Publicity for Lambeth College’s Big Open Day

Client: Lambeth College

Jo was retained by Lambeth College to provide ongoing marketing support, culminating in the launch of the new Sixth Form Centre in 2009.

Lambeth College is one of England’s biggest FE colleges and its new Sixth Form Centre is an iconic £20 million, 6000 square metre building overlooking Clapham Common. The Centre provides some of the best teaching accommodation and the widest range of courses in London, with provision for 1200 students.

The College wanted a building which students, staff and parents could be proud to be associated with. Principal Richard Chambers explains:

“Our aim is simple: we want to help young people in South London meet their potential. That means giving them a College they can feel proud of, and which they want to attend.”

The College held its first ever ‘Big Open Day’ to launch the new Sixth Form Centre and give prospective students, parents and the local community the chance to look round the building and meet students and staff.

Jo developed and oversaw the marketing strategy for the launch. The objectives were to:

• attract new students
• raise the College’s profile amongst parents, schools and local communities
• build its reputation amongst stakeholders such as employers, employers groups, the borough and the LSC<
• excite staff and students and make them feel proud of their College.

Creating a buzz

The team wanted to create a real buzz about the new College amongst the local community and to showcase students’ talents. PR activities included flashmob urban dancers wowing shoppers in nearby Brixton and Clapham High Streets and handing out leaflets – the dancers stopped buses and between them handed out over 3000 leaflets.

Media relations

Media coverage was sustained during the build-up to the day, including a media ‘sneak preview’ of the building for local media and a photo story showing students and staff viewing the Centre for the first time.

The College also worked with local radio station Choice FM, which research had shown was popular with its 16-19 learners. Choice included regular advertising during the build-up to the event, and a microsite was set up on the Choice FM website to promote the College. DJ and local celebrity Richard Blackwood was booked to act as MC for the Big Open Day.

Working with schools and parents

A key audience for the college is 14-16 year olds deciding their A-level routes, and the College worked hard to promote the Open Day through local schools. The new building includes a gallery space on the ground floor overlooking Clapham Common, so the team ran a competition with schools who sent in their best artwork to be included in an exhibition of local young talent which was unveiled by the Mayor of Lambeth as part of the Open Day.

Almost 30% of Lambeth students choose Lambeth through word of mouth, and recommendations from family and friends. The team focussed on internal marketing, using a network of student ambassadors, staff, the College intranet, posters and fliers to spread the word and encourage students to bring their friends to the Open Day.

Local dignitaries and key stakeholders were invited to a formal black tie dinner and ribbon-cutting ceremony which was attended by MP Keith Hill and Lambeth Mayor Christopher Wellbelove.

Field marketing

An extensive field marketing campaign included outdoor posters at strategic sites, wraparounds and advertising in the local press, over 20,000 leaflets and a mailshot to 4000 local parents. The College also invested in online marketing, with paid advertising and events on Facebook and Bebo and media streamed on youtube.

Evaluation

The publicity campaign during the build-up to the events generated seven major articles in the local press, including a half page in the South London Press; the front cover of Lambeth Life; and three separate articles in the local Guardian. All of the media coverage included the key messages about the new sixth form centre, the time and place of the Big Open Day and information about the new building and facilities.

There was a combined circulation of 160,000 people and just under a million opportunities to see. Strong photography was particularly important to the success of the media campaign.

The Big Open Day pages of the Lambeth College website received 5552 visits between 1 April and 30 June. The Lambeth College microsite from Choice FM generated 262 visits, and advertising on Facebook and Bebo each saw 834 and 1203 click-throughs to the Lambeth college website. The free prize draw organised by the College to encourage people to register in advance and attend the event generated 450 entries.

Overall, applications for Lambeth’s sixth form have increased by more than 1000 following the Big Open Day, and the College recruited its full complement of 16-19 year old learners that year.

The number of applications for 14-19 Health and Sciences in June 2009, following the Big Open Day, was more than double that in June 2008 (241 compared to 107). The number of applications for Academic Courses was also significantly higher (403 compared to 261).