MEDIA PACK START A CO N VERSATIO N WITH 20,000 ST U D E N TS
About Us We’re a charity that aims to make life better for all students at the University of Huddersfield. To do this we offer our 20,000 students a number of services such as impartial advice, volunteering opportunities, sports and societies, as well as events, trips and the chance to get involved in campaigning for change. We are firmly at the centre of student life and are currently based at the heart of the University’s only campus – located right next to a busy town centre. In 2014 we moved into a flagship University development called Student Central and occupy an entire floor with significant presence and footfall.
Year of Study Distribution
Who are we?
Membership Age Distribution
What makes up 20,000 students?
Our Students’ Union has a diverse membership, almost all of whom are based at our Queensgate campus.
Study Type Distribution
Why Advertise With Us? Why are we best placed to help you start a conversation with 20,000 students? 1. Students have spending power. With an average individual spend of over £6,500 per year students form a lucrative market and one that is notoriously difficult to penetrate with so many organisations chasing their custom. 2. Often living away from home for the first time, students have to make choices on which brands to purchase and/or consume. That’s why attracting them to your product or service has real potential for generating long-term engagement and brand loyalty. It’s about having the opportunity to create a sustainable relationship with the student market in Huddersfield. 3. We’re their Students’ Union. We’re the only organisation exclusively affiliated with the University of Huddersfield. We’re a brand they acknowledge and trust. We give you a unique opportunity to reach out to them directly and in a range of different ways.
4. We will work with you to fine tune your messages with our expertise and together, we’ll create a package that will support you to achieve your marketing objectives. Whether that’s building brand awareness or creating direct sales, we’ll offer bespoke guidance and support the entire way. 5. We’ve got a strong track record of helping organisations grow. 90% of firms who advertised with us in 2012 came back in 2013, and our feedback from commercial events such as Freshers’ Festival shows high levels of satisfaction with our customer service. As a third sector organisation, we offer heavy discounts for charities – contact us for more details.
Freshers’ Festival 2014 Every year we’re responsible for planning and delivering the welcome events for students at the University of Huddersfield. Everything is open to all 20,000 students, but we also specifically target it at the 6,000 new freshers who arrive excited and raring to go. We’re the only organisation affiliated to the University of Huddersfield who has access to this market. We’re in contact with students before they arrive. We help them through the process of planning and getting ready for University life. We’re the gatekeeper for engaging them in those vital first few weeks in Huddersfield.
Freshers’ Festival Corporate Sponsorship
Become an official corporate sponsor for Freshers’ Festival 2014. This gives you ultimate brand awareness amongst students, making you synonymous with the SU and pride of place at all our events, activities and publicity. Do you want to really start your year with a bang? Contact us for more details about this high profile opportunity.
Freshers’ Emails
We have exclusive access to students before they even arrive in Huddersfield. Each year we get the opportunity to send a number of targeted emails to new students after their results in August – introducing the Students’ Union, letting them know about Freshers’ Festival tickets and other things like top-tips on what to bring to University. Options include: • Email sponsorship • Email advertisement
Welcome Guide
Our annual welcome guide gives new students all the crucial information about student life in Huddersfield, and is sent out directly via email before they even arrive. We also give out over 5000 hard copies across the course of the week and put it front and centre on our Freshers’ website. Options include: • • • •
Overall sponsorship (front and back cover) Full page advert Half page advert Quarter page advert
Please get get in touch for our rates & more info
Freshers’ Fair
(Mon 22 Sept – Tues 23) The most prominent event of the entire week. Spread over two full days and held in the brand new University Sports Hall, the fair attracts over 5000 students and dominates campus. This year is set to be bigger and better than ever. Acting on student feedback we’ve moved it to the start of the week, combined all our smaller fairs into a single event (sports, societies, volunteering, local charities, commercial companies) and will be running high profile stunts all around campus to really generate a buzz for new students. It’s your opportunity to have a face to face conversation and really make sure you’re engaging with students. Options include: • • • • •
One/two day attendance Standard/premium stalls (both indoors and outdoors) Experiential Leafleting Posters and other signage
Freshers’ Goodie Bags
Students love freebies and our Freshers’ Goodie Bag is the single thing they expect most when they get to Freshers’ Fair. We pack them ourselves, distribute over 5000 from our SU stall, and run loads of competitions: like putting free tickets for events that have sold out in random bags. Options include: • • • •
Bag sponsorship (including exclusivity) Leaflet insert Product insert Competition insert
Freshers’ Wall Planner
Another favourite that students now expect in their Freshers’ Goodie Bag. We design up and print over 5000 each year which find their way onto student bedroom walls. Packed full of important dates and events, you’ll be a permanent fixture in students’ minds throughout the year. Options include: • Sponsorship (including exclusivity) • Advertising
Freshers’ Website
As well as our corporate website, we build and publish a specific Freshers’ Festival minisite each year – giving new students a targeted welcome to the University. It includes information such as event tickets, features on student life and lots more. Options include: • Banner adverts • Page adverts
Market Stalls
Freshers’ Festival doesn’t stop after Freshers’ Fair. With incredibly high levels of foot traffic all week, we’re offering organisations the chance to book a stall in a more relaxed environment. Perfect for companies who want to stand out from the noise. We’ll also have the opportunity for a limited number of market stalls outside on the University plaza.
