Beyond the bedroom: How to market your accommodation offering
Tracks
Track 2
| Wednesday, August 7, 2024 |
| 12:10 PM - 1:00 PM |
| Crystal 2 |
Overview
Sixtine Berquist, University of Auckland
Details
Students and universities have been deeply hit by both the Covid-19 pandemic and the cost-of-living crisis. As universities work to hit recruitment targets and reach pre-2019 enrolment numbers, how can university accommodation providers meet occupancy targets through marketing efforts?
In this session, we will discuss how to turn your marketing efforts on their heads so that accommodation isn’t just about selling a bed but a once in a lifetime experience.
Utilising current and past University of Auckland Accommodation recruitment campaigns, we will discuss how to identify resident pain points, natural competitors, how to leverage your brand and how to speak the language of your target audience.
Weaved throughout, we will examine how to build effective relationships with staff and residents to create authentic and inclusive campaigns that inspire prospective residents and their whānau. Crucially, we will look at how one campaign can effectively encompass the diverse experience of living on-campus and the wide array of support and events provided to residents through a single image. If a picture is worth a thousand words, how do you direct it to say the right thing?
This presentation will provide insights into the creative process and leaning on your team, how to curate your ad spend to hit key markets and how it can impact your application numbers. Learn from our mistakes and how to adapt our wins to the benefit of your next campaign.
Note to selection committee: This presentation could also share time with another university if a similar proposal is made to discuss different approaches to a similar end goal.
Speaker
Sixtine Berquist
Marketing And Communications Adviser, Accommodation
University Of Auckland
Beyond the bedroom: How to market your accommodation offering
Abstract Overview
Students and universities have been deeply hit by both the Covid-19 pandemic and the cost-of-living crisis. As universities work to hit recruitment targets and reach pre-2019 enrolment numbers, how can university accommodation providers meet occupancy targets through marketing efforts?
In this session, we will discuss how to turn your marketing efforts on their heads so that accommodation isn’t just about selling a bed but a once in a lifetime experience.
Utilising current and past University of Auckland Accommodation recruitment campaigns, we will discuss how to identify resident pain points, natural competitors, how to leverage your brand and how to speak the language of your target audience.
Weaved throughout, we will examine how to build effective relationships with staff and residents to create authentic and inclusive campaigns that inspire prospective residents and their whānau. Crucially, we will look at how one campaign can effectively encompass the diverse experience of living on-campus and the wide array of support and events provided to residents through a single image. If a picture is worth a thousand words, how do you direct it to say the right thing?
This presentation will provide insights into the creative process and leaning on your team, how to curate your ad spend to hit key markets and how it can impact your application numbers. Learn from our mistakes and how to adapt our wins to the benefit of your next campaign.
Note to selection committee: This presentation could also share time with another university if a similar proposal is made to discuss different approaches to a similar end goal.
In this session, we will discuss how to turn your marketing efforts on their heads so that accommodation isn’t just about selling a bed but a once in a lifetime experience.
Utilising current and past University of Auckland Accommodation recruitment campaigns, we will discuss how to identify resident pain points, natural competitors, how to leverage your brand and how to speak the language of your target audience.
Weaved throughout, we will examine how to build effective relationships with staff and residents to create authentic and inclusive campaigns that inspire prospective residents and their whānau. Crucially, we will look at how one campaign can effectively encompass the diverse experience of living on-campus and the wide array of support and events provided to residents through a single image. If a picture is worth a thousand words, how do you direct it to say the right thing?
This presentation will provide insights into the creative process and leaning on your team, how to curate your ad spend to hit key markets and how it can impact your application numbers. Learn from our mistakes and how to adapt our wins to the benefit of your next campaign.
Note to selection committee: This presentation could also share time with another university if a similar proposal is made to discuss different approaches to a similar end goal.
Biography
Sixtine Berquist (she/her) is a Marketing and Communications Adviser on the University of Auckland Campus Life team heading marketing efforts for Ngā Wharenoho, Accommodation. She has worked in marketing and communications for eight years in tertiary education, including supporting higher education access for forcibly displaced persons and on the Fulbright U.S. Scholar Program. Sixtine completed her undergraduate studies at Michigan State University and has a Master of Arts from the University of Auckland in Conflict and Terrorism Studies.
Stephanie Harris
Accommodation Solutions Manager
University of Auckland
Beyond the bedroom: How to market your accommodation offering
Abstract Overview
Students and universities have been deeply hit by both the Covid-19 pandemic and the cost-of-living crisis. As universities work to hit recruitment targets and reach pre-2019 enrolment numbers, how can university accommodation providers meet occupancy targets through marketing efforts?
In this session, we will discuss how to turn your marketing efforts on their heads so that accommodation isn’t just about selling a bed but a once in a lifetime experience.
Utilising current and past University of Auckland Accommodation recruitment campaigns, we will discuss how to identify resident pain points, natural competitors, how to leverage your brand and how to speak the language of your target audience.
Weaved throughout, we will examine how to build effective relationships with staff and residents to create authentic and inclusive campaigns that inspire prospective residents and their whānau. Crucially, we will look at how one campaign can effectively encompass the diverse experience of living on-campus and the wide array of support and events provided to residents through a single image. If a picture is worth a thousand words, how do you direct it to say the right thing?
This presentation will provide insights into the creative process and leaning on your team, how to curate your ad spend to hit key markets and how it can impact your application numbers. Learn from our mistakes and how to adapt our wins to the benefit of your next campaign.
Note to selection committee: This presentation could also share time with another university if a similar proposal is made to discuss different approaches to a similar end goal.
In this session, we will discuss how to turn your marketing efforts on their heads so that accommodation isn’t just about selling a bed but a once in a lifetime experience.
Utilising current and past University of Auckland Accommodation recruitment campaigns, we will discuss how to identify resident pain points, natural competitors, how to leverage your brand and how to speak the language of your target audience.
Weaved throughout, we will examine how to build effective relationships with staff and residents to create authentic and inclusive campaigns that inspire prospective residents and their whānau. Crucially, we will look at how one campaign can effectively encompass the diverse experience of living on-campus and the wide array of support and events provided to residents through a single image. If a picture is worth a thousand words, how do you direct it to say the right thing?
This presentation will provide insights into the creative process and leaning on your team, how to curate your ad spend to hit key markets and how it can impact your application numbers. Learn from our mistakes and how to adapt our wins to the benefit of your next campaign.
Note to selection committee: This presentation could also share time with another university if a similar proposal is made to discuss different approaches to a similar end goal.
Biography
Stephanie Harris (she/her) is the Manager of Accommodation Solution for Ngā Wharenoho, Accommodation at the University of Auckland. In this role, Stephanie has oversight of the application processes, supporting the placement of over 4,500 students in our Accommodation portfolio yearly. She has worked in university accommodation for nine years across New Zealand and Scotland, including Victoria University Wellington, Auckland University of Technology and NIDO Glasgow (PBSA). Stephanie is passionate about the unique role student accommodation plays in caring for students and enhancing their wellbeing and academic success. Stephanie received a Bachelor of Science in Population Studies from Victoria University Wellington and is certified in youth support work.
