Calderdale College.
Inspiring learners…

Who are Calderdale College?

Calderdale College is the largest provider of further education in Calderdale and they offer a range of FE courses for students along with Apprenticeships for those who would prefer work-based learning. As the only University Centre in the borough, they also provide degrees and access to HE courses. They aim to provide the best education for those who are looking to expand their skills for the future.

The Brief

Browndog were asked to start strategic consultancy with Calderdale College, based in Halifax, which developed into a full service remit. We began working alongside the marketing team to help with strategy, branding and design implementation across all media, in order to bring in more students to study FE courses, HE courses or an Apprenticeship at Calderdale College.

New brand

As part of our involvement, we designed a new brand to give the college a more consistent and professional identity, which included a new logo, colour scheme, a hierarchy of messaging, graphic shapes and typography.

The new brand is lively and inviting, and clearly shows the key messages and calls to action. It was also important that the brand was easy to use so that staff throughout the college could create their own marketing materials without compromising on design.

Great photography is used frequently, most of which shows of current students and displays the friendly environment of the college. With these guidelines under our belts, we set out to create a whole range of brand new collateral, both online and offline.

Course Guide

Since then, we have created posters, leaflets, indoor and outdoor banners, as well as a brand new website and Course Guide. The inside of the college has also had a make-over, with the introduction of wall graphics and signage to make the college feel fresh and inviting.

Check out our recent blog post on the design and production of their 2019 Course Guide.

“Browndog are a great addition to our marketing team as they truly understand our markets and provide us with useful insight that can support our recruitment strategies.

Their expertise and experience of delivering fully integrated campaigns has been extremely beneficial and I would recommend them to anyone looking for a results-driven and audience-focused agency.”

Emma Lister, Head of Marketing & Recruitment at Calderdale College

PPC & SEO delivering results

Use of social media and paid search has also been an essential part of promoting key messages, enrolment details, courses and events, especially the Open Days. As part of our digital marketing, the paid search applications are converting at 8.32% since Jan 2018 and Organic Search (SEO) applications are converting at 8.98% since Jan 2018.

Day to day achievements, awards, new courses and facilities are documented on social platforms, allowing the college to connect with the outside world on a more personal level.

Launching a new website for the college

The new website makes finding and applying for courses easier, shows off the courses through quality images and videos, and allows the college to shout about new events and messages. With our training, the team over at Calderdale consistently update the site with new courses, events and information, allowing both prospective and current students and staff to stay in the know.

Responsive, Optimised, SEO, Lead Capture

Day to day

We consistently design and produce collateral for the college’s day-to-day life as will as targeted campaigns around events, courses and promotion.

We produce outdoor graphics around Calderdale as well as promotional materials for local print, so everyone within their catchment area can see Calderdale College’s presence.

Delivering results

Since Browndog came on board, Calderdale College have hit recruitment numbers for 2017/18, seen an increase in enquiries and found that their message is hitting a larger catchment area. FE numbers are up by 17% and HE up by 16%.

We were also lucky enough to win their ‘Award for Outstanding Partnerships’ for marketing consulting and designs. Browndog are proud to continually work with the college, as we are never short of new ideas, and make sure we help achieve their targets and goals.

Results

0 %
Website conversion rate across all channels meaning that visitors are engaged on site and have made a step towards applying for a course or getting in contact. UK average 2.86%
0 K
New users in 2018/2019 generating over 790K page views site wide.
0 %
Conversion rate on paid search across multiple campaigns in 2018/19 including enrolment events, open days and course specific campaigns.

Security and Hosting

It’s important to consider where your website is hosted and if other websites are hosted on the same server. When you use our hosting service, your website is hosted on a dedicated server with 24/7 support, should anything go wrong. We know that understanding server security and website hosting can be complex, so our experts are here to talk you through it all and find the best plan that works for you.

To read a recent review of the WP Engine platform by Digital.com please click here.

We’re pleased to say that the majority of our clients choose to host their websites with us.

 

How much does a good website cost to build?

  • A brochure site (a place to share information about your products or services) will cost between £6,000-£12,000 depending on the volume of pages, functional elements and any bespoke design requests you may have.
  • An ecommerce website (a place where you can sell your products or services and visitors can complete their transaction online) will cost from £10,000.
  • If you’re looking for completely bespoke design or just a website refresh, we’ll be happy to chat with you and provide a quote for your requirements.

We’ve developed over 200 websites. You can look at our catalogue of work here and chat with our clients if you’d like to get a feel for what it’s like to work with our team before we become partners in your project.

When you work with us, you’ll get that perfect combination of great design and technical development from our whole team, not just one person.

How long does it take to build a website?

