Morley College London
Morley College London is the capital’s largest Institute of Adult Learning. A merger with Kensington and Chelsea College in early 2020 means the college is comprised of three teaching centres in North Kensington, Chelsea and Waterloo.
I took up the new role of Chief Marketing and Engagement Officer at Morley in April 2020, just weeks after the first Covid-19 lockdown had been declared and barely a month after a major merger had taken place between Morley (based in South London) and Kensington and Chelsea College (based north of the river).
I lead on the marketing of all courses, external communications, internal communications, and running Morley Gallery - a professional-grade art gallery in Lambeth North - and Morley Radio.
In role: 2020-present day.
MAKEUP X Art (2024)
I initiated a collaboration with renowned makeup artist and online influencer James Mac, then produced a week-long exhibition at Morley Gallery.
Events included a sold-out Masterclass with James Mac, an Opening Party for 180 guests (the vast majority of whom were new to Morley) and a series of well-attended Meet and Greet events with the artist.
Sponsors included MAC Cosmetics, Diptyque, and a number of drinks brands.
The impact of the exhibition on Morley's social media reach was - as planned and anticipated - exceptional, with for example:
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impressions of Instagram posts reaching 155,000 in January 2024 vs 16,000 in January 2023,
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the Instagram reel of the Masterclass reaching 367% more accounts than the Morley average, and
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new audiences for content significantly outnumbering existing ones.
New Year's Drinks (2024)
For the second year in a row, I hosted New Year's Drinks for Morley's stakeholders.
150 guests enjoyed guided tours of the newly-refurbished Chelsea Centre for Creative Industries, stopping off at various 'activated' spaces along the way, before hearing from Night Csar and Morley alum Amy Lamé in a quartet of speeches in which I also took part (presenting a 'potted history' of Morley's 2023.)
Watch the video to the right to see visual highlights of the evening.
2023:
2024:
Morley Awards (2023 & 2024)
In 2023, I conceptualised, designed and hosted the Morley Awards ceremony - an end-of-year celebration of student, staff and stakeholder success.
Morley had run awards ceremonies before - but in a fragmented way, with students across 3 sites celebrating independently, and staff and stakeholder awards made separately at different times of year.
I fashioned a new approach, unifying the celebration of success in a vastly upgraded ceremony - held in a central London hotel - in July 2023.
Watch the video to the upper left to see me host the 2023 awards ceremony itself, presenting 26 awards in front of 180 invited guests.
In 2024 the ceremony returned, bigger and better (250 guests) than the year prior. Post-event evaluation realised an approval rating of 4.53 out of 5. Watch the video to the lower left.
Morley wins Heist award (2024)
Morley took the Gold prize in the highly competitive category of Most Effective Use of Digital or Social at the 2024 Heist Awards, which celebrate excellence and innovation in education marketing.
Morley was the only FE college to have been shortlisted in any of the 15 categories.
Described by judges as “an absolute standout in this category”, the winning entry – “Ecommerce for short course enrolments” – beat off competition from the likes of the University of Leicester, University of East London and University of East Anglia (silver, bronze and highly commended respectively).
Relaunch of The North Kensington Centre (2023)
When the merged Morley College London was created in 2020, the redevelopment and relaunch of the North Kensington Centre for Skills was a key priority.
Following a lengthy £13m renovation, I masterminded the organisation and promotion of the opening of the new facility in May 2023. Over four days, we hosted a Ministerial visit, an evening function for 200 VIP guests, a day of art projects for students and a Community Open Day.
ITV London covered the opening, meeting the objective of effectively promoting the day to potential learners.
I created the video to the right as an internal communication for staff across the college.
Introduction of E-commerce (2022-2025)
A large proportion of Morley's course offer is effectively commercial, with students parting with their own cash to study on a ceramics evening class or six-week upholstery course.
In late 2022 and early 2023, I scoped, commissioned and implemented an e-commerce platform to revolutionise how customers engage with Morley. Early benefits realisation includes a much simpler customer experience, modern payment systems such as Apple Pay, and the ability to effect business processes such as discounts, gift vouchers and refunds much more effectively.
Since implementation in June 2023 - and thanks in part to integrated marketing strategies enabled by the platform - total sales of short courses are running at over 10% higher than last year.
The second and final phase of the e-commerce project - dealing with more complex courses that rely on application rather than direct enrolment - is slated to go live in 2025.
Green for Grenfell (2021)
Those affected so profoundly by the Grenfell fire in 2017 are at the heart of Morley's community around its North Kensington Centre for Skills.
I lead the college's contribution to the commemoration of the tragedy, including in 2021 - as this short film shows - securing the collaboration of the college's lead building contractor (to sheath the building in 72 green hearts, one for each of the victims of the fire) and of the Illuminated River project (who worked with us to light up the building in Grenfell green).
A year prior, in 2020, I coordinated a 'green for Grenfell' project in hard lockdown, inviting staff to contribute to a collage image that demonstrated our support to the residents of W10.
The X of Morley (ongoing)
I originated The X of Morley as an enduring campaign to tell the many compelling stories of Morley College London, and in doing so to promote the college to stakeholders, media and - most importantly - future students.
This included the pioneering use of the new "Google Stories" feature, thereby enhancing Search Engine Optimisation for Morley content.
The campaign was also realised partially as a vehicle for exploring themes that Morley staff and students champion, including Black History Month, community outreach, and sustainability/the environment; and as a 'funnel' for ideas from disparate staff.
Teaching during a pandemic (2021)
I used crowdsourced video to create this 10-minute film documenting how Morley tutors had adapted to teaching during a pandemic.
It was used with governors to illustrate how the staff had flexed their working practices, and with staff to boost morale and share good practice.
Podcast: Business LDN conference (2023 & 2024)
I created this podcast to help promote the work of Business LDN, a close collaborator with Morley College London.
The 2023 edition (click here to listen) was published in September 2023; the 2024 edition in June 2024 (click widget to the right to play).