COLLEGE MARKETING TEAM NAMED ‘BEST OF THE BEST’ IN INDUSTRY AWARDS

The Marketing team at North Warwickshire and South Leicestershire College (NWSLC) has won two Gold and one Silver FE First Awards and been judged as ‘Best of the Best’ amongst its peers as part of a national scheme run by the College Marketing Network.

The Gold awards recognised the NWSLC prospectus for its digital interactivity as well as its highly successful campaign to broaden the college’s reach using digital and social media. The team also won a Silver award for innovation and creativity after it led a VR project that enabled school pupils to access college facilities remotely during lockdown. As a result of its performance in three of the 11 awards categories, the college was named ‘Best of the Best’ overall.

The FE First awards, presented annually to further education colleges who have excelled in a variety of marketing disciplines, were presented by Rachel Smith, Chief Executive of the College Marketing Network at an online ceremony on 29 November.

The NWSLC marketing team worked with design agency, Leicester-based Creative62 and digital agency Unity to design a magazine style interactive prospectus that included elements of gamification including quizzes, social media filters, live chat through a personalised avatar, the hologramisation of the principal, and a live speed reaction test.

Anita Ladva-Cheung, Marketing and Communications Manager at NWSLC said, “The college is delighted to have been recognised in so many categories through these awards and particularly thrilled to have been named as the best team overall.

“NWSLC is always keen to embrace innovation and showcase its digital capabilities to reinforce the way in which colleges offer pathways to future-proofed careers. Our audiences expect a level of digital interactivity including within printed communications including the use of AR, VR, holography, and video to bring messages to life off the page. We wanted to create an interactive prospectus that included gamification to stimulate engagement and get young people thinking about their post-16 options.”

Winning the award for digital and social media, the college’s Facebook Live series was launched when the usual channels for reaching out to its audiences were limited by coronavirus restrictions. The NWSLC team was looking for the best route for engaging with parents to reassure them about college options and enable them to ask questions.

Marion Plant, OBE FCGI, Principal and Chief Executive of North Warwickshire and South Leicestershire College said, “We place a significant emphasis on online and digital skills at the college and teach them ourselves including through our Digital Skills Academy. We take a whole-organisation approach to keeping abreast of the latest developments so we can inspire our students with exciting career ideas that open routes into industry.

“The Marketing team continuously adapt their approaches to our audiences finding new ways to reach people and communicate the benefits of further education. I am proud of their achievements and very pleased that the work of the team has been recognised as part of this scheme.”