Wednesday Workshops for CMN members – coming soon
We have two online workshops coming up which we hope you will find useful.
With digital prospectuses being a hot topic, PageTiger will showcase their product which is currently being used by CMN member, Heart of Worcestershire College, so it has come recommended!
We also have Pathways back again. They presented at the conference and I know a lot of members didn’t get the chance to attend their workshop so they are back by popular demand! They have new products to showcase so even if you did see them at the conference it might be worth another look. We also have many members who use the Pathways tools, so again, they come highly recommended.
Transform Your Communications with PageTiger – Software for creating awesome interactive documents.
In this session, Michael Berry from PageTiger will be providing a demonstration of the PageTiger Platform, a software that gives you the ability to create, track and securely publish digital documentation.
From monthly newsletters to digital prospectus’s, the PageTiger solution will help you make your content more engaging using its interactive elements.
When? Wednesday 9 February 10-11am
Taking a Careers-first Approach to Student Recruitment
At Pathways, our goal is to help you engage with prospective students by highlighting the progression from your courses to future careers. Pathways now have 5 products in their suite of careers tools and are keen to highlight how these can benefit your college.
This workshop will introduce the new tool Pathways Explore, plus re-cap on the full suite of products to showcase some of the key features. The workshop will benefit both existing Pathways customers and those colleges looking to bring careers information into their website.
When? Wednesday 23 March 10-11am
These workshops form part of the CMN’s free programme of CPD and training for members only. To book your place, contact office@m-network.org
FE First Awards 2021
The 2021 FE First Awards were a fantastic success once again, with entries from across the country and some wonderful winners. Our shortlisted colleges and our sponsors joined us on the evening of 29th November to make the awards online, and to recognise another year of great achievements for our marketing teams.
Congratulations to all our winners!
| Internal Impact, sponsored by Iris Digital Media | ||
| Silver | Barton Peveril Sixth Form College | |
| Gold | Moulton College | |
| Events Management, sponsored by Pathways | ||
| Highly Commended | Bedford College Group | |
| Silver | LTE Group | |
| Gold | The Henley College | |
| Website Development, sponsored by The ILG | ||
| Gold | Milton Keynes College | |
| Communications Campaign, sponsored by Studio 77 | ||
| Highly Commended | Heart of Worcestershire College | |
| Silver | The Henley College | |
| Gold | Barton Peveril Sixth Form College | |
| Innovation & Creativity, sponsored by FoneMedia | ||
| Silver | North Warwickshire & South Leicestershire College | |
| Social & Digital Campaign, sponsored by Sprout Social | ||
| Highly Commended | South Staffordshire College | |
| Silver | Wigan & Leigh College | |
| Gold | North Warwickshire & South Leicestershire College | |
| Targeted Recruitment Campaign, sponsored by Net Natives | ||
| Highly Commended | Barton Peveril Sixth Form College | |
| Silver | Milton Keynes College | |
| Silver | Exeter College | |
| Gold | The Henley College | |
| Prospectus, sponsored by National Careers Challenge | ||
| Silver | The Henley College | |
| Gold | NWSLC | |
| Outstanding Individual Achievement in College Marketing, sponsored by Go Live Data | ||
| Runner Up | Megan Bowen, Barton Peveril Sixth Form College | |
| Winner | Louise Marsden, LTE Group | |
| Marketing Team of the Year 2021, sponsored by AoC | ||
| Highly Commended | The Henley College | |
| Silver | Warwickshire College Group | |
| Gold | Queen Mary’s College | |
| Best of the Best 2021, sponsored by Forward and Thinking | ||
| Winner | NWSLC Team |
FE First Awards 2020
Our FE First Awards 2020 for college marketing excellence were made on 30th November in a virtual ceremony attended by all our shortlisted colleges – a very different event from the usual but great to bring colleagues together to celebrate all their hard work and amazing creativity and achievements.
Many congratulations to all our winners, and thanks to all our entrants, supporters and judges for their time and commitment to making the FE First Awards 2020 happen. Thanks also to Glued Ltd for their support of the presentation event.
