As Clearing was approaching (or results day, or Confirmation and Clearing, because Clearing technically started on 5 July and is open until 20 October) I was walking through Sheffield train station, and saw some university adverts.
In Clearing advertising, some of the messages are simple and some are harder to get across. As this takes a significant amount of undergraduate advertising budget, it prompted me to think about how it’s always worth revisiting how to maximise awareness, understanding, and recall in your target audiences.
Firstly, some of the Clearing advertising objectives
In the lead up to Clearing you want to remind prospective students about your university, or to introduce it. Quickly and with impact. To let them know that your university has courses they should check out both before and on results day. To inspire them to sign up in advance of that so that you can communicate with them, and help them to secure the right place for them.
Clearing is open! Call now! Register for Clearing!
These messages are prevalent during Clearing, and the intention behind them is of real value to prospective students. But, for many, Clearing is the day they get their results, so maybe it isn’t ‘now’ until then.
So, do these messages really work? If you might be ‘first to hear’ about places available, or Clearing entry requirements for example, that is useful. But, if for you Clearing isn’t until mid-August, your audience might think, what’s the rush?
Is the word ‘Clearing’ becoming something of a red herring?
It’s probably a risk at the moment to lose it completely. When every university had a print prospectus there was a risk in being one of the few who didn’t have one. But, although the word ‘Clearing’ will get their attention I would argue, from experience researching this audience, that it generally means results day, which isn’t entirely what it means to us.
In focus groups I’ve heard prospective students say that they remember sessions about Clearing from their school or college, and universities coming in to talk to them about it. They see content about Clearing on social media such as TikTok and Instagram, as well as on university websites.
But, for every cohort, this is their first time and they rarely remember the detail. We provide information and guidance, but understanding often just isn’t very sticky.
I’ve been doing this for a long time, and I still have to check my facts
A quick Google search of ‘What is Clearing?’ took me to a page on a sector site meant for applicants saying that, ‘Clearing is how unis and colleges fill any places they still have on their courses’. Prospective students want to know how they can find the right course for them, not about a process designed for universities to fill places.
This framing of it being something universities need to do is rooted in the past. The process was designed to do one thing, and has evolved somewhat organically to do quite a few others.
Some other sites were clearer, but it’s hard to summarise neatly the twists and turns of an inherently complex system filled with ‘ifs’ and ‘buts’.
Testing communications is really important
In the professional and academic side of the sector, we don’t need anything unpacking, as we know the history of Clearing and how it all got packed in together.
But we do need to test our communications around Clearing with prospective students. Some will be uncomfortable being negative if they think you’ve been involved in creating the adverts. Some will read the room, and if the mood is positive or negative, they will join it. Some will be very honest, regardless, good or bad.
Researchers do this for a living, so the best insight comes from working with them to define the brief and watch them read and wrangle a virtual or in-person room.
Try to replicate the real world
Advertising both online and offline is often fleeting, and works most effectively if other communications and channels are working together effectively. So, taking a good long look at adverts, and being asked about the creative, the messaging, the CTA, and recall of a university doesn’t replicate how they will see it in the real world.
How to go about this, what order you ask the questions in, and whether you do it with qualitative or quantitative methods, are things that a good research agency can help you to decide and prioritise. But, there are some key things to consider, outlined below.
- Show the advert first, and then ask and don’t explain
- Who is this for?
- Is it for you?
- What is it about?
- Which university is it for?
- What do you remember?
- What is it asking you to do?
- Explore their knowledge and understanding
- What will you do if you don’t get the grades for your firm choice?
- What will you do if you don’t want to go to your firm or insurance choice?
- What’s the process called?
- How does the process work?
- What would you expect to do, in what order, and when?
- Have a longer look at the Clearing adverts
- Review number 1 again
- What do you love about this, what do you really dislike?
- Would it get your attention? Why or why not?
- As an example, what does ‘Register your interest’ mean? What happens if you do? What happens if you don’t?
- What does ‘Clearing is open’ mean? What does it mean to you?
- Then, explain the advertising objectives to them, and co-create and ask
- How would you get your attention?
- What words would you use?
- What would make you want to find out more about that university?
Some final thoughts on Clearing advertising
I’m aware that I’m preaching to the converted! But here are a few things worth considering:
- Don’t be too cryptic
- It’s the first time for them, and you won’t have their attention for long
- Be brave about the words you use
- And don’t use, but know and quantify the risks
- If your internal audience is nervous about change
- Bring the voice of the target audience into the room with market research
- And whatever you spend on the research, it will never cost as much as
- The lost applications and opportunities for those prospective students
- Or, the staff time and the budget invested in the campaign