Newsletter #64: Middlesex University has a personalised video prospectus; Tumblr is relevant again; People trust AI faces more than real ones.
✏️ From the Education Marketer desk
The top 5 “coolest” brands for Generation Alpha. Read
I’ve worked on 8 university prospectuses (and probably read hundreds) but this one sticks with me. Read
Why digital natives DON’T have short attention spans. Read
The millennials are coming. Read
📰 HE news
Coursera, an online learning platform (known for its professional programmes with Google, Meta and Salesforce) is diversifying to support university careers teams. Its initiative Career Academy provides “last mile career training” (there’s a category) for students before they apply for roles. Beyond the mildly over-zealous “get ready to transform your campus” CTA, there’s a lot on offer here for students. Under the hood, Coursera’s platform provides practical career education, as well as ways for students to research salaries and use career planning tools. All great stuff - but the true value is the photography Intuit uses to represent a certificate in bookkeeping. Nothing screams accounting more than a six-way high five with lens flare. Career Academy | High Five
To address the enrollment crisis in the US (down 2.7% in autumn 2021 and 2.5% the year before that) it seems there’s a rush on higher ed CMOs. Well, recruiting them from other industries anyway. Disclaimer: I was actually shocked to learn that having a marketer in the c-suite is rare in the US. Given the free market on education over there (the price of education is rising faster than healthcare) it would make sense to have a marketer at the top table, right? Compare that to the UK where we seem to have senior marketers with a direct line to the VC. Read
📊 Marketing and media news
One surprising side-effect of Elon Musk’s Twitter deal: A 19% increase in Tumblr sign-ups. In case you’ve forgotten about Tumblr, it’s both the meme factory and heart of internet fandom - a lot of the “👾 Culture Shock” stories I share come from there. Gen Z like it too - 48% of its users fall into the demographic. Ad sales on the platform are up 230% year over year (in Q4 last year) plus, there’s innovation. Tumblr recently unveiled Tumblr Blaze, which is like an ad platform without targeting. It’s designed for creators and, essentially, you can pay $10 to give your post insane reach. While higher ed flocks to TikTok, don’t rule out Tumblr as a place to try something new. Tumblr in numbers | Tumblr Blaze
Let’s check in on the metaverse… Nope, still no clear winner, but a better picture is emerging of where universities can play. Roblox seems to be the home of Gen A: 29% of its users are aged from 9 to 12 years worldwide, 25% are under the age of nine. Minecraft is also a popular choice, ranking ahead of TikTok, LEGO and Playstation in terms of popularity with the generation. Virtual worlds are important to Gen A, but certainly not the crypto-inspired ones like Otherside and Dencentraland. You can start creating in Roblox and Minecraft for free, but entry to Otherside will cost you over $100,000. What’s on the other side, you ask? Certainly not a playable game - Yuga Labs (its creator) hasn’t finished that part yet. My advice: Start with Minecraft. University of Abertay students have already built their campus in the game - it’s awesome. Arguably, it’s a lot more immersive than a lot of virtual tours too. Abertay Minecraft | Cryptoverses
🏫 What unis are doing
The Media Design School is running a series of virtual taster days. I’m surprised we don’t see more of this - it feels like an easy way to repurpose course content to reach a wider audience. It’s also more meaningful than simply describing a course - why wouldn’t you offer students a taste of the content before they commit? This particular event, titled “Student for a Day” (nice) gives attendees two workshops and guidance on how to use creative tools. Simple, but stands out because very few institutions offer the same. Look
Middlesex University has a personalised video prospectus. It’s a novel take on the “prospectus is dead” trend. You’re greeted with a landing page where you essentially “choose your path.” Placements or entrepreneurship? Staying local or going away? You select five options from predefined categories and then the app stitches everything together. The result? Surprisingly compelling. The video feels seamless and the student scripts are extremely polished. Although, the UX of the builder holds it back slightly - it feels a little like a hub page - but the final output (the video) is strong. Worth trying for yourself. Look
Here’s a new kind of education challenger - an advertising school that’s been spun out of a subreddit community. r/Advertising School offers a free 12-week course covering topics like copywriting, art direction and account management. The ad professionals delivering the content seem pretty heavyweight too - all sourced from the r/advertising community. It feels hyper-relevant. A few successful cohorts and the project’s owners could easily charge. For sure, there’s an emerging business model here. Look
🧑🎓 What students are saying
"There hasn't been an increase in funding during the cost-of-living crisis and this makes things very expensive. I've worked so hard. I'm good at my course and it's not fair that I might not be able to make it to work as a doctor. We need to make sure medical students can reach graduation without suffering crippling debt or burn-out.” Final year medical students on how their loans are failing to keep pace with the cost-of-living. Read
👾 Culture shock
People trust AI faces more than real ones. Look
Loony toons without the toons: Creepy. Read
Someone built British memes in the Duke Nukem 3D engine. Look
