Newsletter #40: The Northwestern Uni rock; Snap Inc has another crack at Spectacles; Anonymous does personalised videos now

📰 HE news

Some students are willing to double the interest rate on their student loans (to 6.2%) for a £2,700 reduction in tuition fees. Feels akin to the third stage of grief - bargaining - with a slim to zero chance that the government will fund the desired 30% tuition rebate. Hard times, but what did we expect? This is the same government that didn’t acknowledge the existence of students until their lateral flow testing at the end of last year. Read

A study of over 24,000 UK students, conducted by UNiDAYS, found that 24% now own some form of cryptocurrency, with a further third intending to buy within the next 3 months. If you haven’t got your head around this stuff yet, now might be the time. Crypto isn’t just Bitcoin anymore - the technology is being used to create new kinds of platforms for independent publishing (mirror.xyz), social media (bitclout.com) and building digital communities (rally.io). Read

💻 Digital marketing news

Snap Inc is having another crack at Spectacles - remember those? This new edition is trying to beat Apple to the punch with AR wearables, but I don’t think Tim Cook is losing sleep over it. Feels like a flop waiting to happen - the design looks like the “deal with it” or “thug life” meme glasses - just way less cool. Snap Spectacles | Deal with it glasses

Twitter’s new Super Follow feature is set to roll out soon. Here’s what you need to know: 1) You can charge followers to get access to extra content. 2) It’s a way to support your digital ambassadors in monetising their work. 3) Having a way for your social media team to generate revenue is a gamechanger for your department - give it some thought before writing it off as too risky. 4) Your super follower count will likely appear on your profile once the feature is made live. Read

Etsy, the platform for unique and crafted goods, just purchased Depop - a fashion marketplace for “the next generation”. Great acquisition. Etsy has been struggling to reach younger users for years and the move will give it access to the buying habits of Gen Z. This got me thinking - what if a uni bought a publication or marketplace popular with prospective students? I’m not talking about premium sites like The Student Room or StudentHut, but something lesser-known, struggling to break even and valued at a lower cost. Surely, an investment in a publication would be cheaper than equivalent strategic projects - like constructing a new building? Think of all the audience insight a publication could derive, the potential for new revenue streams and (most of all) easy access to a readership in the market for your courses. Baby steps. Read

In other news, Gillette’s Venus has a new ad featuring a singing pubic hair. Fans are hoping for a Netflix series. Look

🏫 What unis are doing

Aalto University’s “Game Changes” campaign features over 70 (😲) short student videos, each student sharing a personal subject philosophy. Stylistically and creatively, these pieces are incredibly strong. The playlist format makes them easy to watch too. It’s probably the first example of a university YouTube playlist where I’ve felt compelled to watch because I was genuinely engaged. Look

“How’s the rock doing?”
“Let me check the webcam…”
“Well?”
“Still a rock.” Look

ETH Zürich’s “Of course it’s for girls” is a solid collaboration between the University’s marketing and outreach teams. The video unpacks a STEM outreach project - introducing the participants, the facilitators and gives an up-close view of the grassroots work being done at the University. The content’s strong sense of purpose and believable storytelling is stand-out, but the format is still entirely within reach of most university marketing departments. Would be good to see more stuff like this. Look

🧑‍🎓 What students are saying

"The most important thing the government could give us as students is clarity. And clarity early on and not just a few months before we're due to take the exams." A-level students on their hopes for exams, teaching and securing a university place this summer. Read

👾 Culture shock

Amazon thinks that the answer to your stressful working environment is a telephone booth containing a company training video on mindfulness. Look

Anonymous does personalised videos now. Look

One of the 6% of people who recently took a YouGov poll saying they could better a bear in combat - caught on camera. Look