longer-term marketing and recruitment strategies for our PG courses. It was a really productive meeting and it's always a real treat when we're able to step away from our desks for a while and mingle with the wider university. Dave, our Head of Recruitment was there also, and so I was able to get a quick tour around the building, which I have to say looks fantastic. It's always really useful for us to be able to get out and about once in a while to see the new facilities and developments around campus, as it helps us to keep an ear to the ground and get a good feel for what our students experience, which in turn helps the way in which we market and get our messages out.

As I come to the end of this weeks blog post, I can't help but feel sad that my partner in crime and digital counter part, Paul Fryer, Digital Marketing Manager, is leaving the University for pastures new. I've worked with Paul for a number of years now, and we're all really going to miss him. And the office will certainly be a quieter place without him! We are however, looking forward to giving Paul a great send off in the usual Brewery Tap after work drinks style,  and we'll look forward to hearing all about his new adventures with Kier Construction.

Becoming a proof reading pro.

This week seems to be drawing to a close before it’s even started! It’s been really busy - full of interesting new experiences.

On Monday I was out of the office and in London completing the CiM Effective Proofreading course. It was great to be learning again, especially developing skills that will help me do my job more effectively on a day-to-day basis... Bring on the PG Prospectus proofing!

Our course leader shared his years of experience, talking us through lots things to watch out for when we’re proof reading. He also explained lots of writing and proofing methods. Some of the things that stood out to me were:



Follow the University of Bedfordshire style guide.
Our course leader asked us to write down the date and when we each revealed how we had written it, we realised that all eight people in the room had written it differently but that no version was incorrect; this exercise pointed out how important it is for everyone in an organisation to be writing and proofing with our specific style guide in mind. Our style guide is really easy to access on in.beds

Take the sense out of the copy by reading it backwards to begin with.
It is difficult to proof when you are invested in the story so reading it from end to start allows you to thoroughly proof the copy for grammatical and spelling errors. Proofing for sense should come later.

Keep the customer in mind when writing, editing or proofing.
Consider what their greatest challenge is and tailor your copy to address their needs. Keep it simple.

Ask somebody else to proof read your work, and be prepared to proof read for others.

Not only did I leave with loads of tried and tested proof reading methods, but the course was also a really good refresher for spelling, grammar and punctuation meaning that my writing will hopefully benefit lots too.

At the end of the day we each got a certificate. I don't think I've been given a certificate since I was about ten years old so that was a very exciting moment.

On Wednesday I was tasked with meeting and greeting all our candidates at the Campaign Officer interviews. It was not so long ago that I was being questioned by a very similar panel, so I felt nervous for everyone as they arrived! I met some really interesting people throughout what was a very busy day, and I look forward to finding out who the successful interviewee is.

As you can imagine, with all that going on, the week has slipped by very, very quickly! I’m looking forward to a week off next week but before I can relax there’s a lot left to do…

See you on the other side!

Clare

Happy Monday!

by Rehanna Khan, Marketing Assistant

Hello again

As we usher in the seasonal terrible twosome - rain and wind - we wave a reluctant goodbye to the glorious summer of 2013. Since we're so accustomed to a British summer lasting a 'debatable' week, the two months of 'unseasonal' sunshine have indeed been glorious! See you next year... *eveything crossed* And although Summer takes a break, it's business as usual in the Marketing team...


We officially kicked off the 2014 open day cycle in July. With our upcoming Open Days one month after the other, it's fun times ahead. The next one is Wednesday (11 September) 10.30am - 3pm at both Luton and Bedford campuses. If you're interested in a course at Bedforshire or just want advice on university study and life in general then come along. You can talk to an academic about specific courses and areas of interest, explore the fantastic facilities and talk to students past and present about life at the University. Register here.

I'm not sure if you recall but I mentioned working on a collection of subject guides along with Lauren and Scott a few posts ago. I'm glad to report most are now signed off and online with just Sport, Nursing, Education and English awaiting the final touches.

What's more, we'll be starting the Undergraduate Propsectus 2015 in a weeks time. So early you say? Absolutely! Producing one prospectus can take up to five months to complete and even then, it's a real challenge. So if you see me and I don't see you, please forgive me.We'll be starting the process with creative agencies pitching for the creative design and management of our suite of prospectuses (undergraduate and postgraduate). Will keep you updated.

On another positive note, we have a new addition (albeit temporary) to the team in the exuberant form of Gaynor Bray. Since Scott left a few weeks ago, Gaynor has been gracing the team with her creative mind, great eye for detail and fantastic taste in jewellery! She has helped the team progress jobs and projects and is a pleasure to have on board. We'll be interviewing for the Marketing Assistant job very soon so watch this space for more additions to the team...

On a personal note, I've been on air. In my spare time, I've been sharing the air waves with Dr Fiaz (also from the University) on Inspire FM, the local community radio station. We've been hosting 'In my humble opinion' which airs every Friday's from 6-7pm. Discussing religion and social perceptions to political issues, we talk about anything and everything that our listeners want to hear. So tune in and feel free to call or text - we'd love to hear from you. Tune in here.

So. Two months ago I invested in a cineworld unlimited card. I was all geared up to watch a minimum of two movies a week - I can solemnly report I haven't watched any! Hoping to report on a cinematic movie fest soon...

Until the next time, it's adieu from me.

Celebrations, campaigns and clearing

By Sarah Hampton - Marketing Manager

Our blog posts are coming in thick and fast, and we’re very excited to be sharing an insight into all of our work and the many projects that we’re working on at the moment.

Postgraduate 2014 Prospectus

This week has seen the culmination of five months’ hard work come to an end, as we approve the 2014 Postgraduate Prospectus for print. Working on our prospectuses forms a key part of the work we do here in the Marketing team, and so we were very pleased to get another one under our belt this week. At the time of writing this blog post our latest prospectus has made its way over to Mansfield (where our external printer is based) and is currently on press. Here’s a sneak peek (left) at the cover. You can also flick through it online – we hope you will all like it as much as we do!

Just as one project comes to an end, another one begins. And the fact that we are already preparing for our next Undergraduate Prospectus, for 2015 entry, is an incredibly scary thought. More on this in future posts, as we approach the Prospectus tender stage and the creative pitches – my favourite time of the year!

For any of you who happened to be at our graduation ceremonies last week, I’m sure you will have seen a member of the Marketing team roaming around, armed with a video camera and microphone as we join in on the festivities of the day. Scott and Lauren ventured out to interview some of our graduates at both our Luton and Putteridge Bury campuses last week, and spoke to some of our graduates about their time at Bedfordshire. They were also on a mission to capture the fantastic buzzy atmosphere that comes with celebrating our students’ success. You’ll be able to see the video interviews in the next issue of our award-winning monthly e-zine, Postgraduate Life. If you’re not already subscribed to receive it then fear not, as you can sign up here.

Congratulations to all graduates from the University of Bedfordshire who are celebrating their success today! @uniofbeds
— Iliyan Nanchev (@IliyanNanchev) July 23, 2013

August is by far one of our busiest months for us as we prepare for Clearing. The team has been hard at work for the last few months; working with creative agencies to develop our campaign visuals; our key messages; arranging photo shoots; and devising and costing out the activities that will form our marketing campaign for this years’ Clearing period. Since some of our visuals have now gone live, we can exclusively share some highlights with you. We currently have some outdoor media up and running including bus advertising, both in the local area and in London. Keep looking out for other aspects of our campaign over the coming weeks, and be sure to let us know what you think.

Clearing Campaign 2013 (bus rear)

Watch this space for more Clearing updates as our campaign gets rolled out.