Newsletter #28: York Uni likes a bit of drama; the CIA channels its inner ad agency; the hottest new Pokemon is a Twitter bird
Last week, Education Marketer welcomed its first guest writer Josh Crawley with his new series What’s on UniTube.
The piece did really well, second only to a post about homepage banners, which, I can only assume, is a topic near and dear to many of your hearts…
But I digress.
Seeing how well Josh’s post performed, I started thinking “what if more people could write for Education Marketer”?
What if the site became a place where those with an interest in HE marketing shared knowledge, experience and got to raise their profile in the process?
That would be really cool.
So I put it to the board (me) and now I’m opening the gates.
Maybe you’re a junior HE marketer and want to progress your career?
Maybe you’re a specialist and want to share a unique angle on your field?
Or, maybe you’re super senior and want to carve out a niche as a thought leader…
Whatever your motivation or medium, all that matters is that you have something interesting to say.
If you’ve got an idea that you think Education Marketer subscribers would love, contact me and we’ll get the ball rolling.
And now, we return to our regularly scheduled programming…
📰 HE news
UCL is skipping the part where the government drops another last-minute lockdown and is telling ALL its students to stay away until the end of February. Read
With Boris Johnson seemingly allergic to the word “university”, institutions are taking wildly different approaches to accommodation refunds. Just a sample - Bristol and Manchester are offering 30% reductions in rent, Lancaster is offering hardship bursaries, whereas Middlesex is handling things ad hoc. I’m sure a benchmark will emerge in the coming weeks. The current energy is that everyone is still trying to find their feet after the post-Christmas crash back to reality. Read
💻 Digital marketing news
Kia unveils its new logo and simultaneously breaks the Guinness World Record for the most drones launching fireworks. Something to think about for your next rebrand? Look
Facebook’s new Pages layout removes the “Like” button (entirely) and makes the “Follow” button super prominent. Another chapter of social media draws to a close. Look
Twitter is showing all the hallmarks of a “rotting community”. Read
The CIA’s new website makes it look more like a start-up ad agency than the U.S.’s intelligence service. Key takeaway: Applying stock web templates to iconic institutions… It very rarely works. Look
🏫 What unis are doing
University of Iowa’s student profile series “Hear from Hawkeyes” is a refreshing take on the format. Shot vertically and less than 20 seconds each, the videos focus on a theme as well as a student. You wouldn’t expect to get much from them, but you leave feeling interested and having a sense of what Iowa is about. Look
“You know what these web images need?”
“Better accessibility?”
“Drama…”
“Drama?”
“Yes, when hovering over an image, I want it to slowly zoom-in to build anticipation.”
“Erm...Sure.” Look
In what are traditionally dry presentations, Flinders University does a great job of showing off its estates plan. It’s bright, bold and a great ad for the University, but still gets across key info about buildings. Bookmark this. Look
Bonus: This week Stori has pulled together the top 20 university pandemic research stories. Teeside’s Minecraft campus is the winner for me. Read
🧑🎓 What students are saying
I am paying £9,000 for a university degree that is causing me nothing but anxiety and stress. I don't think the government is understanding students, instead they are only recognising primary and secondary schools - there's no recognition for university students." With universities being forced to further delay the return to campus, Students share their opinions on rent strikes, no detriment policies and fees. Read
👾 Culture shock
You can now play Pokemon Red inside a Twitter avatar. Look
Microsoft Flight Simulator and real-life side by side. The simulation looks better. Look
