It's a game of Guess Who

By Michelle Ramsumair, Marketing Administrator

It's nice to see what is going on at the campus, but being located off campus we don't get to. So opportunities where we can take a quick wonder round to feel part of the buzz, we head for a meeting there. It amazes me how much we can interact with people but if we were to see them in the street we wouldn't have a clue. I always try to put a face to a voice or name so met with a couple contacts I have been working with when I book directly for media activity for campaigns. That's always a good way to build the relationship, negotiate deals and get to meet new people.

We've never worked with a media agency before so we were not too sure what to expect when we went to London to meet the team. However, they were reassuring and we soon realised just how much they can do. Also, we finally have budget approval for the Pre-Clearing campaign! I just need to rework it to fit and then it's go go GO! It's always a massive team effort to execute these plans successfully and promptly. We do tend to work on the edge here, but will be much better once the Campaigns Officer starts. Next month we have a few new faces to welcome which will be exciting.We're a very welcoming bunch and thanks to Sarah's induction schedule they will feel like part of the team in no time.

I do enjoy sitting at the Marketing team's pod as I got to see the little victory dance my colleague did when she finally signed off the UG 2015 prospectus (no video footage available unfortunately). We work super hard so a celebratory outing is definitely in order. However, hot desking waiting for my PC I now occupy two desks and somehow with the same amount of paperwork on both. I must say for an Administrator I am rather messy.

I have my next CIM exam next week so have been studying for what feels like forever. I know it will all pay off  in the end so just got to keep pushing through. During the stressful times it's always worth having things to look forward to though like one of my closest friend's weddings in Easter and I booked my flight to Israel for the summer. I'm so excited!

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

Offline To Online; The Big Debate

By Sarah Hampton, Marketing Manager

It's good to talk:
Postgraduate Marketing Forums

As usual, it's been another busy few weeks in the central Marketing team. I've been getting out and about; this time attending one of my favourite training sessions: the Postgraduate Marketing Forum. Run by Postgraduate Studentships, these forums are great for two reasons. 1: It's like group therapy, where we get to share problems in the sector and get some great reassurance that we're actually ahead of the game when it comes to many marketing initiatives. 2: It's great to talk to other Postgraduate Marketers from universities across the UK, and hear what they are up to and what they are planning.

One of the many slides: discussing the many
media platforms

This particular forum was entitled "From offline to online... and keeping them there". It was a great nod to the shift towards digital marketing, but had a strong emphasis on not leaving traditional media (print) behind - sounds like a recipe for integrated marketing if you ask me! The slides provided an overview of the national picture, which showed a decline in Postgraduate recruitment nationally. However we're pleased to share that for our September intake of PGT students we had a 30% increase compared with the previous year - so it's great to see that we're bucking the national trend ;-). Overall it was an engaging and informative session. The forum highlighted what we're already doing really well, and threw up some ideas which we may dabble with, and test, over the coming months to see what impact this has, if any, on our marketing and recruitment strategies.

Back in the office, and it's been all go on the publications front. Not only have we signed off the Mini Undergraduate guide for print, but as of today the main Undergraduate 2015 Prospectus has been approved for print (hurrah!). It'll be making its way over to our printers for tomorrow morning, and then we move swiftly into the print production stage of our schedule. That means there's one more round of proofing standing in the way of the finished product. It'll be ready for the 7 March (ready to be included in the Heist mailing to schools and careers advisers nationally) so we'll keep you posted as to when it's ready for your perusal.

Moving online: Postgraduate Virtual Event

This week has also seen us take part in our third Postgraduate Virtual Open Event - a culmination of 6 weeks of hard campaign work from our Marketing Assistant Clare, as she actioned a lot of marketing activity to drive up enquiries for this event. This year a lot of work was done from our digital counterparts (thank you!) to refresh video content and the way in which we capture data for the event so that we can continue with our conversion efforts post event. Now that the event is over we'll be pulling together all of our stats for an event wash up report, and will be able to make some further recommendations as to how we can improve these events in the future.

There's still no progress in writing awards entries, and we're coming up to the CIPR deadline. And Heist are not far behind; they're already touting their deadline dates. So, now that the main UG publications have been completed, here's hoping we can turn some attention to report writing and demonstrating our success!

Work hard and...work harder

By Michelle Ramsumair

Recently I attended the CIM Writing an integrated marketing communications plan training day in Euston, London. The title is pretty self explanatory and it’s something we should all be doing in some way but we don't always take the time to step back from the daily grind to really consider exactly why we are doing what we are doing. It was reassuring so see we are on the right track but learnt a lot from the workshop leader and hearing feedback from other organisations in different industries.

We are currently looking to work with a media agency to assist with the logistics of the campaigns. We have never done this before but with the number of campaigns we roll out now it has become more apparent this is needed. The challenge will be making sure everything from the bookings to the artwork is as transparent and integrated as possible. However, here we do enjoy a challenge and for me it’s a new project to sink my teeth into.

We had our first Applicant Open Day this Saturday gone at our Bedford campus which was very successful. I always enjoy working these and helping nervous applicants and parents as much as possible. Everyone enjoyed the day and improvements for this type of event definitely paid off. Our next one is at our Luton campus this Saturday 08 February where more registrants are expected. I think flat shoes are in order again! For further information about our open days feel free to visit www.beds.ac.uk and click '2014 Applicant Open Days' for more details. 

I am currently working on a campaign for Aylesbury to promote the March intake for Adult Nursing. As we haven’t done much promoting for this in the past, it is very interesting to work on as we will be able to better measure and review throughout as it is very specific. If you know anyone who maybe interested why not recommend they come along to our healthcare open day on Saturday 15 February at our Aylesbury campus.

With all the above going on it's important to just break away, maybe to some scenic views and fresh air. I was either rather brave or silly but I decided to take a trip to The Downs on what was possibly the windiest day of the week. Enjoy the view!

Keeping busy!

Alongside hectically proofing the UG prospectus, lots of the work I’ve been doing over the past week or so has revolved around the Postgraduate Virtual Open Event coming up on Wednesday 5th February. Advertising, emails, flyers and notices have all been arranged and it sounds like sign-ups are going well. I’m looking forward to it as it’ll be my first experience of a virtual open event and it’ll be good to see how it all works from behind the scenes. I think a virtual event would’ve been really helpful when I was applying to my universities myself, so I hope those who have signed up will get a lot out of it.

I've been doing lots of filming and
editing over the last couple of weeks.

Over the past couple of weeks I’ve spent quite a bit of time out and about filming students and staff members for various projects. I’ve done lots of this since I started working at the University and it’s something I really enjoy. It’s great to meet the students - after all, they are what all of our hard work is for. It’s really interesting to listen to their opinions and hear about their University experience. Despite my computer struggling at times to cope with the editing process, I really like putting together the clips I’ve filmed – it’s good to see a process through from start to finish.

Nobody says goodbye like the
Von Trapps...

It’s been a whole week since we said goodbye to Rehanna. She made me feel very welcome when I was brand new and finding my feet in the department and I will certainly miss her! What’s more, Friday marked the end of Sophie(our intern)’s time with us. She spent the last three weeks working on various projects with the team, and was a huge help to us. With all the goodbyes have come lots of delicious lunches with the team – every cloud has a silver lining I suppose! I’m really looking forward to welcoming new members of the team over the next weeks and months; it’ll be good to have somebody sitting in the (currently very empty) seat next to me again – it’s lonely over this side of the pod!

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.

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!