Keep an eye out for our new marketing campaign which will hit bus stops, radio waves and social media later this month.
Whai Ake students being filmed in Mataaho
Our marketing team has been hard at work on the new campaign, to promote Unitec to potential students and their whānau. The ‘Looks like a classroom to us’ message has been woven with the themes of Te Noho Kotahitanga, to reflect Unitec’s focus on collaboration and support.
The different views of a ‘classroom’ reinforces the engaging learning environments we offer our students, and ties in the with our ‘Think. Do’ approach to teaching and learning.
Whai Ako students being filmed in Mataaho
Keep an eye out for the campaign from late October, where you’ll see three stories:
- Whai Ake; profiling four students
- Monica Varrie, who is studying Construction Management
- Landcape Architecture student Justice Bellamy
The stories will be shared through a range of channels including bus-backs, adshels, radio, digital ads, social media, and a dedicated web page for each story.
Landscape Architecture student Justice Bellamy in the Botanical Gardens
And that’s not all! A further stream of stories focusing on other programme areas will follow these initial three.
Why are you continuing to market the Unitec brand rather than specific programmes of study -or career pathways?
Marketing the Unitec brand seems a strategy with a poor-track record. Why are we continuing with it?
Thanks David.
Brand messaging is important as a high-level awareness message, to portray to the public that Unitec (as a whole) is a great place to study, and that our point of difference in clear and applied to all subjects.
We need to keep with brand messaging broad to ensure our material strikes an affinity with as many people as possible.
We then follow this up with digital activity which is targeted to people’s interests, to drive them to the website, and ultimately enrol.
Under all of this is subject-specific marketing, consisting of:
* subject-specific student stories
* search engine ad and organic optimisation
* social media targeting
Any further questions, feel free to ask.
Cheers
Thank you for the opportunity to make a comment.
I think that the huge discerning factor that Unitec has over other Tertiary Institutes, Universities etc. is, ‘The Journey of Opportunity’ from Certificate to Diploma, on-wards to Undergraduate to Postgraduate.
Our strong English Language Programme creates the ‘diving board’ to the starting line of the journey of potential.
We have it all at Unitec.
We should be actively encouraging the student to stay with us for the whole journey. To the final destination of Accomplishment. For them to have reached their personal potential.
Do you believe this is achieved with the refreshed campign of “Looks like a Classroom to Us” supported by Think. Do?
In the end, we all want to reach the same goal. A vibrant,sustainable Institute of Technology.
I agree that the ‘profiling’ of the selected students is a good, relatable idea.
I look forward to your thoughts on my views.
Thanks Alison. I appreciate your feedback.
I certainly agree with highlighting students experiences/journeys. Our Marketing ethos of Think.Do is an all-encompassing message filled with; learning by thinking and doing, learning in exciting ways, having fun doing so, being supported, being part of a larger group, etc. These all fall under a student’s journey.
To then attach this message to our perspective audience we need something to spark people’s interest. ‘Looks like a classroom to us’ is all about igniting the desire in people to learn. Could that be me?… Unitec looks amazing… I want to go there! We’re taking to an audience’s potential journey in a way they can easily understand, to inspire them to find out more.
Then (as I mentioned in my earlier comment) we provide digital calls-to-action to drive people to inquire, and ultimately enrol.
Hopefully this helps.
James
I think what Alison is talking about is that there doesn’t appear to be a focus on Unitec’s unique ability to welcome anyone in – no matter the student’s level of prior education, disadvantage, poor language skills etc.. Instead of the ‘look how cool Unitec is in terms of being snazzy’ message, it is the ‘your Child will be safe and learn with us and we will support them in their learning journey’ message. I know this isn’t such a ‘cool’ image but it’s a unique selling point for Polytechnics over universities – that along with our smaller class sizes and more contact with teachers. I think we need to sell that message. It would be great if one of your student stories was a student who had been at Unitec for a long time – starting in a Bridgepoint or Languages programme, proceeding through a Diploma or Degree and then a Postgraduate course.
(These statements are solely my own opinion)
This focus on brand marketing is an utter waste of time. We have been down this path for a number of years now and our plunge in domestic EFTS demonstrates the failure of the concept. Talk about not learning the lessons of the past, in this case the very recent past.
