Becoming the digital marketer

So, we all know how important digital marketing in these days, and I’m slowly dipping my toes in the water and getting to grips with more digital activity. Not necessarily the implementation, but more the briefing process – putting targeted Google and promoted social media briefs together for different aspects of the annual campaign.

As we like to be as targeted as possible using analysis from previous campaigns, there are a lot of ideas and thoughts to get down as coherently as possible; search ads, display ads, re-targeting, mobile ads, promoted social media posts. And then there's targeting, reaching new audiences, which subjects get more traction in which areas of the UK, different visuals for different subjects or locations, key words, affiliate websites, hidden landing pages…the list seems endless.  

I’ve got to admit it was daunting pulling together the first large brief, but I’ve just recently finished this and it’s now up and running. So, I’m now working on the next. Now here comes the issue; when we’re targeting some similar subjects in different campaigns how do we ensure we don’t compete with ourselves for the likes of key words or affiliate websites? And so it starts again; targeting, reaching new audiences, which subjects get more traction in which areas of the UK, different visuals for different subject or locations, key words, affiliate websites, hidden landing pages…the list seems endless.  Have I said that already?!

Although all of this has been a lot to get my head around, I am feeling excited that it’s giving me the opportunity to broaden my knowledge in terms of the digital aspects of marketing, which is great for my own development. Keep your eyes peeled for some analysis on my first large Google campaign...

Fruits of our labour
As Sara mentioned last week, we directed some photo shoots earlier this month and I thought I’d share a couple of images below as we’ve now had these back from the photographers we worked with. I'm looking forward to seeing these in our 2017 publications. We’ve still got one more shoot to do mid-November for the prospectus cover, and that’s photography done for 2016. Well that’s all from me this week and I’ve got a nice day off tomorrow! :)
Speak soon,
K

Students in our Go Global Cafe

New library at our UCMK campus

One of our business, Luton campus

Lights, camera, action!

Over the last couple of weeks, Kylie and I have spent a few days out and about at the different campuses with photographers for the 2016/2017 prospectuses. We've got some great images from the photo shoots and I'm really excited for everyone to see them once the prospectuses are published.

I was mainly working on profile shots, taking photos of individual students and filming them talking about their university experience. I really love this aspect as it gives me the chance to meet some of our students and hear their thoughts and opinions on their course and the university (although I spoke to one student about the Go Global programme and it's set off the travel bug - help!). 

Much to our surprise, the weather was on our side yesterday so we managed to get some really nice profile shots and group shots outside too! As much as I hate the cold this time of year brings, I do love the colours of Autumn!

It was really interesting to work with the photographers as they have such an intricate way of seeing things. I also got to act as the photographers assistant a couple of times and hold some of the lighting equipment - although knowing the price of the equipment made that a little scary!

We've also started writing and collating copy for the 2016/2017 UG prospectus. This is my first time working on the UG prospectus so it's really exciting for me to be involved in every aspect of the project.

A big thank you to all of the students that got involved with the photo shoots! And to anyone wondering how/if they can be involved in our next shoot, please drop me an email.

That's all from me for now,

Sara

Culture - a Luton thing?

Funny things have happened on campus over the last few weeks. Stands, pagodas, stalls, marquees, student ambassadors and freshers’ angels have sprouted where before, there was a distinct lack of stands, pagodas, stalls, marquees, student ambassadors or freshers’ angels. The last week of September and first week of October saw the beginning of the new academic year and soaring campus energy levels which have since been ever so slightly jaded by a downturn in the weather and an upturn in beach parties and other luridly themed student nights.

A warm welcome should continue to be extended, not only to the University of Bedfordshire, but also to Luton. Or Bedford. Or Milton Keynes, or Aylesbury, Barnfield, Arthur Mellows, Majan or wherever else University students are. Wherever you’re studying, welcome.

Those arriving at Luton – our biggest campus – may be wondering what they’ve let themselves in for. Yes, we have state of the art buildings, but Luton – the town - often makes the news for the wrong reasons and has been the butt of many stand ups sitcoms, adverts and novelty hit parade smashes. Like this. Or this. The town has been an easy target over the years, but its folk always bounce back.