The winners were:
| Innovation & creativity | Highly Commended | Stamford College |
| Silver | Barton Peveril Sixth Form College | |
| Gold | North Warwickshire and South Leicestershire College | |
| Events management | Highly Commended | The Bedford College Group |
| Silver | City College Plymouth | |
| Silver | Moulton College | |
| Gold | Barnsley College | |
| Digital and social media campaign, sponsored by Forward and Thinking | Highly Commended | Barton Peveril Sixth Form College |
| Silver | South Staffordshire College | |
| Gold | North Warwickshire and South Leicestershire College | |
| Prospectus | Highly Commended | The Henley College |
| Silver | Heart of Worcestershire College | |
| Gold | Stamford College | |
| Targeted recruitment Campaign | Highly Commended | Barton Peveril Sixth Form College |
| Silver | North Warwickshire and South Leicestershire College | |
| Gold | The Bedford College Group | |
| Internal Impact | Highly Commended | Heart of Worcestershire College |
| Communications Campaign | Highly Commended | LTE Group |
| Silver | The Henley College | |
| Gold | Barton Peveril Sixth Form College | |
| Website Development project | Silver | Stamford College |
| Gold | Moulton College | |
| Outstanding individual achievement in college marketing | Winner | George Robson, Barton Peveril Sixth Form College |
| Marketing Team of the Year 2020 | Highly Commended | The Trafford College Group |
| Highly Commended | North Warwickshire and South Leicestershire College | |
| Silver | South Staffordshire College | |
| Silver | Barton Peveril Sixth Form College | |
| Gold | Moulton College | |
| Best of the Best 2020 | Winner | The Bedford College Group |
FE First Awards 2019 results
The FE First Awards 2019 were presented on Monday 2nd December by Ian Pryce CBE, Principal and CEO of the Bedford College Group at a dinner and ceremony at the Hilton Warwick. We were joined by annual conference delegates, friends and sponsors, and colleagues from across the college marketing sector to celebrate the achievements of college marketing teams around the country.
Our winners were:
Making effective use of research & data, sponsored by Pathways
Silver Capital City College Group
Events management
Gold The Bedford College Group
Silver Northampton College
Highly Commended Gower College Swansea
Highly Commended Barton Peveril Sixth Form College
Innovation & creativity,
Silver Solihull Sixth Form College
Highly Commended Barnsley College
Partnerships & collaboration
Gold LTE Group/The Manchester College
Silver Sunderland College
Social & digital media, sponsored by Akero
Gold Capital City College Group
Silver Barton Peveril Sixth Form College
Targeted recruitment Campaign
Gold The Manchester College
Silver Waltham Forest College
Highly Commended Sunderland Centre
Highly Commended The Bedford College Group
Communications Campaign
Gold Barnsley College
Silver Capital City College Group
Website Development project
Gold North Warwickshire and South Leicestershire College
Silver Stratford-upon-Avon College/Solihull College & University Centre
Full-time Prospectus,
Gold Cambridge Regional College
Outstanding individual, sponsored by Forward and Thinking
Winner Jordan Powell, Sparsholt College Group incorporating Andover College
Marketing Team of the Year 2019, sponsored by AoC
Winner Barton Peveril Sixth Form College
Runner up North Warwickshire and South Leicestershire College
32nd Annual Conference of The College Marketing Network
Our 32nd Annual Conference will be at the Hilton Hotel Warwick/Stratford-upon-Avon
Monday 2nd December 2019
Join us at our 32nd Annual Conference at the Hilton Hotel Warwick – celebrate the best in college marketing at our unmissable event of the year! Read more here
Programme and theme
This year, we’ll be aiming to examine colleges as a force and influence in the community – looking at the value of colleges economically, socially and aspirationally. We’ll be talking about community links, ambition for our local communities, business and commercial links, apprenticeships and more – watch this page for updates over the next months. Meanwhile, DOWNLOAD THE CONFERENCE BROCHURE HERE
The programme will include a mix of plenary sessions for all delegates and a choice of skills-based, interactive workshops. You can pre-book your workshop choices in advance if we receive your conference booking by 22nd November.
Great reasons to attend…
Meet colleagues, share good practice, update your skills and develop your own networks. College marketers have been attending our conference for over 30 years: here are just a few comments from past delegates:
- “The CMN conference is a fantastic way to meet likeminded education marketing professionals from all over the country, compare notes, share insights and hear from some great speakers to share new ideas.”
