NORTH EAST SCOTLAND COLLEGE MARKETING STRATEGY

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1 NORTH EAST SCOTLAND COLLEGE MARKETING STRATEGY

2 MARKETING STRATEGY 1.0 Introduction 1.1 The College is committed to providing integrated, high quality education & training across the Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire Region. 1.2 As a service organisation, and particularly since the merger and subsequent rebranding, the College recognises that it must maintain a high public profile to promote the courses and services it offers to people in the area it serves. 1.3 Good communication is key to improve the understanding of what the new College is and can provide it s Vision and Values. 1.4 Marketing in the context of this strategy refers to the whole range of activities involved in establishing and maintaining the Colleges public image and publicising its services to individuals and organisations. It includes activities, therefore, which are known variously as: publicity, public relations, events management, design, advertising, communication and estates enhancement. 2.0 Marketing Strategy Aim 2.1 The overall aim of the Marketing Strategy is to establish a framework for effective communication with individuals, the community, industry and other organisations about the education and training opportunities offered by the College and ensure achievement of activity targets. 2.2 In working towards this aim the College will develop appropriate regional branded publicity materials, communication and media channels. 3.0 Marketing Strategy Objectives 3.1 Conduct market research into the needs and preferences of organisations and individuals in the region 3.2 Support the development of the Colleges courses and progression routes in line with identified customer demand and government priorities 3.3 Promote the College s services and facilities to potential students in order to achieve student recruitment targets 3.4 Promote HNC/HND articulation links between the College and local (and other) universities. 3.5 Provide PR & Communications support 3.6 Support College activities and events 3.7 Develop and implement consistent design principles for use across all printed and online materials 3.8 Manage and develop the College s online presence and brands 3.9 Manage, develop and protect the College s brand and identity 3.10 Ensure that all the College s buildings are legible and accessible and promote a positive atmosphere and environment 3.11 Support the College in fostering a climate of equality and diversity for all staff and students

3 4.0 Implementation of the Strategy 4.1 The Marketing Team will identify the needs of organisations and individuals by: Collating information and statistics on local industry, skills shortages and employment trends Ascertaining the training requirements of employers and their employees, by conducting appropriate market research for schools and teams. 4.2 The Marketing Team will support the development of College courses and progression routes by: Providing structured information relating to the education and training needs of individuals and organisations to course teams to use during the processes of planning and approving new provision Assisting with liaison with partners and other stakeholders about creating clear progression routes from school and community services into College and from College into employment or university. 4.3 The Marketing Team will promote services and facilities to potential students by: Developing printed marketing materials Developing content of the College s websites Advertising ensuring effective frequency, media impact, timing and reach across press, print, radio, TV and online media Organising Public Relations activities to increase the profile of the College Direct mail and social network marketing activity Attendance at internal and external events aimed at potential customers Promoting the College through public events graduations, open days, employer events, exhibitions and end of year shows, and other student events 4.4 The Marketing Team will promote HNC/HND articulation links to local and other universities by: Liaising with Robert Gordon University and the University of Aberdeen to promote 2+2 and the link courses Managing and developing the Degree-link micro-site Liaising with universities to update HNC/HND articulation links and produce the progression section in the full time prospectus and online Supporting university progression events Promoting university progression in the Colleges publications and press releases. 4.5 The Marketing Team will provide PR and communications support by: Encouraging Schools/ Senior Management/ senior cross-college personnel to advise of potentially positive or negative news items and establish and maintain a continuous flow of information to the media Identifying a communications strategy that best targets and informs stake-holders in the North-east Liaising with College partners and co-ordinate news items distributed to the media that demonstrate good practice and working partnerships, as required Recording student and staff successes Collating profiles of successful students for use in publications Coordinating annual student awards and associated PR Coordinating publications aimed at the public such as the Year Book.

4 4.6. The Marketing Team will manage and support the Colleges programme of activities and events by: Organising all aspects of key College events awards ceremonies, exhibitions, opening events, seminar events with key partners, open days etc. Providing advice to sectors and departments in organising course or teamspecific events Developing materials for use in course and team-specific events 4.7 The Marketing Team will develop and implement consistent design and style guidelines across all printed and online materials by: Ensuring that the College brand & corporate identity are managed, developed and protected Effectively communicating the brand both internally and externally Maintaining creative control over the Colleges publicity and advertising materials to all internal and external clients Ensuring all imagery and design is relevant and appropriate Ensuring a clear and consistent design, message and tone of voice across all work and media. 4.8 The Marketing Team will manage and develop the Colleges' online presence by: Establishing design parameters for the College's web sites to ensure consistency Agreeing the protocols and processing for approving and uploading content Creating links to partner and stakeholder websites as needed Organising e-marketing campaigns Managing social networking activities by the College 4.9 The Marketing Team will manage, develop and protect the College brand and identity by: Monitoring and protecting the use of the College brand Maintaining control over the College s publicity and advertising materials to all internal and external clients and ensuring all imagery and design is relevant and appropriate The Marketing Team will ensure that all College buildings are legible and accessible and promote a positive atmosphere and environment by: Managing external signage Creating signage, directories and public information systems Supporting refurbishment schemes and environmental enhancement Managing displayed material, including notices, framed artwork, and notice boards 4.11 The Marketing Team will help the College to foster equal opportunities and respect for diversity by: Ensuring graphics and photographs used in publicity materials promote equality, diversity and inclusiveness sensitive to the target group Disseminating information that reinforces messages of equality and diversity through public information systems

5 5.0 Responsibility for the Strategy 5.1 In order to maximise the impact of the College on the region, the Marketing Team will work within the context of a joint marketing strategy. 5.2 The Head of Marketing & PR will have the overall responsibility for the delivery of elements 3.1 to 3.6 of this Strategy. The Design, Publicity and Advertising Manager will have overall responsibility for the delivery of elements 3.7 to 3.10 of the Strategy. Responsibility for element 3.11 will be a shared responsibility. They will be accountable to the Principal for the execution of the Strategy. Status: Approved Approved by: SMT Date of Version: July 2015 Date of EIA: To be completed Responsibility for Strategy: Principal Date of Review: December 2015