David Greenslade

Interview Task

Aim & Objectives

Aim

Objectives

“To hold a competitive, live sporting event between Bexhill College and Sussex Coast College that will grow to become an inter-college sports tournament.”

• To engage & increase the participation of everyone affiliated with Bexhill College.

• Appeal to potential new students throughout the Rother area using strong branding & promotion.

• Create a sense of identity and pride using Varsity & BC Hero to all those affiliated with Bexhill College

• Ensure that the spirit of Varsity encompasses the Six Values of Bexhill College

• Grow Varsity into a key calendar date for both colleges by creating a legacy

Varsity - Concept

1• Institutions across the world take part in sporting activities against their

rivals such as the Cambridge versus Oxford rowing event.

2

• Varsity would initially start small with a two legged fixture between Bexhill College & Hastings College for the Men’s & Women’s football team

3

• Support can be given in multiple forms such as live attendance, performing music at the event, wearing the institutions colours, and volunteering to help with the event.

4

• In time Varsity would look to expand into a full scale sporting tournament held over a specific period annually to compete for the Varsity cup and most importantly the honour of the College!

Bexhill College Values

1.Excellence

2.Courage

3.Achievement

Driven

4.Team

Working

5.Respect

6.Can-Do

Attitude

Bexhill College Values

Sport has always been a brilliant means of bringing people together and I also firmly believe that Varsity would encompass the Six Values of Bexhill College…

• Excellence through the display of our talented sportsmen and event organisation

• Can Do Attitude by giving your all in your efforts to the College either in participation and support.

• Courage is a key element of sport• Respect will be given to Hastings College and hopefully a stronger

relationship can be achieved through this event which will have potential benefits such as the sharing of resources.

• Team Working this event requires the collaboration and positive energy of the entire College for Varsity to reach its full potential.

• Achievement Driven although this event is aimed at creating pride and identity amongst students and staff at Bexhill College, winning the tournament will be the key incentive for those participating.

Branding

• Use Bexhill College colours in all branding of Varsity for maximum awareness drive.

• Build upon the “BC Hero” by incorporating it into the promotional drive.

• Have you thought about Bexhill College TV or a Bexhill College newsletter by media students? Getting current students, to record/right interviews with team captains, getting teams to do promotional videos that would displayed on screens around the college or on a website.

• Consistent use of “#BCVarsity” as the event name across promotional materials & advertising.

Given the position of Bexhill College within the community, and the longevity & positive message of Varsity, attracting potential sponsorship is a very realistic aim. Particularly if the decision is made to link Varsity to a Charitable cause. For the first year of Varsity launch a small donation of between £100-500 would make a dramatic difference to the size of the

catchment area in Rother we could reach through promotional activities.

Examples of potential sponsors to be contacted could be:

Hastings Direct // Freedom LeisureGlynne Gap retailers // Hastings United Fc

De La Warr Pavillion // McPhersons

Sponsorship

Reaching Rother

Given the restraints of the budget much of the external advertising will be through positive PR stories sent to the local media.

Varsity ‘packs’ will be compiled using some of the information from this presentation into a digital PDF version to be sent out.

These will be sent to organisations such as Bexhill, Hastings, and Battle & Rye Observer, presentations & communications with local secondary schools.

Social media & the Bexhill College website will also dedicate space to the Varsity event with regular updates and mechanisms to facilitate interaction and sharing such as competitions.

Planning & Execution

This table outlines the key activities to achieve the launch of Varsity within a 2 week period.

The order is in the most part sequential as some activities are reliant upon the completion of prior activities before they can begin, and so close time keeping would be key.

All of the above activities are outlined in the next slide with a description, noted considerations, and rationale for order.

Reference Activity Description Duration

1 Discuss Feasibility with

Sport Department

The Varsity event will need the support of the Sport Department and so their feedback & commitments

must be considered before proceeding. A commitment on their part will need to be obtained.

1 day

2 Communicate Varsity to

Internal Staff

Varsity should be communicated to all internal staff through the correct channels such as Intranet, email &

through Department Heads. The feedback should be collected to ensure there are no date clashes or

objections. Volunteers will need to be sourced and responsibilities delegated.

1 day

3 Contact Park College &

confirm dates

Park College will need a thorough brief on Varsity to the appropriate persons. Two provisional dates for

‘Home’ & ‘Away’ fixtures need to be arranged ASAP. This should be based on feedback of the Sport

Department and Internal Staff.

2 days

4 Communicate Varsity to

Potential Sponsors

Compile a clear and concise pack detailing the planned activity surrounding Varsity, how it communicates

positive values, and its legacy. Send this pack to suitable Sponsors if there is not a favoured one in mind

already; this could be a Sports Club, retailer or local organisation. For their association with Varsity try to

attain a donation to facilitate the awareness drive.

3 days

5 Regular Progress Review

Meetings

Staggered review meetings with key n involved with Varsity will ensure that deadlines are met, and that any

potential problems resolved. This will also be an opportunity to add to the event whilst forward planning for

future events

4 days

(Staggered)

6 Plan Pop Up Promotional

Stand

& Confirm Date

Design promotional materials such as Posters & Flyers to use on a selected day for a Pop Up Promotional

Stand. Source a suitable print supplier, agree cost and arrange for collection/delivery. Attain volunteers for

the Pop Up launch. Communicate progress at the first Progress Review Meeting.