- “A very insightful day with some great take-aways which I shall be implementing on my return to work. Real world advice!”
- “The conference is full of great tips and tricks to boost our marketing and comms activity.”
- “A very informative day which has given me a lot of inspiration for future planning.”
- “This is by far the most relevant, informative and useful conference for college marketing professionals I attend each year.”
- “The conference was very well organised, with a range of speakers that related to our industry.”
- “The conference was a great chance to think about my college’s marketing, away from the office, and pick up lots of tips and best practice from other colleges.”
Attendance options and booking
DOWNLOAD THE BOOKING FORM HERE
Delegate bookings can be made for the full conference with the dinner and awards evening plus B&B on Monday night, OR for the conference only (Monday day), OR for the conference, dinner and awards evening without B&B OR for the dinner and awards evening only. If you can only attend the conference for half a day, we can accommodate that too. If the option you want isn’t on the booking form, just contact us to discuss your requirements.
We can also book bed & breakfast accommodation for Sunday evening if you have to travel some distance – please add this option to your booking on the form.
Dinner and FE First Awards 2019 on Monday evening – included in a full conference booking (Option A)
PLUS – 10% discount for second or further delegates booked at the same rate. For example, book one full delegate place and receive 10% off a second full delegate place; OR book one Monday day delegate place and receive 10% off a second Monday day delegate place. Booking form shows the full prices for each option – take 10% off this published rate for your second or further places. Contact the CMN office on 01772 257833 to confirm any prices or to enquire further.
Complete and return the booking form with your PO number or cheque to reserve your place, or book via Eventbrite with a credit card (links will be published on the website at www.m-network.org/cmn-conference – please take care when booking to choose the correct option.)
FE First Awards for marketing excellence 2019
Celebrating the best in college marketing – the FE First Awards 2019 will be presented at the conference dinner on Monday 2nd December (reception from 6.30pm), a “black tie optional” event at which delegates are joined by colleagues from around the country for an exciting celebration. Entry to the dinner and pre-dinner drinks reception is included in a full conference booking (Option A).
The EARLY BIRD BOOKING OPTION is available TO CMN MEMBER COLLEGES ONLY, offering reduced rates to confirmed bookings by 4th November 2019. We will not accept early bird bookings after this date, but the member rate remains significantly lower than the published non-member rate, and the discounts for second or further delegates still apply.
Early bird booking discounts for CMN members only!
The conference venue
Hilton Hotel Warwick/Stratford-upon-Avon is at Junction 15 M40, Stratford Road, Warwick, CV34 6RE.;
Disclaimer
The College Marketing Network will make every effort to run the 32nd Annual Conference as advertised. In the unlikely event of circumstances making this impossible, we will endeavour to change location, dates or programme as required, or in the case of cancellation by us, will do our best to return all monies received, less any previously committed or unavoidable administration costs.
www.m-network.org/cmn-conference
Twitter #CMNAC2019 @cmnoffice
Facebook/TheCollegeMarketingNetwork
Celebrating the best in college marketing
The FE First Awards 2019 are open for entries until Thursday 3rd October – get your entries in now! Don’t delay!
The Awards will be presented on Monday 2nd December at our Conference dinner and Awards evening, held as part of our 32nd Annual Conference at the Hilton Warwick/Stratford-upon-Avon.
This exciting event is always a highlight of the marketing year, as colleagues come together to celebrate all the hard work they’ve done over the year and to share the rewards of their creativity, inspiration and efforts. Join us in 2019 as an entrant to the FE FIrst Awards, and maybe also as a winner! You may not have entered the Awards before but plenty of first time entrants have won in the past.
Read more about the FE First Awards and what they mean to our winners here.
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Each FE First Awards category has its own entry form, including a short list of questions showing the information we are looking for. PLEASE ENSURE YOU INCLUDE INFORMATION THAT ANSWERS ALL OF THESE QUESTIONS, and follow any other instructions – for example, make sure the aims for your project/campaign/publication are SMART ones (Smart, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, Time-bound), and that you include some evaluation of how far they have been met.
