Navigating the PR minefield of Clearing

A level results day and the opening of Clearing for University PR teams is competitive in the best of years and this year by anyone’s standards is not the best of years.

The number of people applying for UK university places has fallen by more than 25,000 (4%) compared to last year. Top that with the lifting of the student number cap, Brexit, bad press around tuition fees and student perceptions around value for money and it’s tough out there.

The priority for the Press team at the University of Bedfordshire has been to stay on message. We recognise the challenges our students are facing but we champion the benefits of a university education, the support we can offer our students, and the life changing experiences available to those who choose to study at Bedfordshire.

In the build up to A level results days our strategy has been to put a human face to our messaging. The press team can shout about it but it’s much more effective if it’s a first-hand experience. To that end we showcase the experience of successful graduates who have come through Clearing to inspire potential applicants. We also field our student support staff to discuss all the help, support and advice available to our students, and help students who have benefited from that support tell their story.

On A level results day – it’s a whole new ball game - we’re pitching for broadcast media. Regionals are interested in the story after the opening of the results envelope, while nationals are looking for a broader sector message.

Luckily we were able to do both; while we may not have had Lenny Henry answering our phone lines aka Birmingham City  (yes I was jealous) we did manage interviews across national and regional broadcast media on the day letting applicants know we are here, we have places and to please give us a call.

However Clearing isn’t over in a day and the press team has continued to look how it can best support the University’s recruitment efforts through the long tail of Clearing with case studies, messages around student support , value for money and of course the wonder of Freshers!

Is all publicity good publicity?

Recently I have been focusing on the social media for the Business School, generating content for the School’s Facebook and Twitter accounts (don’t forget to like and follow ;). 

As part of the daily research activity I stumbled upon the responses to the Protein World’s “Are You Beach Body Ready” campaign reactions. There were a number of incidents where people have made their own corrections to the ads found on London Underground, making the hash tag #eachbodysready popular across social media networks.

At first I was very excited, motivated and inspired to see such movement against people’s beliefs as I thought it shows “people power,” gives a voice to the audience and empowers the community. People argued that the adverts promote an unhealthy body image, and a petition against the campaign has collected over 40,000 sign-ups. 

Later I read that “despite the negative response to the adverts, sales of the company’s products had increased”, and I thought isn’t this buzz actually helping the publicity of the company and its products? I guess that it might be true that any publicity is good publicity. 

According to Stanford Business (2011), “Negative publicity can increase sales when a product or company is relatively unknown simply because it stimulates product awareness” (Protein World was formed in 2012 so it is relatively new). Even now to write this article I am looking for more information about the company, so that proves the point above. 

How the response is handled is another topic. Protein World has not been that diplomatic in their social media responses, which probably created even more buzz about the brand. Who knows, it might turn against them later. 

So there are 2 main points for me in this story:

1. The power of the society, and community empowerment; I am impressed how many people have jumped on the #eachbodysready campaign and supported the message of being comfortable in your own skin, no matter how you look.
2. If you are a new organisation, do not get put down by some negative publicity as in reality, it actually might be positive for your brand.