This month, we were delighted to welcome Year 12 student Francisca Gari to Richmond for a week of work experience in university marketing. With a keen interest in media and communications, Francisca joined the Marketing, Recruitment and Communications team to explore how universities connect with students across the world. From supporting our Open Day prep to learning how CRM tools shape campaigns, she got stuck into the many moving parts behind the scenes.
Here’s what she had to say about her week with us:
This week I have been taking part in learning about how the university media, comms and marketing team help to develop the university and specifically this week I have learnt how they prepare for the September intake while also preparing for Saturday’s hybrid Open Day. With over 69 nationalities represented in the student body, offering both digital and in-person engagement is essential, especially as more international students and their families are factoring student experience into their decision-making. Interestingly, universities are seeing increased parental involvement post-COVID, which is shaping how they approach orientation and marketing.
Much of the work of the people I have spoken to has centred around student recruitment, both digitally and physically. I’ve been learning about the universities partners, including agencies like Hunterlodge, to align campaign messaging across channels. They have been targeting prospective students through Salesforce Marketing Cloud, developing automated, personalised emails and SMS campaigns that feel human not generic even at scale. Using CRM data allows the university to segment by interests, consent, and geography, helping them tailor messages that are more relevant and timely.
What stood out most this week was seeing how integrated the members of the team really are. Marketing, Communications, Recruitment, and Admissions all play a role in the student journey from initial interest to enrolment. I’ve learned just how layered and collaborative the process is: Communications tailor key messages for different audiences (students, staff, parents), while Recruitment takes those narratives on the road by doing things such as visiting schools, attending fairs, and engaging directly with students and counsellors. Meanwhile, marketing automation supports it all in the background, delivering touch points that build connection over time.
A highlight for me was speaking to colleagues who recruit in the Americas and hearing how they adapt messaging depending on each country’s education system and how they use CRM tools to guide students through applications. I also enjoyed learning and watching exactly what goes into the process of making a social media post as on the surface it may seem simple, but I’ve learnt it takes designing, scheduling, referencing analytics and much more.
It’s clear that marketing in higher education isn’t just about promotion. It’s about relationship-building. And increasingly, it’s about doing that in ways that are both strategic and personal.
