Our 2015 Undergraduate Prospectus - what's changed?

To give you a bit of background, the whole process of producing a prospectus (re-writing, editing, image selection, designing, proofing and printing) generally takes 4-6 months from start to finish, with the Undergraduate prospectus being produced between the months of October and February and the Postgraduate prospectus between the months of March and August.

In the months running up to the project we are busy collecting ideas, feedback and researching the direction we would like to head in.  We have to work 18 months ahead to cater for our stakeholders (prospective students, parents, teachers, careers services etc) as this is when they would typically start their research - so last month (February 2014) the 2015 Undergraduate prospectus was completed for students thinking about starting uni in September 2015.

The University's positioning in the HE sector has changed in recent years and the prospectus along with the rest of our marketing collateral needs to reflect that.  For the previous year's prospectus (2014) we focused on streamlining the content and reorganising the structure slightly to make it more user friendly.  This year we focused on imagery.  We organised a weeks professional photography to capture our students going about their daily lives, studying, socialising, working out, shopping.  We were keen to not just showcase the facilities we have but to show how students use these facilities in their day to day lives.  It all needed to be more 'human'.  We took new photos of students relaxing in the comfort of their own rooms, enjoying a catch up with their friends in the local pub, heading off to lectures and visiting the many support services we have to offer.  We captured students in their study environment, heading from one lecture to another. And the list goes on...

We hope you like the 2015 Undergraduate Prospectus as much as we do.  Initial feedback from prospective students at the HE Fairs has been really positive and we're confident that we're getting closer and closer to producing a document that gives a prospective student an honest and complete idea of what it's like to study at the University of Chester.

Marketing as Mad as the March Hare

At this time of the year, some of my marketing colleagues can appear to be a little reclusive. A sighting of them can be a rare privilege and when you do spot them, they can appear to be in a bit of a frenzy, rushing from one place to another. So what exactly is it that makes them behave like this, particularly at this time of the year? This short blog will clear up the reason for this elusive behaviour and explain why this might be of interest to you if you’re thinking ahead to the next recruitment cycle.

Hare, There and Everywhere...

The first week of March sees the start of our recruitment drive for September 2015. Whilst 2015 may seem a long way off, the next few months will see the Marketing team clocking up the miles as they travel the length and breadth of the country generating further interest in the University's provision of undergraduate courses.