Reaching out to Indian students

Using a PR agency

Alison TebbuttEuropean Officer

Why use a PR agency?• India is a key market for international students who want to study

in the UK

• The International Office and academic staff make regular visits to India

• The University has a number of research partnerships with Indian institutions

• Yet:

– The University of Southampton had a relatively low profile in India

– The University wanted to increase student recruitment and collaboration with Indian institutions

– The University had limited resources to cover a country the size and complexity of India

– Recent negative media coverage in India had resulted in negative percptions of the UK.

The PR campaign• To raise the profile of the University

• To counter negative publicity about the UK in India

• Initial brief

– Focus on 7 Indian metro cities

– Target audience:

• Potential students• Decision influencers eg parents, teachers• Educational institutions

– Involve all academic departments

• Timing:

– Initial pilot project June – August 2009

– Extended to a further year January – December 2010

– Currently on a rolling contract

Campaign coverage• Press coverage:

– National, regional, vernacular newspapers

– Trade magazines and wire agencies

• Non-print coverage:

– Online media activities: prominent web portals

• Content:

– Admissions information; Course updates; Scholarships

– Research Press releases

– Faculty staff interviews; Testimonials / Case studies;

– Events and media invites

How• The University generates materials:

– Academic Departments, Marketing Officers, the International Office and Corporate Communications

• The International Office forwards them to the agency

• The agency

– rewrites the materials (where required) for an Indian audience

– places the articles in the press and non-print media

– sends the University copies of the articles when placed

– provides a monthly report

Examples

Monthly reportFebruary 2011

– 2 x scholarship announcements

– 1 new MSc programme

– 3 Press releases

– 1 student interview

– 1 interview with staff

Coverage

– 15 print articles

– 14 online articles

Results• Difficult to measure exact impact of the campaign

• Agency perspective

– Initially a lukewarm reception from editors of major publications

– Now requests are treated differently – the media are showing a tangible change in attitude and greater interest in the University

– Initially only 7 articles guaranteed monthly, now regularly place average of 10 monthly

– In 2 years, a total of 433 articles placed for 15 academic departments (out of 20)

– Started receiving direct requests from Indian publications

– Now extending the circulation to Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities.

ResultsUniversity perspective

The Indian PR campaign is just one element of a targetedstrategy to increase the University’s activities in India,

• Increase in applications from India

2008/09 145

2009/10 177 +22%

2010/11 258 +46%

• Increase in enrolments from India

2008/09 104

2009/10 147 +41%

2010/11 213 +45%

• Of particular benefit to the Academic Departments who have engaged the most

Key success factors• Good communication within the University

• Good communication with the PR agency

• Engagement by Academic Departments

• Co-ordination by the International Office

• No cost to Academic Departments – paid for by the International Office

• Flexibility and ability to respond quickly to take advantage of opportunities and meet deadlines

• In-country knowledge of the PR agency

Thank you for listening!