Luton's Bear Jazz and Blues club

From a student’s point of view, part of Luton’s appeal may be that it’s on London’s doorstep with fast trains linking town to capital in less than half an hour. That’s less than half an hour assuming there are no weekend engineering works or staff shortages and assuming, too, that travel is undertaken in a southerly direction. It would take a deluded or strange fellow to suggest Luton is London’s equal, but outside the Uni, the town boasts a vibrant jazz club, art centre, as well as a range of clubs, museums, galleries, sport and – according to a few  – “by far the greatest (football) team the world has ever seen”. Gems may be hard to uncover, but for precisely this reason, they’re more rewarding when you do find them.

Here are a few choice facts about Luton you may or may not be familiar with and which you might want to bandy about if and when the need arises:

•  The aforementioned Luton Town was the first club in the South of England to turn fully professional in 1891;
•  Peripatetic Polish literary giant Joseph Conrad lived, for a while, just outside Luton (in a building which still stands and is visible from the southern side of the airport runway);
• Luton Hoo is hugely popular as a film location and has been used in films and programmes including Four Weddings and a Funeral, Call the Midwife, War Horse, Gosford Park and A Shot in the Dark (the last of which features cinema’s greatest Billiards scene ever);
• When it was completed in the early 1970s, The Mall was – very briefly – the largest covered shopping centre in Europe;

  

  The Mall in the 1970s looking like The Mall in 2015

• Music and musical acts associated with Luton include flute wielding folk rockers Jethro Tull, goth punk pioneers UK Decay and best-forgotten potato-like 80s soul pop sensation Paul Young;
• Luton has had more than one castle built within the town's limits in the Middle Ages, with the silver line on the pavement running into the main entrance of the Campus Centre showing where the moat of one of these castles ran;
• The M1 was officially “inaugurated” in Luton in 1953;
• Luton's town hall was built in the 1930s after the original structure was burned down in the Peace Day Riots of 1919.

So, for all those who run Luton down; no, we don’t have Bedford’s history, Milton Keynes; shopping, St Albans’ money or those cosy, quaint English Chiltern village greens and whatnot. That said, they’re all pretty close, and for the curious and those looking for opportunity and a chance to carve a niche, make a mark and all that good stuff, Luton really isn’t such a bad prospect.

We’re still beaming with PRide

So, I mentioned in my blog a few weeks ago that we were shortlisted for two CIPRide awards. Well I’m super excited to say we won both – Gold for best integrated campaign for our 2014 Clearing campaign, and Silver for best low budget campaign for our 2014 September open day campaign . The team were really pleased, but the dilemma now is where to put them in the office; our cabinet is getting pretty full, which is a nice problem to have.

We're winners!

The awards were held at Homerton College in Cambridge this year and it was a lovely venue; the buildings were great, and the room that held the awards ceremony was really grand. The food was also really nice, so all in all a good night. I attended the awards for the first time last year, and Sarah has attended previous CIPRide awards, but it was the first time for Sara and Charlotte.

Accepting our Gold Award

The event started with some welcome drinks, before we sat down for a hearty three course dinner; Goats cheese and golden beetroot salad to start, Honey roasted duck breast and veg for main, and finished off with chocolate fondant and caramel ice cream, which was delicious- I could eat it all again now!

After the dinner (and a couple of glasses of wine) it was time for a quiz and then the awards ceremony. As our categories and the finalists shortlisted were read out I could feel the tension from the team, it’s great to be shortlisted but after all of our hard work, and because we’re quite competitive, we really wanted to come away with something. And we did, which was fantastic!

Accepting our Silver Award

The event had great use of social media too – there was a photo booth which allowed you to upload images straight onto Twitter, Facebook or Instagram and they were also shown around the room on various screens throughout the night, which was great. I’ve shared some pictures of the team throughout this blog, but you can see all of the pictures here.

Hopefully, we can enter and win more awards as the year goes on. The 2015 September open day campaign generated some good numbers again this year, so watch this space…

As Sarah mentioned last week, we are now down to a team of three, so winning the awards was great for the team morale. And as we continue through this cycle, we will continue to be targeted in our approach to campaigns and hopefully continue to yield some great results for the University. Throughout the year, the marketing team try to enter numerous awards, by numerous awarding bodies, as it’s not only great for the team to have our hard work recognised, but it’s also good to showcase the work that we’re doing.

Speak soon,
K

Celebrating our wins in the photo booth!

