Ailie Ferrari, Vice Chair - Education for CIM Scotland sets out marketing trends to help Higher Education prosper in Scotland...
Scotland is highly successful in attracting international students to study at Scottish higher education institutions (HEIs), with non-UK students consistently making up 2-3% more of student enrolments in Scottish HEIs that across the UK as a whole.
However, COVID 19 has forced Scottish HEIs to reconsider and evolve their marketing approaches in what is a very competitive marketplace. Here are 4 marketing trends I have observed across the sector:
- Protecting the brand
Chinese New Year saw the beginning of international lockdowns due to Coronavirus and HEIs were immediately very sensitive to the feelings of both current and potential students, and their parents. Social media became the focus of marketing activity - video messages of heartfelt support were posted across all available channels.
Protecting the brand was key at this point – no HEI wanted to be criticized for not understanding their potential international customers. Advertising campaign messages were reviewed to ensure appropriateness and there was a focus on delivering reassuring and informative communications that reinforced the empathy elements of university brands – student experience, community, etc.
2. Working together
Customer insight has never been so important to education marketing than now. The British Council, and various marketing suppliers, started longitudinal research studies to monitor attitudes to, and concerns about, studying in the UK.
Responding to the findings, institutions have been engaging with the Universities UK #WeAreTogether campaign to showcase higher education’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic – examples can be found here
As we plan for recovery, Scottish HEIs have been working together with Brand Scotland, i.e. #ScotlandIsNow, to deliver a clear, consistent international student proposition that continues to position Scotland as a safe and attractive study destination.
3. Gone digital
Digital marketing always featured strongly in international education marketing, as a backdrop to the face-to-face activities of student fairs and agent visits. With lockdown travel restrictions taking the in-country marketing activities out of the picture, everything has gone digital.
Organisers of student fairs started offering integrated digital event packages, joint online events with agents have become the norm and HEIs have converted physical events like open days and applicant days to online, using platforms like Teams and Zoom. Events that were previously on-campus can now be easily accessed by potential international students all around the world.
4. Agile marketing
For education marketing teams, the campus has never been closed, instead, they have been working harder than ever – from home. They have been focussing on digital marketing across both organic and paid platforms, ensuring the content is refreshed and that campaigns are focussed on areas where the greatest returns can be achieved for the university.
For the education sector, the future is still very uncertain, but the marketing teams have been responding in a very agile and customer-focussed way right through COVID 19 and will continue to do so.