Buckinghamshire New University

We brought Buckinghamshire New University face-to-face with its audience

The challenge

The paper prospectus is one of the biggest marketing investments that universities make. And with the continued marketisation of the sector, getting it right is more important than ever.

Buckinghamshire New University wanted to better understand the role of the prospectus in applicants’ decision-making and find ways to update and improve the prospectus to maximise its impact.

“It was an eye-opener for us, as a team, to watch and listen to our audience first-hand.”
Assistant Director, Brand and Marketing, Buckinghamshire New University

The solution

We ran two face-to-face focus groups in Central London with undergraduate applicants, to hear their thoughts on Bucks’ prospectus as well as a selection of competitor prospectuses.

What did they expect from a prospectus? What made them want to pick one up and take it home? How did Bucks’ prospectus compete with others? We were able to leverage additional insight from our Marcomms Success tracker to provide robust, sector-level evidence on the prospectus compared to other information sources.

The outcome

The project gave Buckinghamshire New University tangible and actionable recommendations that were used to inform the design and messaging of the university’s 2017-18 prospectus. The prospectus was subsequently shortlisted for a HEIST award.