A constant state of change

By Sarah Hampton, Marketing Manager

Back to the day job
after a wonderful few
weeks!

This weeks post is focused on change. No matter how much we all try to resist sometimes, its the one thing that's always remains constant. And for us fellow Marketers, embracing change, and being responsive to change is all in the job. The sector and marketing environment is constantly adapting and changing, and therefore so must we!

Slightly off topic, but a change nonetheless, is me! After three long weeks, I'm back in the office and back to the day job after taking a few weeks off to get married. So, if you start to see Sarah De Guzman popping up every now and then in your inbox don't be alarmed, it's just me!

Getting back into the daily grind always takes some time, especially when there's literally hundreds of emails to catch up on. And so that's exactly how my first few days have been spent. It's amazing how quickly you can switch your mind off as you go into holiday mode, and then all the information, meetings and work updates come flooding back upon your return, as though that holiday was a thing of the past. I wish the same could be said for the jet lag!

Pretty much what my desk
looks like at the moment!

Well, it's now week two, post holiday, and the emails have been read, the calendar has been updated, and it's pretty much back to normality for me. Clearing is still underway, just about - we expect this to slowly tail off in the next week or so, as we firmly focus our attentions to the 2016 cycle, which has quietly been ticking along in the background since April this year.

Change in tactic
Ok so back to the focus of my blog post - change. The main focus of the marketing team has been in supporting the Recruitment team in the promotion of the September open day and lots of changes have been made to this years plan; from the media inventory selected to the times of communications. We've implemented a much more aggressive Digital Marketing campaign this time round, pulled back some communications based on intelligence learnt from previous plans, and we're very pleased with the results. If you happened to be on campus (Luton and Bedford) on that day you'll have seen that it was very busy indeed, and had a great vibe on campus, and that's always great to see. Take a look at our open day picture gallery - kindly taken by Sara, Marketing Assistant. And a big shout out to the recruitment team who really pulled it out of the bag with the number of schools in attendance. The day was a resounding success. That's one event down and on to the next, as we're already busily preparing a promotional push for our October events.

Krystle, far left, is setting off for
new adventures

Team change
This week will be offering up a bit of a mixed bag for the Marketing team. Krystle, our Campaign Officer is sadly leaving us on Wednesday, after being part of the Marketing team for about 18 months now. We're really sad to see her go, and to see our mighty marketing team reduced to just three colleagues now. In the relatively short time that Krystle has been with us, she's made a significant difference to the way in which campaigns are planned, implemented and evaluated, and she will be very much missed by us all. We'll be sending Krystle off and wishing her well over lunch on Wednesday. And, to pick up our mood, the remaining Marketing team will be heading off to Homerton College in Cambridge on Thursday, for this year's coveted CIPRide awards. We're up for two awards: Best Integrated Campaign for our 2014 Clearing campaign, and Best Low Budget Campaign for our September 2014 open day promotions. So a good evening out shall definitely pick up our moods, and provide a much needed evening out to re group, celebrate our achievements and look ahead to the future.

Keep everything crossed for us, and follow @CIPR_Awards to watch the evenings events unfold!

So change can mean many different things to many people. And boy are we experiencing a lot of it at the moment. From changing the way we do things and implemented planned changes to be more effective, all the way through to adapting to unforeseen changes, and changes in team resource and dynamics, we remain a positive marketing force to be reckoned with - it may just take us that bit longer to reply to your email, so please bear with us!

Stress?

It’s not all about Clearing…..

…. Although it’s felt that way over the last few weeks.

On July 2 I mused on what Clearing means for universities and how – as many commentators have pointed out – it has changed from a blind panic for underachieving A level students to something quite different. At this point, it would be wise for me and my career prospects to reference our very own Vice Chancellor Bill Rammell’s views on the matter. Which are, of course, spot on.

These days, people use Clearing not so much as a race for places as simply an extra few weeks to make a key life decision. Fair enough. It’s also increasingly an opportunity for those who have surpassed BTEC and A level expectations and predictions and who are looking afresh at “if” and “where” to study at uni. Yet having said all that, as this year’s first day showed there’s still a significant number of those who didn’t receive the grades they thought they were going to receive or were predicted.

State of the art - c'mon!

