Last week I attended the Communications and Marketing (CAM) Conference for the first time. It’s a one-day event for University staff interested in communications and marketing, held at the John McIntyre Conference Centre and attended by around 200 people. You can find out more about the conference on the CAM Conference SharePoint (University login required for access).

By way of introduction, I’m a Content Design Assistant in the User Experience (UX) team at the University. My role involves supporting University colleagues with content on their websites and other platforms.

My motivations for attending the conference were to:

• learn more about the work of CAM teams given how closely the UX team often work with them on different projects
• upskill on topics related to the key theme of the conference – the ‘power of brand’.

Our Edinburgh brand

Having joined the University fairly recently, it was interesting to hear about the evolution of the University’s brand and the work that CAM did with MarComms agency, The Gate around brand positioning. I learnt about the University’s positioning statement (see below) and how it can be used as a platform for communicating key messages to the University’s vast array of audiences.

Nothing ordinary comes from our extraordinary people, place and practice.

Impactful brand storytelling

Former BBC journalist Mark Egan’s key note speech was a particular highlight of mine, which focused on the power of brand storytelling.

It was great to get his perspective on how to create content which truly resonates with key audiences. In his view, this often involves leading with the human element of the story you are trying to communicate. He surmised this well with the Terry Pratchett quote:

“People think that stories are shaped by people. In fact, it’s the other way around.”

Mark also touched on the importance of adapting your content style to suit different formats and platforms. Given the wide range of audiences that the University has to reach, Mark’s practical advice on how to do so effectively was insightful.

Breakout sessions and networking

The break-out sessions and networking opportunities provided the chance to chat with colleagues and get involved in some more hands-on sessions. Staying with the theme of storytelling, I attended the ‘Sustainability: creative storytelling to enhance our brand’ afternoon break-out session.

It was great to hear about the latest thought leadership around sustainability at the University. I also took part in a fun group exercise, where you had to come up with a creative idea to showcase some of the sustainable initiatives at the University.

Sonia Virdi and I were pleased to win one of Sarah Ford-Hutchison’s coveted stickers for our idea of  running an ‘Interior Design Masters’ style competition for new students to showcase how they’ve upcycled or used preloved items from EUSA’s ‘Take What you Need’ shop during Welcome Week, to creatively furnish their accommodation. In turn telling the story of the efforts the University is making to reuse items and reduce waste.

Final thoughts

Overall, I thought the conference was a really worthwhile day. The calibre of speakers both internal and external made it informative and engaging. There was a real sense of collaboration and shared endeavour to learn more about ways in which we can reflect the University’s key values and messages in our brand.

The conference reinforced to me that upholding and strengthening a brand takes a collective effort where everybody has a role to play, rather than it being just the responsibility of the communications and marketing teams. I took away some key insights about the University brand and how I can play a part in telling the University’s stories by helping to create good online content for our audiences.