5 days

7 Organise Travel Logistics Discuss likely & realistically achievable number of attendees to travel to Park College Fixture. Assess current

transport resources onsite & contact favoured/local coach hire for a quoted price. Communicate outcome

at the third Progress Review Meeting.

9 days

Planning & Execution

Reference Activity Description Duration

8 Organise Ticketing Using initial feedback of Travel Logistics, allocate a number of provisional tickets to be made available. Design

the tickets and then decide upon in-house or print supplier of tickets and consider digital versions to be made

available. Ensure a reliable database is in place to store details of tickets sold. Communicate this progress at

the second Progress Review Meeting.

4 days

9 Provisional Order of

Varsity Apparel

Source a clothes retailer to design the Varsity Clothing (Tshirt & Scarf) with quotes on price of design work

and cost per item. Order a few samples to be used for the Pop Up Promotional Stand, these will then be used

as the prize of the Social Media Varsity Competition.

3 days

10 Send Varsity Brief to

Local Newspapers

To reach potential students and stakeholders of Bexhill College contact local Newspapers such as Local

Observer’s with a Varsity Brief. This can include digital images to create excitement in the local community.

Focus the Brief upon how this event is built upon the College’s vision, values and health benefits. If possible

the event will try to encompass a charitable angle such as raising money for Sports Relief or Sport Aid for

added positive PR.

2 days

11 Social Media Varsity

Promotion

Start with a ‘Teaser Campaign’ incorporating a new chance to ‘Be a Bexhill College Hero’ is coming. Then

using the digital designs of the Posters, Flyers, Apparel & Images heavily promote Varsity across the current

Social Media Channels. Create an ‘Event’ on Facebook to better gauge interest and use a ‘web-link’ to

facilitate Ticket & Apparel purchases. Hootsuite/Tweetdeck can send out Tweets out of hours for continued

awareness drive.

11 days

12 Social Media Varsity

Competition

Using the sample Apparel clothing & tickets as incentive run two Social Media competitions. For example

send a specifically worded tweet such as “I’m backing #BexhillCollege for this year’s #Varsity2015”.

Communicate the winners with pictures wearing the Apparel to drive awareness.

8 days

(staggered)

13 Launch Pop Up

Promotional Stand

For students or staff that does not follow social media, hold a Pop Up Promotional Stand with volunteers

wearing Varsity Apparel alongside posters, flyers & banners where appropriate. Facilitate the purchasing of

Tickets & Apparel, and encourage students to enter the Social Media Varsity Competition which will drive

engagement of the College’s social media channels.

2 days

(staggered)

14 Sell Tickets & Apparel Brief all staff and teachers so that they are aware of the event and able to answer queries from students and

can direct them to the Marketing team for further information. Communicate the process of purchasing

Tickets & Apparel across as many varied channels as possible both online and offline.

8 days

Planning & Execution

Logistics

This area will require the most planning & monitoring as ultimately the decision will be dependent upon demand and so requires a responsive approach with both options planned for an allocated sufficient time & resources.

Option 1: Advise students, staff & visitors on the directions and travel options available by train & bus schedules. This can be achieved through social media, email, & posters.

Option 2: Hire coaches using money raised through ticket sales to cover the quoted cost. Will require constant attention and updating.

Costings - Varsity

• All costs are based on simple internet searches and telephone enquiries, with prior knowledge also taken into consideration. It is likely that due to the repeat purchasing nature of Varsity a better rate could be arranged with the suppliers, particularly if Sponsors are gained.

• If retailers or suppliers were interested in becoming sponsors then the quantity of each item can be increased to try to grow the event. Also the suppliers will also have their own channels that can push the event forward.

• The cost of ticketing is an optional expense and is very much dependent upon the demand for coaches by students & staff.

Item Unit Value Quantity Total Cost

A4 Posters 0.75 + VAT 10 9

A5 Posters 0.50 + VAT 20 12

T-Shirt £9.99 4 39.96

Scarf £3.80 4 15.20

Ticketing (optional) - 250 16.00

Total £76.16 (Maximum 92.16)

Legacyhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sy8BwoHON_Y&feature=youtube_gdata

1• The ambition is for Varsity is to leave behind a lasting legacy upon the students, there’s a build-up, post

celebration, and remembered after they leave.

2

• A legacy can be achieved through by forming a ‘carnival’ atmosphere on the day/over a series of days to create a ‘Festival of Sport’. The vision… “football competing on one pitch, netball on a court next door, hockey on an AstroTurf, food vans selling gourmet burgers & refreshments ,with a PA system and music which students can enjoy whether they’re competing or not.

3

• With a whole day or over a specific period reserved for this occasion in the summer, there’s a real opportunity to get hundreds of students in one place on one day of the year supporting the college which creates an incredible atmosphere for those competing. This crowd is likely to be the largest they will have ever played in front of before to create lifetime memories.

4

• In time, Varsity would look to involve more students into the execution of the event through Bexhill College TV or a Bexhill College newsletter by media students. This could include interviews with team captains, asking teams to do promotional videos that would displayed on screens around the college or on a website.

Feedback

I was fortunate enough to be able to run this idea by a friend’s brother, a current student at Bexhill College in his first year of study who kindly gave his feedback on Varsity.

“I really like the idea and the American/University theme is something I think could be very popular”

“I know that my mates who play in the football team would definitely enjoy the rivalry between Hastings and Bexhill”

“I think it will attract people to go watch, especially if teachers promoted the event”

“I think this event is something that could grow in popularity each year”