Welcome campaign 2016: review

  "Welcome to Kent campaign 2016" by University of Kent. All rights reserved

Starting university is an exciting but also daunting time for our new students. We want to make sure students are not only well-informed but feel welcome and inspired when arriving on campus.

This year I wanted the Welcome Campaign to inspire our new students to get involved in extracurricular activities by showcasing some of the amazing things students have done at Kent. ~ Allie

View Welcome Campaign 2016 artwork on Flickr

The Welcome Campaign was up across campus during the first few weeks of term on bus stops, lampposts, plasma screens, buildings and more. We also put a ‘Welcome to Kent’ greeting card in each of the study bedrooms on the Canterbury campus and in Liberty Quays.

The cards included an inspirational welcome message from the University:

Welcome campaign 2016 postcard

As well as traditional media, this campaign was drip-fed across our social media channels and we ran a live Q&A session in the Freshers group (1961 members) with our Student Social Media Officers – UKC and UKM Student. The live Q&A proved very popular and we hope to run again next year with more people on hand to help answer questions and increased advertising.

UKC Student also helped students move in and register at Canterbury and UKM Student did the same at Medway. They were on campus and live tweeting throughout Arrivals Weekend. They answered questions from students (on social media and in person), helped manage queues and supported staff throughout this busy weekend.

On Instagram we had a photo countdown to Arrivals Weekend to help build excitement, showcase our beautiful locations and increase awareness of the University’s Instagram account. In total, the countdown received:

  • 33,931 impressions (total no. of times the post was seen)
  • 1829 engagements (likes and comments)

This year we also created a short video guide to Arrivals Weekend at Canterbury and Medway:

 

 

Did it work?

As a result, we received thank you messages from new students and significant traffic to the student website which was featured on all the campaign artwork.

Welcome campaign 2016 - Twitter example

Welcome campaign 2016 - DM example 01

Welcome campaign 2016 - DM example 02

Welcome campaign 2016 - DM example 03

Welcome campaign 2016 - DM example 04

The stats

  • 1,000,107 website views (2 Sept – 2 Oct 2016) – that’s more than the University homepage for the same time period!

Each year we aim to improve the Welcome Campaign. If you have any recommendations for the future, please email Allie.

 

Next year

To improve on the campaign next year:

  • Investigate an arrivals weekend app
  • Develop a section within the student guide for returning students. Similar to getting started but for returning students.
  • Better advertise and resource live Q&A on Freshers group.

 

Special thanks

This campaign wouldn’t be possible without the help of colleagues from across the University, including:

  • Alison Lidster from Liberty Quays
  • Annabel Chislett
  • Carol Leonard
  • Charlotte Ifill
  • Clare Saunders
  • Diba Artingstoll
  • Emma Acton (aka UKM Student)
  • Emma Nevill
  • George Williams
  • Ian White
  • Jayne Hornsby
  • Jim Higham
  • Karen Baxter
  • Kathryn Thompson
  • Lesley Farr
  • Matt Wilson
  • Miles Banbery
  • Natasha Milsted
  • Nathan Crouch
  • Paul Potter
  • Rosanna Callow
  • Rowena Bicknell (aka UKC Student)
  • Wendy Raeside