The Brief
In 2017 Coventry University had 80% more clearing places available than in previous years. As a result, an additional marketing plan was developed to boost advertising activity over the BTEC and A level results period. Simultaneously there was a project to define key messages and develop a new creative style. Despite the increase in clearing numbers, the quality of student remained very important and therefore all media placements and marketing messages needed to reflect this.
The following objectives were defined:
Fill all outstanding clearing places within a week of going live.
Attract and accept high calibre students – those who have done better than they imagined in their results or who haven’t quite met the Russell Group expectations but still want to go to a great university. Ideally, they should have ABB/BBB grades.
Ensure that all creative portrays the University as an ambitious and aspirational institution.
What we did
Analysing national and local data from previous intakes, we were able to determine the regions where the highest level of offer acceptances were present, and selected a number of geographical targets as a result. Adgen put together a comprehensive TTL media proposal using a number of well-established platforms online to engage our audience, including The Student Room, UCAS, Complete University Guide and Google. This was combined with radio and print to generate more brand awareness in our target regions. A range of outdoor sites were booked across high footfall / high traffic areas to drive applications and also build the awareness and grow the reputation of Coventry University in the regions.
Results
Coventry’s Clearing Page had a total of 21,386 visits over the course of the campaign.
Time on site and pages per session were incredibly strong the days before and the days of Clearing, with the average user spending 4 minutes on the site and visiting 5 pages per session. As the campaign continued and the adverts were changed out to push people toward the telephone hotline, metrics dropped slightly, as we would expect. By the end of the campaign, the average user was spending 2:37 minutes on the site and visiting nearly 3 pages per session.
Overall the campaign made a significant contribution to filling all clearing places well before the desired deadline of one week. Needless to say, Coventry were thrilled with the results.