The fact is we are n ot about ‘learning in exciting ways, having fun doing so, being supported, being part of a larger group, etc.’. We are about taking someone who is in a dead end job, a person who has dropped out of the school system, or someone who simply wants a change of career, and providing the means to getting into that career.
In many cases young people don’t even know about what type of careers are out there – how many know what a geotechnical engineer does, a public relations consultant does, or a social worker does? Not many. So without any knowledge of the end goal of an education at Unitec, all this flash advertising about ‘fun, being part of a larger group’, is a complete and utter waste of time.
So we need to educate the potential demographic who will study at Unitec (1) the various careers that our programmes can get one into, and (2) why they should study at Unitec to get into same careers.
The current campaign, as with the previous campaigns will fail abysmally.
About time you guys started listening to the staff and common sense. It is not about ‘exciting’ projects and flash videos. Its firstly about providing career and learning opportunities to the general public, and secondly about our jobs.
Again Clifford. You say “To then attach this message to our perspective audience we need something to spark people’s interest. ‘Looks like a classroom to us’ is all about igniting the desire in people to learn.”
This is nonsense. People will not come to study, and have ‘the desire to learn’ here unless they are clear about the careers our programmes will get them into and their future prospects – that’s the first basic step that you should place emphasis on. And it requires you to work closely with the academic staff and take your lead from them.
Thanks Adrian,
Absolutely we need to sell our supportive, and responsive nature. The expression that Unitec will help you to better you career, life, etc.
We do do this, and will be doing this for our current campaign. As mentioned earlier, we run a brand layer to (ultimately) let people know that we’ere still in business. We then follow this up with messaging more specific to them, in channels where we can understand more about our audience. This is where we have placed our ‘alleviating fears’ messaging, which is intended to explain how Unitec helps people to overcome their preconceptions they may have of study… am I smart enough? Can I study if I have kids? etc.
You’re right when you infer that providing empathy and respect to our audience is the strongest message, and it is. If you think of our campaign messaging like a sequence, rather than 2-dimensional, we have our brand (Unitec is open) message, we then move to our personable and approachable messaging.
If you have any further questions, happy to help.
James
Wei,
Thank you for your thoughts and comments.
I can see your point of view, and from someone who has always advocated for the betterment of our society I believe that I understand where you are coming from: to illustrate that Unitec is here, and we are here for you.
It’s in these two aspects that I can articulate the high-level journey someone will go through before deciding to study. Note; I’m encapsulating our strategy, positioning, the market, audience touch-points, potential customer journey, and the deliverables attributed to each stage. Therefore if you need me to explain anything further to you, best to ask me in person (028-2001), on 027 629 5473, or via email.
So… let’s start with what we know. Without going into detail, of which I’m sure you’re all over, our sector in general is facing change (to put it lightly). Shifts in where and how people can study, disposable incomes, and our strong economy all put pressure on numbers to varying degrees.
Marketing listens to these changes, responds, and looks for underlying trends. We have always done this, and always will. We create one half of the conversation around studying, the other half coming from potential students. Our message (which I’ll expand on below) is one of ambition, support, encouragement, and achievement. This speaks to people’s desires and wishes, which is stronger than explaining the individual offerings in isolation.
This SEM 1 2019 campaign responds to the above with:
* A brand layer – (the part that you see) showing the public that Unitec is open for business, and to spark curiosity
* A targeted layer – (the part that you don’t see) aligning people’s subject/programme interests with respective messaging that is applicable to that area.
Throughout this material our audience is seeing how Unitec can help with studying if you have a family, if you need extra support, if you’re unsure you can afford it…
Long story short, our audience is being led through a decision making process – which is a process, not just one step.
As far as success measures (from the BI dashboard this morning), what I can tell you thus far is:
* 2018 New Domestic Applicants are 12,145 (up 5% YoY)
* 2018 New Domestic Students are at 6,011 (up 21.7% YoY)
* 2018 New Domestic EFTS are at 2,049 (up 5.53% YoY)
This shows us that despite the difficulties we face, we are tracking upward. The campaign will strengthen these numbers as it will follow the formula that is working.
