Virtual exhibition 2014 for UK pre-university education

The British Council China is delighted to invite you to join our virtual exhibition 2014 for UK pre-university education (from 7 April to 9 May 2014). In line with promoting diverse sector enrolment amongst Chinese students, the education marketing team of the British Council China will highlight key aspects of UK based pre-university courses and programmes to key Chinese stakeholders and the general public via virtual exhibition, which will promote the strength of UK education in this area, as well as to provide a targeted promotional channel for UK education institutions.

What’s the virtual exhibition?

Virtual exhibition provides an online platform to showcase UK educational excellence with a variety of online and offline resources.

The previous virtual exhibitions have successfully demonstrated the value and attraction of this new online initiative, and have proved a big success in terms of volume and ROI.

In past years, the virtual exhibition has created positive impacts in the Chinese overseas study market.  Positive reports have also been made on local key print media and specialty websites.  Media monitoring suggests that a 76 times return on promotional investments have been achieved. 

Pre-university Education in China

We held virtual exhibitions annually since 2007, and this will be the second time we pioneer the pre-university courses and programmes as the theme. The reason to choose the pre-university courses and programmes as the main focus is due to the increasing demand in the China market.

On one hand, the growing wealthy families have expressed strong interests to send their children to study overseas at an earlier age. And as the relatively lower exchange rate to GBP and higher CPI, UK pre-university education becomes more popular and affordable. On the other hand, both Chinese public schools and private schools have become more open to international cooperation; meanwhile, education agents are acting more aggressively in this sector as their clients’ demand keeps growing.

Features and Benefits

As a pilot e-campaign for non-HE sectors, this year’s virtual exhibition provides UNIQUE online and offline resources, as well as a traditional platform and promotional channels, to ensure a successful trial.

The theme of the virtual exhibition 2014 is pre-university education in UK. We will provide netizens a head-to-tail guidance of this sector and general knowledge about visa application, guardian services, and living options.

In order to cater to various needs and demands, participants will be segmented into four groups:

• Boarding school (focus on GCSE and A-level courses)
• College (focus on A-level or IB courses)
• University foundation (in either college or university campus)
• Service providers (including guardian and living services)

Participants’ information will be posted in combination with other multiple features, such as photos, video clips, inter-active channels, PPT display, to ensure a 360 degree showcase of their academic excellence and unique selling points. As usual, an online service centre will be set up including FAQ and online enquiries handled through online chats. All enquiries will be shared to specific participants for further follow-up.

Exclusive online and offline benefits include:

• A broader-than-ever e-platform based on 163.com (Netease) the number ONE Chinese online portal focusing on teenage audience and education sector. For your reference, we have attracted more than 1 million online visitors through this platform in the virtual exhibition 2012 for UK pre-university courses (http://edu.qq.com/zt2012/ygwljyz/index.htm).
• A well-established Education UK group on QQ Weibo (Chinese Twitter), with a figure of 360,000 followers including students, parents and agents
• Visa application instructions exclusively for pre-university education, including online Q&A, online-chat with ECO, supported by UKBA
• Cooperation channel accessible by potential local partners, such as schools and agents.
• Various event promotion channels including online channels such as QQ Weibo, Sina Weibo, and offline promotions by our own market development colleagues

What to Expect

Virtual exhibition offers a more affordable, accessible and cost-effective channels to those who have limited marketing budget yet need to raise their profiles and reach more audience.  Comparing to traditional education exhibitions, virtual exhibition is:

• Geographically diversified
  Institutions can reach target audiences outside the major cities who may be academically and financially qualified for studying abroad, but unable to attend a face to face event.
• Convenient
  Institution representatives will be able to sit in their own offices in the UK and make contact with Chinese audiences in a timely and effective manner without travelling to China.
• Measurable
  Institutions will receive a statistical report on the traffic to their “stand” and the promotion and media coverage details after the event.

Input needed 

Once enrolled, you will be required to:

• prepare and send us materials in text (.doc), PowerPoint (.ppt), photos (.jpg) or videos (.avi)

• Information about your institution including a brief introduction, competitive advantage, and unique selling points. Supplementary information such as scholarship , Chinese alumni stories and experience sharing would be highly attractive to netizens
• General information of costs, application process, criteria, scholarships, etc. 
• Photos, PPT, videos that could better showcase your excellence and competitive advantages
• All information please be translated into Chinese or with Chinese script so as to be more eye-catching.

• Handling enquiries and messages left by the visitors efficiently.  It will be more efficient for Chinese staff to handle the enquiries in Chinese. And you should plan to staff your institution’s online community accordingly.
• Alumni online video interviews may be arranged during the virtual exhibition if you could recommend your Chinese alumni to us.

Participation rates

The cost of participation in the exhibition is £600 per institution per category.  The minimum number of participating institutions is 15 and the maximum is 30. You may also choose special promotion and services are listed as below:

* All quotations are exclusive for VAT
** Flash banner promotion slots are limited to 3 per category. Applications will be accepted on a first come first served basis and listed in alphabet order on the website.

Important dates