JANUARY 2023

Wow. A new year and it’s already shaping-up to be our busiest one EVER!

New strategy projects with Brunel University London and the University of Plymouth, and brand new clients – and a step into the world of agriculture, horticulture, food, and veterinary education – with Harper Adams University and Plumpton College – all whilst continuing with brilliant project work for Swansea University (internal communications with Communications Management), University of Salford (fundraising & brand with Cairney & Company), Robert Gordon University (student recruitment) and our brand listening exercise with Brunel. And just to keep us all on our toes, there’s some exciting new business proposals in the mix too. Just as well there seemed to be 73 days in January!

DECEMBER 2022

It was another fun-packed month which began with our presentation on ’embedding a new brand’ at the Universities UK annual MarComms conference in London and then continued at pace with consultation, review, and listening projects in full-swing with Robert Gordon University, Brunel University London, Swansea University, and the University of Salford.

And look-out for the announcement of 4 or 5 new business wins in January as our growth goes into festive overdrive!

To close a record-breaking year – and with thanks to all of our clients, partners, and supporters – check out Michael’s annual festive poem and e-Christmas card greeting, below. Merry Christmas & Happy Holidays!

🎄MAGIC ENCOUNTERS…🎄

Back to the office, hybrid working

Kids in the background, cats twerking🐈

‘Zoomiform’ styling 👔, desktop lighting

All-actions on screen, confirmed in writing

Solutions are flexible, meetings informal

As workers adjust to post-lockdown new normal

 

But some things DON’T change amid war or elections

It’s those magic encounters, the human connections

The music, the memes, those moments of glee

And the meet-ups in person to converse in 3D

When you’re back in an office and part of a team

And working together in pursuit of a dream

 

These are the times that distract from the pain,

Of division, recession, the war in Ukraine

Uncertainty, chaos, a run on the bank

Spending a fortune to fill-up your tank

Farewell to her majesty, an era bygone😥

For those hopeless devotees to Miss Newton-John

 

So, another tough year when our patience ran thin

As we count down the days for a new year to begin

But before we sign-off on a year full of drama

Let us send you best wishes and lots of good karma

For a festive season with the ones that you love

With all of the blessings that come from above🙏

And thanks for your business, your friendship, and care

Have a wonderful Christmas – and see you next year…!

 

(A donation was made to our charity of the year, the Sir Graham Wylie Foundation💚 in lieu of the cost of printing and sending festive cards.)

NOVEMBER 2022

It was all happening in November with new projects underway for clients old and new…

A student recruitment review and strategy project to enrich the Scottish-domicile (and SFC-funded) applicant pool at a new client institution: Robert Gordon University in Aberdeen, began in earnest with a flurry of consultations and competitor analysis to unlock the many assets of this fantastic university which has some of the highest student satisfaction and employability rates in the sector.

From the North East of the UK to the South West, and the completion of a marketing & recruitment strategy for OfS-funded short-courses at the University of Plymouth, a long-standing client, was sandwiched between onboarding for a new partnership project for Swansea University (with Communications Management) to develop a new internal communications strategy, and a second project with Brunel University London – this time a comprehensive brand listening & development project to shape the reputation and market positioning of this remarkable, research-intensive campus university on the edge of London.

 

OCTOBER 2022

October saw a final trip to Washington DC – and meetings in London – in the concluding days of Michael’s 12-month assignment with the Executive Leadership Team as Interim Vice-President (Membership, Marketing & Communications) for CASE. This was an intense assignment that saw Michael create a new Division and lead a 35-strong global staff team, develop a new membership vision and strategy, and oversee a range of reputation and engagement campaigns, events, products, and services for CASE’s network of c.100,000 advancement professionals working at over 3,100 education institutions across the globe. The baton has been handed to Jane Chafer, Executive Director of the University of Exeter, who becomes the new VP from 14th of November.

Elsewhere in October, we were delighted to sponsor the Independent Higher Education Annual Awards and to speak on the importance of Civic Engagement at its annual conference in London, work with the Research Communications team at the University of Southampton, and to kick-off a divisional structures benchmarking project with Brunel University London. We also secured more new business projects with Robert Gordon University, and with University of Salford (in partnership with Cairney & Company), and Swansea University (in partnership with Communications Management).

No rest for the wicked…

SEPTEMBER 2022

A flurry of new clients and new projects to start a new school year – but not all of them in the education sector with exciting new partnerships with Dogs Trust, FABRIC (Marketing Academy), and The National Trust (pictured, as we contributed to a development day at their Heelis HQ).

This sat alongside ongoing work with CASE – and with UCL, Plymouth, and Bournemouth universities – plus a new project with Brunel University London.

Looks like another term with Brand & Reputation at the top of the class…