Q&A with John Ferguson, Head of Content & Channels and Richelle Quinn, Corporate Marketing Manager at Sheffield Hallam University

In this Q&A, John Ferguson, Head of Content & Channels and Richelle Quinn, Corporate Marketing Manager  share their thoughts on Sheffield Hallam University's 'Changing Lives' project, nominated in the Multichannel Marketing - Best campaign using four or more media category at The Masters 2015. See the full list of nominees here.

What do you think really made this project stand out?

We are a post ‘92 University, traditionally not known for research strengths but the research we do is world class and impacts on people and society right now.

We met with a number of researchers across the University and we were blown away by the work that they were doing. The Changing Lives campaign sought to highlight these strengths in a way that a HE institution had never done in the past with an overall objective of changing how our stakeholders perceived us.

We had to take a step back from talking about us and focus on the impact on society.  The stark visual imagery and simple, evocative copy gave the campaign stand out.  We have had extremely positive feedback from focus groups (which demonstrated a sizeable shift in perceptions) and also from colleagues within the sector commending us for uniqueness of our approach.

How do you build the perfect team?

By collaborating and working with people who aren’t afraid to listen to others and are brave enough to experiment with ideas.

Which campaigns have you seen recently that are defining the marketing landscape?

The insight behind the This Girl Can campaign has enabled it to be a success and to really resonate with the target audience.  In addition, the confidence to allow the consumer and business partners to own the campaign, develop their own content and merchandise enabled true engagement.

Guinness are always amazing and their campaign activity behind the RWC 2015 has been really powerful. Their ads highlight the courage and resilience of individual players and strengthened Guinness’ partnership with the home nation’s teams as well as stirring emotions with supporters.

What types of company do you see excelling at marketing at the moment?

Companies who understand themselves and their customers. If you truly understand what the customer wants you can build successful relationships that help build better brands.

Marketing is becoming more and more data and technology-driven, how can marketers ensure the right balance between creative thinking and scientific marketing?

By always having a customer focussed point of view. Ensuring your information and creative is always relevant to the person you are talking to.

What do you see as being the biggest trends of 2015, and do you see examples of companies capitalising on these as part of their marketing campaigns and programmes?

The fact that storytelling is not enough anymore.  Content needs to have real value in terms of its usefulness to consumers.

How should companies be defining and measuring marketing excellence?

Marketing excellence is using insight to define your market and your customer and truly understand their needs and motivations. This knowledge should underpin your marketing strategy, keeping the customer at its heart.   Throughout the process it is necessary to continually monitor performance against the objectives, changing and improving to ensure optimum results.

What are the core elements of inspiration to be found within marketing?

The ability to create moments of truth that inspire and inform, especially amongst young people.

What inspired you to enter The Masters this year? What would winning an award mean to you?

We entered the Masters because we felt passionate about the strength of our campaign and the fact that we are the first institution within the HE sector to promote research in this way.  This campaign was developed by our in-house creative team and to win a Masters of Marketing award would be an amazing accolade for everyone involved.