Before we start any work, we’ll share a project plan which will include deadlines for providing content, and we’ll keep you updated if the expected times change.

Writing keyword-rich copy will keep visitors on your website and encourage them to work with you. If writing isn’t for you or you just don’t have time, we can produce a content plan on your behalf.

Why you need a website

Most customers will expect you to have a website and may question your legitimacy as a business if they can’t find you online. When a potential customer does find you, what should their first impression be? You want them to be confident when buying from you and to have a good feeling about your brand.

If growing your business is a goal, then having a website is a great place to gain leads. Using the right mix of keywords and a thorough digital marketing plan, you can become good friends with Google! Google will play a significant role in helping your customers find you online and giving you a positive return on investment for the cost of your website and online strategy.

Even the most basic of websites should serve as an informative tool to answer frequently asked customer questions and offer your first port of call for customer service. Your opening times, address and latest news or offers should be easy to find. Ultimately, the better your website is, the easier it will be to find, and a great website will help you to reach more customers.

Being online helps you to reach a much bigger pool of customers than a bricks and mortar store. Your website can be the key to extended success, with no limits on the scope of your customer geography other than your product/service capabilities.

Working with an agency like Browndog will give you a technically sound, fresh and functional website which is responsively designed, and provides consistent brand messaging for your customers. We’ll also take the guess work out of your online strategy and make sure your website is targeting the right customer segments to increase sales opportunities and raise brand awareness.

How much does it cost?

  • A marketing campaign animation or company/product introduction between 90-120 seconds in length will cost between £2,500 and £3,000. This will depend on the length of the video, the content, and any additional options such as a voice over or music. Don’t worry, we can guide you through best practice and find a plan that fits for you.
  • If you’d like us to produce a logo ident or gif animations for you to use on social media and in smaller campaigns, you can expect to pay between £250-£300. This will be a much smaller brief and will take less time than a campaign animation.
  • We’re more than happy to put together a bespoke package for you to include multiple campaign videos, logo idents, voice overs and photography or videography as needed. We do it all!

You can look at our catalogue of work here and chat with our clients if you’d like to get a feel for what it’s like to work with our team before we become partners in your project. 

How long does it take to produce an animation?

But here’s the kind of time you can expect your animation to take:

  • Marketing campaign animations – this will usually take us about three weeks to prepare. We like to allow a week for content and styling, followed by storyboarding and revisions. Finally, we’ll take another week to animate your work. These things are a work of art, you can’t rush them (and we won’t).
  • Logo idents, gifs and short animations – we estimate that this will take up to two weeks.

Are you ready to get started? Send us your brief today or give us a call to talk through your ideas. We’re a friendly bunch!*

*If you visit us, our office dogs may take part in your meeting.

What kind of animations can we help with?

Ideally, your marketing strategy will include a range of media content to achieve the greatest engagement and response from your audience.

We can help with animations and videos that include company and product introductions, as well as content for specific marketing campaigns. These types of animations can showcase who you are, and what you have to offer. Plus, they are an exciting way to launch a new product or service and get your customers on board.

When you work with us on your branding, why not include a logo ident to add that extra bit of personality to your business and content, setting you apart from your competitors.

Another growing area for animated content is social media and your website. We produce gifs, short video clips and motion graphics for use on web pages and in social posts. This is a great way to captivate the viewers’ attention, share your brand values and advertise your latest campaign or event.

Finally, when you work with us on your website, we highly recommend adding a range of graphics, animations and videos to keep visitors on your site and share your messaging in captivating ways. We’ve provided many website banners and short looping animations for our clients.

We will guide you through each of your animation journey, from assessing the content that will work best for you, to how long your animated content should be and where it should be placed.

Why is animation an important element of your content strategy?

Not only is it effective but using animation can be a cost-saving way to grab the attention of your audience and keep them looking at your content for longer. It’s considerably cheaper than producing recorded video footage because it can be easily edited and updated when needed.

Animation is the fastest growing type of content created by marketers for use on websites and social media, so if you’re not doing it yet, now is the time to start…

We understand that sometimes it can be difficult to explain complex ideas, products or services in text form or with images. That’s why many of our clients work with us to produce animations that take the information off the page and jump out at the audience.

Most importantly, animation has been proven to boost conversion rates on your website. Users are significantly more engaged and more likely to spend longer on your site or complete an action, such as filling in a contact form.

How will animation help my marketing strategy?

Animation is a powerful marketing tool and a great way to show some personality in your brand, making you more memorable (think: the Aldi carrot or the Netflix Tudum).

One of the great benefits of animation is that it can help you to share a lot of information in just a few seconds, because sometimes that’s all the time you have to attract a user’s attention.