You can download the entry forms to each category below.
The categories for FE First Awards 2019 are:
- Partnerships & collaboration
- Internal impact
- Making effective use of research & data, sponsored by Pathways
- Events management
- Digital & social media impact sponsored by Akero
- Website development
- Innovation & creativity,
- Communications campaign
- Targeted recruitment campaign
- Prospectus
- Outstanding individual achievement in college marketing award* sponsored by Forward and Thinking
- Marketing team of the year* sponsored by AoC
- Lifetime achievement*
Starred awards are only open to colleges in membership of The College Marketing Network on 2nd December 2019. Other award categories are open to member and non-member colleges (different entry fees apply).
Entries will be accepted up to 1pm on Thursday 3rd October 2019, in either hard copy (3 copies to College Marketing Network, F16, Preston Technology Centre, Marsh Lane, Preston, PR1 8UQ) OR electronically to office@m-network.org. If sending submissions by email or file transfer, please ensure all appendices and collateral are also included and clearly numbered/identified.
You should also include:
- a completed Awards entry form giving your name and contact details, number of categories entered and payment information;
- a completed Executive Summary sheet for each entry.
Awards entry fees:
- MEMBERS – £85 per category for the first 2 categories entered, or £70 per category if three or more are entered.
- NON-MEMBERS – £120 for each category entered (or join the College Marketing Network before 1st September 2019 and pay the reduced members’ rate.)
- VAT is not applicable to entry fees.
- Remittance details available on request; cheques must be made payable to The College Marketing Network.
For more information:
- read Extra Information for entrants
- contact us at office@m-network.org or 01772 257833
This meeting is aimed at Heads of Marketing, Marketing Managers, Marketing Directors – anyone with an interest in marketing strategy or with strategic responsibilities.
It will offer a mix of speakers on strategic issues and time for round table discussions with your colleagues and peers on the strategic issues of the day and the topics most of concern to you.
Our speakers include: John Callaghan, Principal of Solihull College & University Centre with “An overview of the challenges facing FE (and you thought Brexit was complicated!)”. John will discuss a range of current and future issues facing the FE sector, from the rolling out of T-Levels, to funding and budget cuts, HE recruitment to community engagement, and how these may affect marketing teams.
Aaron Hussey, Head of Communications at AoC will look at how college marketing teams have made the #LoveOurColleges campaign a success so far, feature updates on next steps and give delegates the opportunity to share their thoughts on future plans.
Fiona Carthy, MD Carthy Communications (MComn, FCIM, MDipCIPR) will lead a workshop-style session looking at the strategic use of benchmarking, research and data analysis in college marketing. She says: “As marketers it’s vitally important to be able to measure impact of our activity and to ensure our strategic decisions are underpinned by robust evidence. We need to profile our markets, understand what motivates them and use data to shape content and improve impact and return on investment.
“This session will explore the key research and data required to create a dynamic and realistic marketing strategy. It will outline how to establish benchmarks to track progress and how to build a system of monitoring and evaluation using a core range of metrics. We will create a framework and reporting structure that you can take away and use to improve engagement with your college executive to foster strategic support for marketing developments and investment.
“We will also discuss the challenges of establishing sector wide benchmarking that is meaningful and the options to resolve this.”
The day will also include plenty of round-table time for you to discuss strategic issues with your peers and colleagues, with the aim of helping you clarify ideas and priorities – and we hope you’ll inform our planning for the future too, so that CMN can support you better. Refreshments and buffet lunch included.
Book now with a PO number by emailing office@m-network.org, or by credit card via Eventbrite
This meeting will run 10am – 3.30pm and the members’ rate is £85pp. Refreshments and buffet lunch included.
Venue: Solihull College & University Centre Conference Centre, Blossomfield Road, Solihull, B91 1SB
Cost: £85pp CMN member colleges; £155pp CMN non-member colleges
Book with a PO number by email to office@m-network.org or by credit card via Eventbrite here for CMN member colleges and here for CMN non-member colleges
Privacy statement: Any personal information requested during the booking process will be used to confirm your place and update our records. A delegate list (name, job title and college) will be created and circulated to attendees on the day for their use only. If you do not wish your details to appear on the delegate list, please contact office@m-network.org or indicate this on your booking. To view our full privacy policy, go to www.m-network.org
Recruitment focus for our next networking meeting in Oxford
Our next networking meeting is at City of Oxford College on 10th April, where our focus is on recruitment issues.