Event Sponsorship
Alongside our daytime activities, we also run a full programme of evening events – all of which sell out well in advance of the week. Options include: • HudCrawl (including t-shirt sponsorship) • HudFest • HudMovies Please get get in touch for our rates & more info
Annual Opportunities Our year round opportunities are an excellent way to promote your brand to students throughout the academic year. Our rates are all based on partnerships with large commercial enterprises, but as a third sector organisation we have heavily discounted rates available for charities, local businesses and student enterprises. Please contact us for further details to discuss this.
Website
Our website www.huddersfield.su attracts 30,000 hits a month and is updated daily with all the latest news and information. It’s the digital heart of everything that we do, and is used daily by our students. Options include: • Banner adverts • Page adverts
Our weekly emails are a great way to ensure you have a direct message to all of our members, with content sent out via a modern, professionally branded HTML communication. Options include: • Adverts (per email) • Sponsorship (branded email)
Social Media
Our student community are highly active on social media with over 16,000 people following the Students’ Union across Twitter and Facebook. Options include: • Twitter (Tweets & Retweets) • Facebook (Posts & Shares) Please get get in touch for our rates & more info
Promotional Stands
Leaflets
Options include:
Newspaper Adverts
With a high daily footfall, the Students’ Union is the perfect place to interact with students face to face. It gives you the opportunity to have a genuine conversation with students in a friendly, relaxed atmosphere. • Half a day (10am-1pm or 2pm-5pm) • Full day (10am-5pm) Please note there are discounts available for multiple bookings.
Posters
Placed across the Students’ Union in highly visible areas, posters are a great way to reinforce your message to the student market. We have numerous sites ranging from A4 to A1 in size.
Plasma Screens
We have a number of plasma screens available across the Students’ Union. This is a great way to catch students’ attention as they relax with friends throughout the day. Adverts are displayed on rotation (max 5 adverts at any time).
We have over 15,000 visits each year to our Helpdesk, with space for organisations to leave promotional material such as leaflets and flyers.
T’HUD is The University of Huddersfield’s student magazine. A popular read amongst students, the newspaper is circulated across campus with six editions per year, going out to over 5000 students each time. Options include: • • • •
Half page advert Full page advert Cover wrap-around Banner advert on T’HUD website
Please get get in touch for our rates & more info
Sponsorship We have an array of one-off sponsorship opportunities available at key events in the student calendar. Being associated with popular events can provide high levels of exposure and build lasting loyalty with our students.
Varsity
(Held in April each year) The first Varsity between Huddersfield and Bradford took place in 1988 and has continued to go from strength to strength ever since. The event itself has evolved over the years to allow for more sports to be included and to accommodate the ever growing interest from spectators. Well over 2000 students are involved. Options include: • Overall event sponsorship • T-shirt ticket sponsorship • Programme advert
SU Awards
(Held in May each year) The Students’ Union Awards is a night that we all look forward to at the end of the academic year. We get to look back and recognise the great things students have done for each other throughout the year that essentially make student life better. As always, we have a host of awards to recognise some of this fantastic work done by individuals and groups who have gone the extra mile. Options include: • Individual award sponsorship • Overall event sponsorship
Student Sports Clubs Sponsorship
Huddersfield University Sport is the Students’ Union’s brand for student sport at the University of Huddersfield. We have over 35 sports clubs with more than 1500 students competing on a weekly basis around the UK. Options include: • Overall shirt sponsorship • Team sponsorship
Student Societies Sponsorship
We have an exciting and diverse range of student societies from nursing, to music, to media - there really is something for every student. It’s a fantastic way to speak directly to a core group of students.
Volunteering Projects Sponsorship
Our volunteering projects link our students to the local community and provide excellent extra curricular activity. Linking your company to such valuable projects can help enhance your brand image. Please get get in touch for our rates & more info
If you want to get involved with any of the opportunities mentioned in this pack, or you have any other questions, please get in touch with our Communications & Marketing Manager, Jacqui Lawton: phone: 01484 47 3442 email: su.marketing@hud.ac.uk