How encouraging collaboration and utilising talent & skills across teams has fostered a creative and successful approach to digital marketing at Loughborough University.

1. Breaking Down Silos:
How to Win at Digital
Marketing
@joncrannage
Digital Content Co-ordinator
Loughborough University

2. Loughborough University
• Top 10 in every UK league table
• 4th Guardian University League Table
• Top in the country for student experience in THE
Student Experience Survey
• University of the Year (Whatuni Student Choice
Awards 2018)
• Best university in the world for sports-related
subjects (2018 QS World University Rankings)

3. Student Experience

4. Loughborough Campus

5. London Campus

6. Web and Digital Team
• Web design & development
• Content strategy & management
• Social media
• Video production
• Photography
• Digital design
• Vast majority of functions inhouse.
• Currently minimal paid spend compared to
competitors

7. Awards and that

8. Breaking Down Silos: How to
Win at Digital Marketing

11. Train-wreck management
• 1841 train crash in the US
• Recommendations shaped US
Managerial practise
• Adapted from the Prussian
Army
• Offices run by managers/chain
of command/clear comms
lines/responsibilities
• Regimented

13. What changed?
• Leadership
• Experienced marketer at the ‘top table’
• Supportive Vice Chancellor
• Organisational change
• Digital transformation – 'digital first'

14. Digital transformation
“Digital transformation is the realignment of, or
new investment in technology, business models,
and processes to create new value for customers
and employees and more effectively compete in an
ever-changing digital economy.”
Brian Solis
Principal Analyst at Altimeter Group.

15. Key digital leadership skills
• A comprehensive understanding of the market
• A visionary mindset
• A champion mentality
• An entrepreneurial spirit
• Adaptability/flexibility – giving people the freedom to innovate
• Communication, visibility –across all levels
• Collaboration – the ability to bind together different parties
and diverse skill sets
The changing role of people management in the digital age (2016)
https://www2.deloitte.com

16. Web Team 2012

17. Digital Team 2018

19. Rio 2016
• International platform not just for
sport – research, team spirit and
graduate success
• Supported the University strategy
– “Building Excellence” – growing
capacity in research, teaching,
sport
• Clear objectives set around
increasing net promoter score,
media coverage, new links with
stakeholders, creating shedload
of reusable content

20. Rio 2016
• Prep, planning, collaboration
• Developed a variety of content in
advance/different formats - video,
athlete profiles, features, training
tips
• Good luck pieces from Lboro
legends
• Behind the scenes footage
• Shareable assets
• Scheduled content around events

32. 2017 General Election
• The Centre for Research in Communication and
Culture’s analysis of GE 2017 national news
coverage
• Demonstrated how we delivered media
coverage and academic peer awareness via
close working between PR and Digital Teams
• Objectives – deliver 5 national/international
items of significant coverage, generate
academic interest/partnership/speaking - secure
coverage in 50 countries/ HE / key stakeholders.

33. 2017 General Election
• Challenges included lack of prep due to snap
election, no resource budget, competing priorities
• Content. Instead of just press releases produced
blog content/infographics/video
• Identified Twitter as primary channel for audiences
• Used Twitter search, Buzzsumo, alongside
established academic media/networks
• Advocacy, influencers
• Topicality, timeliness, content

34. Twitter

35. Reddit

36. General Election 2017

41. "Production viewed a system"
• Developed by W.
Edwards Deming in
post-war Japan
• Based on improving
quality and creating a
culture where everyone
would work together
• "Everyone
winning through
improvement of quality."
Allan Scott, @triaster

42. How to win
• Leadership is key
• Clear objectives
• Collaboration
• Make use of tech – Trello, Slack, Google Drive
• Motivation

43. THANKS
@joncrannage