Bradford College up for major marketing prize

A recruitment campaign that focused on the student journey has earned the marketing team at Bradford College a trip to London.

The team has been shortlisted for a prize in the Chartered Institute of Marketing’s Marketing Excellence Awards for its campaign that used an American road system theme to guide students along a journey to enrolling at the college.

The campaign, which helped the college smash its target for further education student numbers for the 2017/18 academic year, is one of eight battling it out to win in the Innovation – Not-for-profit/Public Sector category at the prestigious awards. Its rivals for the trophy include Welsh Water, Drinkaware and Glasgow Subway. The winner will be named at a ceremony at the Grosvenor House Hotel in London’s Park Lane on April 12.

The marketing team used the American highway theme to simplify the enrolment process for those wanting to start a course at the college. The college’s Advanced Technology Centre was decked out with American-style signage and students were allocated a route based on their circumstances, be that superhighway, sidewalk, expressway, freeway or Route 66.

The ‘journey’ theme had earlier seen adverts placed on buses and at train stations, bus stations, bus stops and on roadsides using the strapline, Bradford College – your journey to employment.

Gemma Dunn, Head of Marketing and Communications at Bradford College, said: “I am delighted that the team has been successfully shortlisted for a CIM Marketing Excellence Award – it is testament to the hard work, professionalism and creativity that went into the FE Student Recruitment and Enrolment Campaign.

“The campaign involved multiple teams and our entry demonstrated team work and how to maximise a budget to great effect. It is always great to receive external recognition but the CIM Awards are particularly tough, so to be recognised amongst national brands and big hitters many with huge budgets is an incredible achievement.

“It is fantastic to hear we have been shortlisted and we will be keeping our fingers crossed for the Awards in April.”

Dawn Leak, Director of Employer Responsiveness and member of the Executive team at the college, also praised the team for becoming finalists. She said: “I am delighted the team has made the finals, all their hard work and effort has been recognised professionally and the team should feel very proud.”

Chris Daly, chief executive of CIM. “We have seen some high-quality entries this year, and the breadth of our nominees is a great demonstration of our profession’s hard work over the past 12 months.

“Despite a challenging climate for business, the UK marketing industry has delivered stand-out campaigns that truly showcase the changing needs of the consumer. Our Marketing Excellence Awards recognise the industry’s achievements and those of the marketing teams and leaders responsible for such outstanding work.

“I would like to offer my congratulations to all who were nominated; they reflect the very best in the UK’s marketing talent.”

CIM’s Marketing Excellence Awards are an annual event created to highlight, celebrate and promote excellence within the field of marketing. These provide individuals, teams and agencies from across the marketing industry with the opportunity to showcase their successes and the impact of their campaigns. The Awards are open to any organisation within the UK regardless of size, sector or industry.