It’s a nod to everyone in the Marketing team, whom everyday bring their best selves to work, and do a damn good job. We know the whole organisation is under pressure (as are we), and are helping where possible. It is how we act under this pressure that will ultimately reflect on our future success.
Thank you again for your thoughts.
James
Hi James
Unitec’s ‘product’ is ultimately the skill set one graduates with, and great career paths. That’s it. That’s what will attract people here. So that is where you have to focus.
We need to bear in mind that we are marketing to young people who don’t even know about the ‘products’ we offer – for example from my own school visits, many don’t even know what a civil engineer does. As for me I worked here for 10 years before finding out that we offered a degree that led to social work. That’s the type of information parents and their kids thirst after.
I have been told the PTEs in the city are carrying full-page ads in community newspapers for their English courses while we sink to 50% of what we once were.
For english have you though of a even a half page ad in the chinese papers or those of other immigrant communities —it probably wouldn’t be hugely expensive but would likely have a great deal more positive impact than ‘looks like a classroom to us’
It is important to note that for most of our courses 90 to 100% of the sessions are taught precisely in boring old classrooms and lecture theatres. And will remain so for many many years. So are you sure your advertising is not being misleading and leaving us open to those few who may apply here with that expectation?
The fact is there are people in dead end jobs, or who have no job at all, and who have missed their chance at school to get the right qualification to get into the right job thinks heor she will never have another chance to be an engineer or a nurse etc. We need to get the message out to these people that Unitec is here to help them get out of the muck. And it has to be a sober minded message.
As for your figures, they are simply wrong
*You claim New Domestic Students are at 6,011 (up 21.7% YoY).
*The actual is 5418 to 5488 (1.3 % rise YoY)
*You claim that2018 New Domestic EFTS are at 2,049 (up 5.53% YoY)
*The actual is 2025 to 2085 (3% rise YoY)
If you like I will sit down with you to go through the correct figures and EFTS enrolled by every single student who started at Unitec this year.
And if you also include Mindlab/TechFutures we are down in both new EFTS and new headcount.
While domestic numbers have stabilised or even risen very slightly – that is far more likely due to the fact that we have hit a natural ‘resistance’ – given Auckland’s size and demographic we can’t go any lower (hopefully), and not a success of marketing strategy.
The marketing strategy has to focus on our core ‘product’ – providing useful skill sets and getting people started on great career paths.
Kind regards
Wei
Hi James
If this is your strategy, I’m afraid it is terribly misguided:
“Our message (which I’ll expand on below) is one of ambition, support, encouragement, and achievement. This speaks to people’s desires and wishes, which is stronger than explaining the individual offerings in isolation.”
Hardly anyone will come here to study to be say an electrical engineer or a structural engineer if they don’t know even know what an engineer does, and do not know you can become one by coming to Unitec. Even in my own case, in spite of working here since 2005, I did not even know we offered an excellent social worker degree, until 2016 when I became more involved in the TEU. And until very recently I was completely unaware of the great jobs a Bachelor of Communications can lead to. Now if I don’t know these things, how on earth will a 18 year old school leaver know?
This is because of our fundamental inability to get our message out there – we have to focus on the types of careers that Unitec can get people into. And simply list them out by name —surely the brand recognition will happen at the same time that we do this?
Many people in the immigrant community don’t know Unitec offers excellent english language courses – have you thought about placing some adds in the local community newspapers (as the PTEs I understand, have done)?
Of course resources are limited, and we don’t expect every single area to get equal coverage every year. Understand you have to triage. Do you know what departments or areas are struggling and to concentrate your resources there? Have you been doing this, or has it even been a consideration?
Kind regards
Wei
Hi James
This is my last post on this thread:
“A targeted layer – (the part that you don’t see) aligning people’s subject/programme interests with respective messaging that is applicable to that area.”
Again, to repeat myself. Many people who would thrive at Unitec, simply don’t even know what their subject/programme interests are – they simply leave school without a clue in many cases, and even their parents in many cases. Marketing needs to recognise this and address this.
