CEAC Spotlight Series One: Strategy, Measurement & Impact-Recording: Maximising Impact: Strategic Insights to Elevate Academic Engagement and Global Reputation Through Smarter Campaigns

Recording: Maximising Impact: Strategic Insights to Elevate Academic Engagement and Global Reputation Through Smarter Campaigns

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Video Transcription

Video Summary

The session, part of the inaugural SEAC Spotlight series, focused on practical insights from a global academic reputation campaign led by Thomas Badger, Marketing Manager at the University of Birmingham. Thomas shared five key lessons learned from campaigns aimed at improving the university's global ranking and reputation among academics. He emphasized that academic reputation is a perception metric, discipline-specific, and built over time through sustained, credible engagement rather than quick fixes. The campaign strategy prioritized clear alignment with institutional priorities, targeted audiences precisely using tools like CYBAL and LinkedIn, and invested in high-quality creative that signals seriousness and ambition. Credibility emerged as critical—authentic academic voices and detailed, evidence-based content resonate best with scholar audiences. Defining success metrics early and measuring both quantitative and qualitative engagement helped optimize campaign impacts. Speakers from other institutions shared challenges balancing research reputation and student recruitment messaging and highlighted the value of long-form academic storytelling. Overall, the discussion underscored that reputation campaigns must be tightly integrated with institutional goals, carefully targeted, visibly credible, creatively compelling, and measured thoughtfully to effectively influence global academic audiences and rankings over time.

Keywords

academic reputation

global ranking

University of Birmingham

marketing campaign

Thomas Badger

institutional priorities

targeted audiences

credibility

campaign metrics