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Thieves Inc.: A closer look at the University of Sheffield's award-winning student safety campaign
Journal of Education Advancement & Marketing,
3
(1),
58-68
(2018)
Abstract
In 2015, students at the University of Sheffield responded to the university's annual Student Communications Survey by saying that they would like more safety information from the university. In response, the Student Communications Team developed Safe Sheffield, a city-wide initiative that would act as an umbrella for various campaigns tackling different aspects of safety for the 59,000+ students living in the city. The first of these campaigns, Thieves Inc., was launched in September 2016 and dealt with the theme of burglary and property theft. In contrast to other theft-awareness campaigns aimed at students, and instead of focusing on scare tactics, Thieves Inc. took a humorous approach in an attempt to get students to engage with the message. Thieves Inc. was an ambitious multi-platform campaign comprising a mockumentary-style film, five shorter 'theme' films, strong social media and print campaigns, and a custom-built website. Although arguably risky, Thieves Inc. was extremely well received by students and the wider Sheffield and higher education communities (winning 'Best Marketing and Communications Campaign' at the Guardian University Awards and Gold in the 'Best Low Budget Initiative' category at the HEIST Awards in 2017) and has paved the way for similarly unconventional campaigns by the Student Communications Team in future.
Keywords: communications; internal marketing; campaign; students; film; digital; social media
The full article is available to subscribers to the journal.
Author's Biography
Malcolm Roberts is Head of Student Communications at the University of Sheffield. Malcolm came to the university in 2008 as an internal communications officer, working with colleagues across the institution to tell staff stories while planning communications activities and campaigns. In 2012, Malcolm swapped audiences and became the Universitys first Student Communications Coordinator. Since he began this role, the Student Communications Team has grown from just him into a department of eight people, including film, animation, graphic design, social media and web development specialists. Malcolm is responsible for overseeing all the teams activity in terms campaigns and day-to-day communications, as well as liaising with teams and departments from across the university and the city of Sheffield to ensure their communications to students are being supported. Malcolm is also the founder and chair of the national UK Student Communications Forum, which meets once a year to share best practice and discuss changes within the sector that might have an impact on student communications as a whole.
Georgina Beardmore is the Student Communications Coordinator at the University of Sheffield. In her role, she focuses on student news and social media communications (content writing and metrics), as well as copywriting for video and the web. Prior to working at the University of Sheffield, Georgina worked in a variety of communications roles, including as a social media and project intern with local Sheffield arts charity, Art in the Park (now Ignite Imaginations). She was also a blogger and brand ambassador for Gola as part of their 2012 Born in Britain campaign. In 2013, one of her featured artists was chosen by the Gola marketing team to be the face of a follow-up national advertising campaign. Georgina graduated from her BA in German and History at the University of Sheffield in 2012 and went on to complete a Masters in English Literature and Creative Writing, also at the University of Sheffield, in 2013.
