The Network

UQ marketing and communications news

July 2017

2017 Student Recruitment campaign

UQ’s 2017 Student Recruitment campaign officially launched on Sunday 2 July, with advertising appearing across television, cinema, outdoor and social media channels in the local SEQ market.

The purpose of this year’s campaign is to increase brand consideration among prospective domestic undergraduate students and regain our market leadership position in QTAC first preference applications for Semester 1 2018 entry. To achieve this, we have shifted our focus firmly to domestic school leavers and developed creative with these students in mind.

Market research indicates the mindset and ambitions of future students has shifted as dramatically as the job market. They no longer expect a job for life – or even a career for life. Current school leavers need to prepare for a working life that could include five career changes and an average of 17 different jobs.

The campaign centres on the idea of ‘Take transformation in your stride’, which promotes that a UQ education gives you the confidence and capability to excel, no matter what comes your way. This is an important message that differentiates UQ from its competitors and encourages students to learn skills that will prepare them for diverse career paths.

The campaign will run in bursts of activity until the end of the year, and will be complemented by a suite of event campaigns.

Download the campaign summary or contact marketing@uq.edu.au with any questions.

TSXPO and Open Day are almost here

Two major student recruitment events are occurring over the next few weeks – TSXPO and UQ Open Day.

TSXPO will be held at the Royal International Convention Centre on Saturday 15–Sunday 16 July from 10am–4pm. At this free expo, attendees will be able to visit the UQ stand to speak with staff and students about our programs and courses.

UQ Open Day will be held at St Lucia on Sunday 6 August and at Gatton on Sunday 20 August from 9am–3pm.

Open Day gives prospective students a chance to get a feel for what it’s like to be a UQ student. They can speak with staff, take a campus tour and attend information sessions about studying and life at UQ.

These events will be promoted across UQ’s social media channels including Snapchat and Instagram, with #uq encouraged on Instagram and current students ‘taking over’ the UQ Snapchat accounts at both events.

A UQ Snapchat geofilter will also be used at Open Day. At both events attendees will be able to register their details to sign up to ongoing communications from UQ.

We appreciate any help in promoting Open Day to your networks. More information can be found on the Open Day website.

UQ keeping grammar in style

With the rise of social media, having the ability to communicate clearly is more important than ever. A typo anywhere is generally frowned upon, but the stakes are higher in the digital age (need we mention covfefe?).

If you would like to improve your writing and editing skills, consider enrolling in WRITE101x English Grammar and Style. This free online course, convened by UQ's Associate Professor Roslyn Petelin, explores writing for social media, online publication, university, and the workplace.

During the eight-week program, participants will learn about grammatical principles, word usage, writing style, sentence and paragraph structure, and punctuation.

WRITE101x is offered via the Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) platform edX and has had over 340,000 enrolments since it launched in 2015. It will recommence on Tuesday 25 July. For more information and to register, visit the WRITE101x course page or watch Dr Petelin's introduction video.

To abbreviate or not to abbreviate? Introducing UQ’s Written Style Guide

OMC has created a searchable style guide for written content at UQ, in collaboration with colleagues at ITS and other units. The guide is intended as a functional, authoritative reference to encourage consistency across all of UQ’s various print and digital publications, communications and marketing activities.

It supersedes all previous documents and style guides that you may have on file and should be referred to as a central source for all style queries, backed up by the Macquarie Dictionary for spelling (accessible via your UQ login). If you have any questions, suggestions, or feedback, email publications@uq.edu.au or call 336 52479.

Also, do you know your possessives from your passives? Are you a proud member of the grammar police? Then we want to recruit you!

OMC is eager to establish a University-wide working group for the written style guide, including staff from faculty and institute communications teams, who will meet regularly to discuss and agree upon any UQ-specific style questions, changes, and/or new items for the style guide that may be required over time.

If you are interested in being a part of this group, contact Camille Layt to express your interest.

CASE Circle of Excellence winners

The Council for Support and Advancement of Education (CASE) 2017 Circle of Excellence Awards program recognises outstanding work in advancement services, alumni relations, communications, fundraising and marketing at member institutions worldwide.

The winners are a gold mine of exemplars for university publications, advertising, and communications and marketing campaigns, demonstrating best practice in the sector from institutions around the world.

This year, CASE received more than 3,364 entries for consideration in nearly 100 categories.

