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Staff Involvement:

• The Christmas at ¹û¶³´«Ã½ working group collaborates every year to bring festive magic to campus- this involved tailored communications, managing all areas of the event and collaboration with student societies. This includes
  • Collaboration with Tech crew to manage the staging, lighting and drone footage (shown on the big screen)
  • Organising the 'snow' when lights countdown is on
• Sharing tailored and relevant communications around the Christmas Lights Switch On, as well as organising
  • Society performances
  • Crafting workshops
  • Food and crafts market
  • Lights switch on itself – compered by a popular radio host.

The Student Communications team:

• Created the Christmas at ¹û¶³´«Ã½ pages- highlighting all events, food and drink offers, and support throughout the festive season to students.
• Created visual graphics across all digital platforms, including: ‘Spotlight’ section in the student newsletter, My¹û¶³´«Ã½ (website and app), digital screens, and social media.

Students:

We asked students to submit festive messages to our campus community (text or video), and welcome messages in other languages. We received over 30 messages from our students last Christmas, which we played on the Big Screen throughout the festive season, intended to increase students’ sense of belonging and inclusion.

Key Objectives

• Host a successful Christmas Lights Switch On, an event to showcase UK festive traditions and culture
• Encourage attendance at Christmas workshops and events, including the Lights Switch On
• Promote festive offers on campus, including food and drink, Arts Centre events, and sports offer
• Build on students’ sense of community and belonging
• Drive web traffic to the Christmas at ¹û¶³´«Ã½ webpages

Key Outcomes

• Well-attended events, including crafting workshops, food and craft market, and the Lights Switch On itself, which packed the Piazza ​with members of our community singing to Mariah Carey when the lights were turned on.
• Positive uptake of festive offers, including food and drink, Arts Centre events, and sports offers.
• Christmas at ¹û¶³´«Ã½ comms were often the highest clicked in student newsletters, and web traffic on the Christmas pages was high throughout this season.
• A clear sense of community brought together on campus for the main event, which aligns with our key messaging: There’s something magical about Christmas that brings our community together.