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

Team away day

This Wednesday the CRM, market research and marketing teams escaped the office for an afternoon of team bonding at our away day at Putteridge Bury campus.

It provided the perfect opportunity to step back and look at the great things we've achieved as a team over the past year, and gave us a chance to have some fun too. From quizzes to photograph missions to drawing challenges, the day had something for everyone.  I was almost entirely useless during the quiz, but a highlight was my team's creative efforts during the Christmas selfie task.

The team put some serious effort into our selfie...

It was great to get out of the office for an afternoon, and to have some festive fun with the whole team.

Amongst all the fun I've been working hard on lots of different jobs, from the 2016 undergraduate prospectus and departmental conversion newsletters, to verbal brand notes and video filming for the next virtual open event. As always, there's a lot going on and there are lots of deadlines on the horizon.

On a slightly different note, this may well be my last blog post! I'll be leaving the University and my last working day will be Christmas Eve. In the new year I'll be going to America for a couple of months to travel. I've really enjoyed working for the University and a huge bonus has been working with the really great people in the MARC department. I'll definitely keep in touch!

Have an excellent holiday and a very happy Christmas.

Clare

Keeping it short and sweet (like me)

I would have liked to have started my blog with a big mention of our recent award wins, but Sarah beat me to it! However, I couldn’t write a whole blog without a little nudge to our recent successes- well done team! And I was able to attend my first award ceremony, which was fun, of course!

Well there is lot’s going on at the moment, but I won’t touch on the smaller stuff, perhaps just a little mention on a small task…THE UNDERGRADUATE 2016 PROSPECTUS!

Since my last post we've started work on the prospectus designs, working with a new design agency, and we've been pulling together the content (old and new) and updating our messages to reflect our verbal branding messages. So far it’s coming along well; the designs are starting to come together and the content is too!

My other biggies are working on newsletters for our 2015 applicants, finishing our January start student guide, working on PG virtual event plans and writing reports and evaluations for our recent Open Days.

Recently, we've also been sourcing our student bloggers for 2014-15. Over the next 2-3 weeks, we will have one student per course area blogging on a weekly basis about their experience of the University and what they've been up to each week. It’s a great experience for the bloggers and it also provides great insight into student life for students interested in studying here; straight from the horse’s mouth!

My desk is starting to gather dust…

I’ve feel I’ve been gallivanting around the country a lot lately, on training, of course. I attended a CRM meeting in Liverpool, to look at the developments within the programme that we use. This was a really good meeting, I met some of the team from Azorus (the company that provide our CRM system) and they presented some of the work they are developing at the moment. We also had discussions within the group around what else we would like the system to do, so we can further develop it around our needs.

I also attended a PG forum in Manchester, which looked at PG marketing and how to increase conversion. This was a great meeting and provided a good networking opportunity for me, and I was able to speak to other universities and institutes that were experiencing similar things to us. There was also some case study presentations from other unis and a student panel, which were really informative. I left feeling inspired.

And, on top of the above travelling, I’m back up to Manchesteragain tonight for a friend’s wedding!

Speak soon,

K

Back to work

Having spent last week exploring Berlin and carving pumpkins to celebrate hallowe'en, I’ve arrived back in the office feeling energised and ready to work, which is just as well really because there is so much to do!

The East Side Gallery, Berlin

A day off and a pumpkin later...

Now I’m back I’ll be turning my attention to the 2016 undergraduate prospectus. Kylie has been working hard on the flat plan - the working document that we’ll be able to refer to throughout the production process. Once that’s complete I, along with the rest of the team, will get involved in copywriting for the general sections of the prospectus. Writing is always a highlight as it's a chance to get creative.   

This week I’ll also be spending some time writing a selection of short news articles for our subject newsletters. With the help of academics who have shared some interesting stories with me, I’ve been able to pull together some of the highlights of the past year. Now it’s a case of writing them up into striking news items to help with our conversion efforts.

Over the next week or so I will be having meetings with potential new student bloggers. Our student bloggers come recommended by their lecturers, and will be blogging on a weekly basis about their time at the University of Bedfordshire. It's a great (and paid!) experience for them, and it means we gain lots of valuable content that allows us to showcase the student experience here to our future students. Hopefully we'll have the blogs up and running in the next few weeks.

This week marks the end of my first year at the University. It's hard to believe really but, when I look back on all the things I've learned so far, all the deadlines I've reached, and all the work I've helped to produce, I feel quite proud of what I've achieved. And, now that I've done it all once, finger crossed the second time round will be even better!

Clare

New year, new initiatives

By Sarah Hampton, Marketing Manager

Happy New Year! Well, we're finally back after the Xmas break, and already there is loads to tell you. But before bringing you up to speed I thought I'd share some pre-Xmas updates with you.

The CST staff away day

Just before the Christmas break I was invited by the Department of Computer Science and Technology (CST) to deliver a presentation at their staff away day on how to improve recruitment to their undergraduate courses. So, with only two days to prepare, and having never delivered a presentation to such a large group, I set about harassing all the other Managers in the MARC department to dig deep for the latest market research, application figures, recruitment initiatives, and web developments. Before I knew it the day had arrived and I found myself standing on a stage in front of the entire department. After overcoming a few technical difficulties (and by that I mean there being no laptop!) and we were ready to go. The presentation went really well, and all of the staff were really engaged and interested to see what market intelligence we could share with them. From where their applicants come from and the schools they attend, to what their most popular/viewed course is online and what factors may influence their decision; it was all in there.

One of our newsletters:
Art & Design

Now that we're in 2014 our attention has turned to conversion: whereby we encourage our applicants to select us as either their Firm (1st place) or Insurance (second place) choice. So a lot of work is currently underway preparing a range of marketing materials to send out straight after the 15 January 2014 UCAS deadline. For the last few months we've been working on producing a series of departmental newsletters (see left) which provide the latest information, achievements and happenings from the applicants' area of interest. We've also got our bloggers up and running for most subjects (thanks to the Digital Team) which consists of current undergraduate students posting about their experience and what they get up to as a student.

Work is well underway on the 2015 Undergraduate Prospectus. We're now at 2nd proof stage and so the team is busy working away; proofing, sourcing outstanding information, chasing new course copy and selecting relevant new photography to keep us on track for our print deadline. It's all starting to take shape; so check back here in early February and when it's approved for print, and you can get an exclusive first look at the cover.

In other news, award season will soon be upon us, with the deadline for the CIPR Excellence awards only a mere 7 weeks away. So, hopefully we can get some of the above tied up fairly soon, so we can turn our attention to writing some award entries. After all, a good dinner and dress up will be a great way to celebrate all of our hard work after getting the prospectus off to print. Which is no easy task!

Here's hoping we can get some entries in!