This year, the first day of Clearing was as insane as ever. Web, phones and footfall rattled the furniture, fixtures, fittings of the usually savannah-like atmosphere of our state of the art Postgraduate and Continuing Professional Development Centre, where the turbo-charged, chocolate-powered extended Admissions team and academics worked their socks off. Things were quieter over the first weekend, but steady again the following week. And then - and now - the long tail, with slow, steady traffic coming in, sending university managers, admissions, recruitment and market research teams twitching and refreshing spread sheets as if there's no tomorrow.

Nouvelle Vague; Mkt Research in Paris 1963

For universities, Clearing can last a few weeks, after which it's ‘business as usual’. For students involved in Clearing, the whirlwind will have started much earlier, will carry on much longer and carry far more emotional intensity. Kudos and Quailty Street should certainly be heaped upon University colleagues working through the process, although for applicants, once an offer is accepted, there are only a few weeks to prepare accommodation, travel, budget, reading lists, Freshers’ wristbands, Facebook status, Luton Town season tickets, napkin, cruet and cutlery etc etc. Not to mention those groovy Tarantino, Smiths, Pixies, Star Wars, Nirvana, Bob Marley, Bob Hope, Tiswas and French New Wave film posters. And blu-tac. Oh, and the rag-rugs, incense holders, kaftans, spider plants and Super Noodles.

Transport is arranged

Then there’s the whirl of arriving, working out which clubs or societies to look at (or avoid), who to ‘buddy up’ with, how to approach the induction and enrolment processes, how to find the library, which of the multitude of coffee outlets to patronise etc., etc., etc. All of which feels like five years mashed into as many weeks. It’s exciting, for sure although there will be a few puffy eyed souls we all need to keep an eye out for, who may have hit one beach party too many and might need a hand with working out where they are or who may need a shoulder to cry on.

At the time of writing - we still have a few places left through Clearing. Best be quick - like other institutions, we're at the tail end and have already welcomed frazzled colleagues back from the Postgraduate and Continuing Professional Development Centre (it's state of the art y'know), who’ll be picking themselves up for the main cycle recruitment and the beginning of another round of encouragement and cajoling.

Want to share best practice? We’re on the CASE!

So I recently attended the CASE (Council for Advancement and Support of Education) European Annual Conference 2015 in Manchester. For those who may not be familiar with CASE, it’s an organisation that helps people within the education sector to share knowledge, best practice, and training. Each year they hold an annual conference, and this year I got the opportunity to attend.

An informative three days of networking and sharing knowledge!

It was a three day conference in Manchester (starting off with a 6am train the day after Bank Holiday Monday!), and it was three days packed full of presentations, case studies and interactive sessions. There’s something for everyone; people working in communications; alumni; marketing; management (strategy) and fundraising. And there were even people from the Netherlands and Australia in attendance. So lots of networking, note taking and learning!

I tried to mix up the presentations that I attended. I attended mainly marketing focused sessions, but I also went to some communications ones too.

A couple of things I’ve taken away from the conference:

• The contribution of location to the HE service scope
  
        A really good session which was run by Portsmouth Business School looked at the research they had done into how UK universities talk about themselves and how the majority of universities use location as a main focus. They also spoke about other factors such as physical, social and sociological dimensions that universities use when communicating to their audiences, and there was a group discussion about whether an emotional or cognitive response is more important. The conclusion was it doesn’t seem to make a difference in ‘who’ a university is or where they are in the UK; all universities want to ‘tick all boxes.’ As we’ve recently embarked on a verbal branding project, which we are now rolling out across the University, this was a particularly interesting session for me to take part in.

• Working with your research community
  
        Another great session run by the University of Huddersfield in which they presented the ways they worked with their research community to produce valuable content to show the gravitas of the university and its achievements. This was really interesting as the University of Bedfordshire have had a real focus on this, and it was good to see how another university has tackled this. They discussed the research literature they produce, including how items are distributed and to which audience and also discussed how they encourage academics to use social media to showcase their work and also link in with the universities core strategy around research. Food for thought…

The overarching themes that stood out in the sessions which I attended were the value of authenticity, producing more dynamic content and being more interactive are key to reaching the student audiences in 2016 and beyond!  

Events like these are invaluable for networking, meeting peers and sharing knowledge with people in the same industry. Market research is a big part of Marketing, and events like these go that little bit further in terms of discussing what’s happening within other institutions and learning from each other.

I hope I get the opportunity to go again next year.

Speak soon,

K