If you’ve been to one of our networking meetings before, you’ll know that they are invaluable for meeting colleagues, exchanging ideas and experiences, and making contacts – as well as hearing from fellow marketers and external speakers on a wide range of topics. Lunch and refreshments are included – and you have the chance to see another college!
Our programme includes:
10.15am Arrival, registration and coffee for a 10.30am start.
10.30 Introductions and welcome
Sean Howitt, Marketing Manager, Solihull College & University Centre
HE recruitment in an increasingly competitive market
Despite the increase in unconditional offers from local universities, Solihull College & University Centre achieved a 61% increase in HE applications over the previous year. This session will explore the range of promotional tools the College used as part of its HE campaign.
11.15
11.15 Stephen Lockhart & Tim Ketterer, Float New Media and Suzi Lawrence, Head of recruitment & Marketing, Buxton & Leek College
Using Labour Market Information to create better informed applicants.
Using high-quality and contextual LMI in your course pages not only demonstrates clear progression routes from your courses, but also informs prospective students and their parents of the future demand for jobs in their area.
In our session we will discuss ways to support your applicants in making well-informed decisions to ensure they choose a course that sets them on the right path.
We will be joined by Suzi Lawrence from Buxton & Leek College who will offer insight into their experiences of using our Pathways LMI tool, including referencing their recent Ofsted Inspection and how it has helped their students be better informed.
12.00 Round-table discussion time for your topics
12.30 Lunch and networking
Lee Parker, Head of Marketing, Milton Keynes College
Developing and testing personas and how they can influence your marketing mix
This session will look in detail at how MK College developed personas, how they were tested to ensure they represented a true reflection of their prospective students and how this information can be used to influence your entire student recruitment and reputation strategy.
The day will end by 2.00pm. Timings are given for guidance and may be subject to change.
Venue: City of Oxford College, Oxpens Road, Oxford, OX1 1SA
To book, go to www.m-network.org/cmn-events and choose either the PO or Eventbrite booking option.
£35pp (CMN member colleges) or £95pp (CMN non-member colleges). If you are not sure if your college is a member, contact 10772 257833.
Happy Christmas to all our members
Wishing all our members a very happy Christmas and New Year – hope you all have a great break!
FE First Awards for college marketing 2018
The FE First Awards 2018 for college marketing excellence awards were made on Monday 26th November as part of our Annual Conference at the Hilton Warwick.
The awards were made by Jo Maher, Principal & Chief Executive of Boston College. The full list of winners is:
| Internal impact | Gold | Cambridge Regional College |
| Highly Commended | North Kent College | |
| Making effective use of research & data, sponsored by Pathways | Silver | West London College |
| Highly Commended | Bedford College | |
| Highly Commended | Plumpton College | |
| Events management | Gold | Solihull College and University Centre |
| Highly Commended | Shrewsbury College | |
| Highly Commended | Telford College | |
| Innovation & creativity, sponsored by Itineris | Gold | North Kent College |
| Silver | Stockport College | |
| Partnerships & collaboration | Gold | Truro and Penwith College |
| Silver | West London College | |
| Social & digital media, sponsored by Forward and Thinking | Gold | Barnet & Southgate College |
| Targeted recruitment Campaign | Gold | West London College |
| Silver | Milton Keynes College | |
| Highly Commended | Solihull College and University Centre | |
| Highly Commended | Truro and Penwith College | |
| Communications | Gold | Truro and Penwith College |
| Full-time Prospectus, sponsored by Aston University | Silver | Barnsley College |
| Highly Commended | Exeter College | |
| Outstanding individual | Gold | Katie Featherstone, Bedford College |
| Silver | Bethh Oliver, Barnsley College | |
| Marketing Team of the Year 2018, sponsored by AoC | Gold | Bradford College |
| Silver | Exeter College | |
| Highly Commended | Capital City College Group |
Congratulations to all our winners, and thank you to all our entrants, judges and sponsors for their support.
The College Marketing Network 