English UK ELT Marketing Conference
The English UK ELT Marketing Conference, organised by the English Language Promotions Group (the British Council, English UK, UK Trade & Investment and VisitBritain) and supported by Cambridge ESOL is a must-attend for all professionals engaged in promoting, marketing and selling ELT courses to international students. The event helps participants to develop their expertise and knowledge, to learn about the latest technological, market and global advances and to share ideas.
Review of the 2012 English UK ELT Marketing Conference
The 2012 English UK ELT Marketing Conference took place on Thursday 26 January at Butchers' Hall, London. Located in heart of Smithfield in central London Butchers' Hall is one of the most elegant of the City livery halls. We had exclusive use of its seven stunning rooms.
From practical advice on networking to an extraordinary tale of using extreme honesty in brand creation, the conference had something for everyone.
A lively list of speakers at the sell-out event began with Nigel Risner, formerly one of the youngest CEOs in the City of London, explaining why most people don't network effectively and explaining how to identify and communicate with different types of people.
His animal analogy -- that people's personality types are broadly monkey, dolphin, lion or elephant, and that the wise marketer will tailor a pitch accordingly -- became a talking point at the day's refreshment sessions, as did his other main nuggets of advice about networking with strangers and using business cards to convey useful information.
"He was just brilliant, and everybody's been trying to put what he said into practice," said Susan Brearey, director of the Suzanne Sparrow Language School in Plymouth.
The day's closing session was another talking point. The speaker was entrepreneur BJ Cunningham, whose business failure at the age of 23 left him more than 800,000 in debt and with the need to make more money fast.
His solution? To create a cigarette brand called Death, with the unique selling point of honesty. "What matters most is what people believe," he said. "A brand is a promise. Logos, pantone colours -- they're all a vehicle to get your promotion into the eyes of your customer."
More detailed advice for the EL industry was provided during nine elective sessions led by experts. Mesud Yilmaz gave extensive advice on the Turkish market, outlining the expectations of students -- which include last-minute decisions to travel, the desire for ornate certificates and dislike of homestay accommodation -- and agents, who want prompt replies from language schools and have strong views on discounted commission. Other sessions gave equally useful information on Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan and Kurdistan.
Other sessions discussed ways of getting the marketing message across, with Peter Swain explaining how to get the best out of apps, Jon Aizlewood on digital marketing, and Angela Murray on copywriting. There was also a masterclass from three industry professionals on international marketing, who gave their hard-earned tips on careful pre-trip research to avoid arriving on public holidays or organising meetings without sufficient travelling time, and the do's and don'ts of building relationships with agents.
And at a panel meeting chaired by Amy Baker of industry website The PIE, ELT sector experts including English UK Chief Executive Tony Millns, Andrew Mangion, Executive Chairman of the EC Group, answered questions about branding and future prospects.
To help maximise the networking opportunities the day concluded with an evening reception held at The Distillers in Smithfield, close to Butchers' Hall, kindly sponsored by the British Council.
To view a gallery of photos from the conference, please click here.
Presentations from the 2012 conference
Most of the presentations from the 2012 English UK ELT Marketing Conference can be found below.
- The market in Turkey for EFL courses abroad - Mesud Yilmaz, Atlas Private Education Services
- Developing a digital marketing strategy - Jon Aizlewood, Carbon Graffiti
- Getting writing right - why good copy is essential for success - Angela Murray
- Market intelligence in emerging Central Asian countries - Sedat Eren, a2 International Education Fairs
- Apps and the ELT sector - Peter Swain, AlwaysOnMessage
- Diversifying your international activities - Matthew Andreson, TVET UK
- Opportunities in corporate training - Amanda Selvaratnam, The Training Gateway
- Opportunities in corporate training - Sarah Wang, Business English UK
- Master class for newcomers to international education marketing - Richard Day, English in Chester, Clare Gossage, University of the Arts & Stephan Roussounis, Cambridge Education Group
- Closing plenary - BJ Cunningham
Feedback
"A great event overall which motivates us to do better" - Sinead McCaul, Foyle International
"I very much enjoyed it. I found it refreshingly different and very informative. I'm very impressed and would come again."- Roger Smith, the University of Leicester
"I thought the first and last sessions were particularly good, but it was all very good. I got a lot of useful things to take away with me." - Barbara Carson, The British Association of Boarding School Short Courses
"An excellent venue and an extremely varied and valuable range of presentations" - John Barnett, Cambridge Academy of English
This event was supported by:
