Newsletter #107: Where education marketers should focus in 2024; We’ve turned a corner on authenticity; It’s the year of creator degrees
✏️ From the Education Marketer desk
Where education marketers should focus in 2024. Read
We’ve turned a corner on “authenticity.” Look
I’m conflicted about this chart. Look
What do students want from an open day? Read
📰 HE news
I’m going to put it out there, 2024 will be the biggest year ever for “creator degrees.” To start, Mr Beast’s partnership with East Carolina University is kicking off this year, offering students CERTIFICATION in the creator industry… but that’s just one course. University of Southern California is also growing its “influencer relations” programme designed to help students build creator-centric marketing strategies. Another school, Middle Tennessee State University, teaches “sports in social media” - so pretty niche - but it too clearly recognises the unique skillset required for such a profession. It’s not just a US phenomenon either. Confetti Institute of Creative Technologies (UK) has a BA in Content Creation that’s so popular with employers that students are already being engaged to run content ops. These kinds of programmes are important. They teach students how to turn channels that monopolise their attention into something that makes them a living. I think they're a worthwhile pursuit, especially as over half of teens want to be creators. Read
📊 Marketing and media news
AI isn’t going anywhere but you’ll probably see a sentiment shift this year as all those brands, whose content was used for training data, come to collect. Keep an eye on the case of New York Times vs Open AI - on the surface, it looks like a simple case of copyright infringement against OpenAI, however it isn’t that straightforward. LLMs like ChatGPT don’t exactly plagiarise/store their training data. It’s like when you read a book, you don’t memorise every page word for word, but you do spot (and remember) themes and patterns. That’s kinda how it is with AI too, so I’m fascinated what new legislation will emerge as a result… Right now, few national bodies are regulating the use of copyrighted material by AI, but that will change. The UK’s “government code of practice on copyright and AI” is also in the works, so if your school’s using this tech be aware that you could have some GDPR-style compliance further down the line. NYT vs Open AI | UK Gov AI
According to research from IAB, ads ran alongside “creator shows” (YouTube series, podcasts) perform disproportionally well. 87% of consumers agreed that the ads they saw drove awareness, but equally 68% said they also made them “actively recommend” a product or service. There are not many placements that can claim that! What I also find interesting is that 55% agree that the same ads are “likely to deliver unexpected inspiration” which is exactly where schools need to be. We recently learned from UCAS’s Project Next Generation Report that there is an underserved student audience making decisions based on “what inspires them” - so sponsorships on creator content are worth a shot if you’re looking for a conversation starter. The right ad placements are also proven to boost loyalty, aid research/consideration and, most importantly, convince someone to buy - 70% (!!!) of consumers said they were more likely to purchase as a result of creator ads. File it under “one for your media plan.” Read
🏫 What unis are doing
Three Ohio-based community colleges have engaged in a programme that significantly boosts student earnings and graduation rates. Students receive frequent guidance, personalised career counselling, and help to pay for textbooks and groceries. Result: 43% of students who received support earned a degree, compared to 29% of those who did not. Basics work. Read
One word to describe Norwich University of the Arts’ website: Memorable. The combination of bright, bold colours and custom textures on header fonts gives the site character. I particularly like how the institution features student work on its homepage banner (and links to the associated course.) The course pages are on point too. Look
How seriously does your institution take web accessibility? Enough to have user-facing tools in the header of your website? UAL uses the widget Recite where you can have the website speak image alt text, change the colour of the page and adjust fonts all from the header. Fair play to the team who had to update all those image descriptions. I see you. Look
🧑🎓 What students are saying
“My parents took out a loan of £23,400, which is the tuition fee for the master’s programme. Then I personally contributed three years’ worth of savings, which I had from working as a writer and programme manager for an NGO.” International students on affording an education overseas and managing budgets. Read
👾 Culture shock
The first YouTube video gets a thumbnail update. Look
The most advanced AI music generator on the market. Listen