Sue Cunningham, president and CEO of CASE, says 2017 was the most competitive year ever for the awards program.

"Honorees come from all institution types and sizes, reflecting the depth of talent and ingenuity throughout CASE-member institutions,” Cunningham says.

View the winning entries to find inspiration for your next campaign or magazine.

July event alert

External events:
1–31 July – JulEYE
1–31 July – Dry July
2–9 July – NAIDOC Week
9–15 July – National Diabetes Week
11 July – World Population Day
14 July – Malala Day
17–21 July – National Farm Safety Week
18 July – Nelson Mandela International Day
21 July – National Pajama Day
23–30 July – Shark Week
24 July – Stress Down Day
24–30 July – National Pain Week
28 July – World Hepatitis Day
29 July – White Ribbon Night
29 July–4 August – The Salvation Army’s Souperhero Challenge
30 July – International Day of Friendship
30 July–6 August – Donate Life Week
31 July – National Tree Day

UQ events: 17–21 July – Graduations

Other dates to watch:
Queensland Parliament is sitting on 18–21 and 25–27 July. Parliament takes up a considerable amount of media, which is worth considering before issuing media releases in sitting weeks.

Please advise communications@uq.edu.au of any dates or events you think should be added to the next monthly calendar.

A range of events across Queensland is detailed at Events Queensland and Our Community.

Check the calendar of internal UQ events here.

Marketing and communications staff update

Ashleigh Huddy has joined the Office of Marketing and Communications as a Protocol Officer, on secondment from the Student Affairs Division until the end of the year. Ashleigh has a Bachelor of International Hotel and Tourism Management, with a major in Events Management, and has a strong background in event coordinating in the private sector and at UQ. You can contact Ashleigh at a.huddy@uq.edu.au or on 334 67889.

Bronwyn Adams has returned from a year of maternity leave to her position as Communications Manager at the Institute for Molecular Bioscience. Bronwyn will be working every day except Wednesday and focusing on media, so please send all media queries to her. A huge thanks to Gemma Ward and Kate Sullivan for shouldering the extra work in Bronwyn’s absence. You can contact Bronwyn at b.adams@imb.uq.edu.au or on 334 62134.

Jessica Dobson has joined UQ Business School marketing department in a part-time capacity as Marketing and Engagement Officer, backfilling for Angela Galantai while she is working on the Business School Review project. Jess is currently completing her degree at UQ in Business Management/Arts and will graduate in December 2017.
You can contact Jessica at j.dobson@business.uq.edu.au or on
334 66241.

Kellie Colahan has joined the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences’ Marketing and Engagement Team as a Marketing and Engagement Officer. She is backfilling for Dani Lawrence until the end of the year while Dani is on maternity leave, and is on secondment from the School of Languages and Cultures where she holds the position of Events and Engagement Officer. You can contact Kellie at k.colahan@uq.edu.au or on 334 61633.

Rachel Westbury has joined the Office of Marketing and Communications as a Marketing and Communications Officer. Rachel has a Bachelor of Journalism, International Relations and Writing, and is currently studying a Master of Writing, Editing and Publishing. Prior to joining UQ, Rachel worked in lifestyle journalism and digital marketing. You can contact Rachel at r.westbury@uq.edu.au or on 336 52619.

New to UQ? Just moved to a new unit, or leaving us soon? Let us know for next edition.

New photos on UQ Images

The following photo sets have been added to UQ Images in the past month. The list includes the OMC set number, which you can use to search for images.

5749 – 24 hours at UQ Gatton Campus

5782 – Launch of 'Food Lab' by Ben Milbourne: Customs House

5839 – Boeing Centre (note that approval is required from Boeing when these images are used)

If you have any questions about these images, please email uqimages@uq.edu.au or call 336 52479.

Further Reading

Four ways virtual reality could change higher education marketing: Higher Ed Marketing Journal

NPR's Facebook Liveguide: NPR Training

Digital News Report Australia 2017: News and Media Research Centre

Accessibility matters for your college or university website: mStoner

Science journalism is in Australia’s interest, but needs support to thrive: The Conversation

View previous editions of The Network on the OMC website.

OMC welcomes your feedback on The Network. Send your comments or suggestions to publications@uq.edu.au. Send through any stories or ideas by the second Thursday of each month.