We are not about selling say Big Macs to people who already love eating hamburgers. We are in an analogous position of trying to sell Big Macs to people who have never even heard of hamburgers in the first place (should such people exist).
We really need to acknowledge this and put this front and center of our marketing strategy.
Kind regards
Wei
Hi James
The figures you have come up with are, unfortunately, incorrect.
As emailed you yesterday, the actual figures as follows:
New Domestic students by headcount: the actual is 5418 to 5488 (1.3 % rise YoY – nowhere near the claimed 21.7%)
New domestic students by EFTS: the actual is 2025 to 2085 (3% rise YoY, well below the claimed 5.53%)
While domestic numbers have stabilised or even risen very slightly – that is far more likely due to the fact that we have hit a natural ‘resistance’ – given Auckland’s size and demographic we can’t go any lower (hopefully).
We need to get this right, as all strategy should be informed by the evidence and data, and if we get the data wrong, the strategy is also likely to be wrong. I am happy to sit down with you to see exactly where we are and what we can do to help, and provide further breakdown of the actual figures as requested.
Kind regards
Wei
Hi all,
Great to see interest and discussion but it’s important to make sure any data presented is accurate and verified.
Regarding enrolments figures, Power BI Dashboard should be the sole source used for accurate and up-to-date information as well as providing standardised queries and filters. It is also crucial to compare snapshots from the same time period (e.g. avoid comparing EOY 2017 with October 2018).
The numbers will change slightly from day-to-day as people enrol and withdraw, but a snapshot from yesterday (10 October) verified by our Business Intelligence team, shows:
New Domestic Students at 6,039 (up 22.25% YoY)
New Domestic EFTS at 2,051 (up 5.67% YoY)
Kind regards
Nick
Hi Nick
Thanks for this, but the claimed 22.25% increase in new students (by headcount) is simply incorrect.Unless there is some very unusual definition of ‘new’ student being used.
It would be good to sit down with yourself, and BI, and James to get some agreement around this and arrive at a common understanding of what is a ‘new’ student, and what programmes are included or excluded (eg mindlab/tech futures) etc.
I will be in touch very soon.
Kind regards
Wei
Hi,
The figures I quoted above, provided by BI, are excluding The Mind Lab.
If you are seeking figures which include the Mind Lab, or for any other queries, please do reach out to BI for support.
Kind regards
Nick
Hi,
Telling the public ‘Yes, we are still open and we will remain open into the future’ is really important!
What concerns me are the number of people I meet while walking the dog (great way to chat to strangers) in my suburb Te Atatu who say that they have heard that ‘Unitec is closing’.
Then there was the couple I met in the weekend whose teen went to one of our holiday events and came back very interested but with the information that ‘they (meaning Unitec staff at the event) don’t even know if the qualification will still be available next year’.
We need to let the public know that we are open and have the intention and the backing to remain so.
And we need to be clear about which programmes will be taught next year, and get that message out to our staff and to prospective students.
Personally, I have no idea where our advertising campaign is taking place, because I don’t see any of it.
– Radio ads only reach the people who listen to that particular channel. Most young people don’t do radio, they do Spotify, preferably the ad-free version.
– TV ads only reach the people who watch TV and an increasing number don’t because Sky is so expensive and public TV is so meh and repetitive.
– Internet ads are usually blocked with ad blockers. And if anything gets through despite the blocks, it just pisses us off, right?
– There is a significant pool of young people who rarely use social media or who quietly boycott facebook and Google because they dislike all the information those platforms collect.
– so that leaves Google search and everyone knows that the top two or three results are advertising and ignores them.
I am not saying that those media should not be used, just that it is perfectly possible to go for weeks without being exposed to them, or to see any ads they carry.
Our main target audience is in Auckland, and having a couple of billboards and some buses with our name on would clearly send out the message to anyone on the street that we are not about to lie down and close shop. Like that billboard along the North Western that often has advertising for schools on it, that is hard to miss for a Westie on their commute. What if it had a Unitec Poster for a month or two to make sure west Auckland knows we are open and teaching?
I want to see Unitec rise back up, regain its mana, be considered as a good option by students and their parents and have lots of students who achieve great things.
Kind regards
Dagmar