‘Let your English grow’ is the first major marketing campaign to be launched under the auspices of PMI2. The aim of campaign is to raise the profile of English language learning opportunities in the UK.

The private English language sector, through English UK, agreed via a special resolution passed at their 2006 AGM, to contribute approximately a quarter of a million pounds worth of scholarships for three consecutive years to support PMI2.

At the centre of the campaign is a competition which offers the scholarships as prizes to entrants. Students visit the campaign microsite – www.letyourenglishgrow.org – where they can browse listings of the prizes on offer and apply for those that they would be interested in winning. Once completed, they then have to undertake a short test which helps explore their language skills and sets them a creative challenge. If their entry is successful and they are selected as one of the winners, they can look forward to taking up their course in the UK.

The campaign has been developed by the British Council, working closely with English UK, the sector and creative consultants, and is being delivered by the British Council in the UK and the participating markets. Significant on-line and off-line promotion of the competition is greatly enhancing the profile of the UK English language sector in target markets, sending a high visibility, positive message to audiences.

Promotional materials – including posters, postcards and web banners – have all been created in the UK to ensure consistency of message and delivered overseas in electronic ‘toolkit’ form for local production and placement. Similarly, the campaign’s microsite has been created centrally, including an English version of the site and versions in each of the languages of the participating markets.

Promotion has been further enhanced by direct engagement with the press and media. In an era of increasingly intense competition, it is vital to strengthen the UK’s position as the leading provider of English language courses. ‘Let your English grow’ provides a valuable platform to promote English language learning opportunities in the UK in a high-profile and meaningful way.

Campaign year one
The first campaign was developed in 2007 and was run in the following markets: Brazil, China, Mexico, Russia, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates. Each country implemented bespoke marketing initiatives to suit their market and promote the campaign. Journalists representing a wide range of media in the countries participated in the campaign and hosted familiarisation trips to the UK, kindly hosted by English UK member centres keen to show the best that the sector has to offer in terms of the range and quality of the UK’s English language study provision. The trips were considered a great success and generated additional, quality coverage for the campaign and, more importantly, the sector.

In total, an impressive 14,411 potential students entered the competition to win a scholarship, highlighting the significant interest from the six countries who contributed to the successful delivery of the campaign. In terms of the number of entrants, Turkey, Russia and Brazil generated the most interest, followed by China, Mexico and the United Arab Emirates. The campaign received significant exposure, even reaching local television channels and commuters on the Moscow underground.

Winners of the competition expressed their gratitude and spread positive word-of-mouth to others. One winner stated, 'I have no words to express what an amazing experience I had in England. It has a different culture, different people, amazing landscapes, good English classes, nice classmates and definitely really crazy weather.'

Campaign year two
The campaign was run again in 2008 in the following markets: Brazil, Thailand, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates. As in year one of the campaign, each country implemented bespoke marketing initiatives to suit their individual markets and promote the campaign, including print, on-line and television advertising. Marketing activity also focussed on below-the-line activities, which included flyers, e-shots and face-to-face presentations and announcements. The total audience reached through advertising was an impressive 4.3 million.

In total, 6,091 potential students entered the competition. The majority of entrants came from Turkey, followed by Brazil, Thailand and the UAE. 153 winners were selected, with 121 English language schools offering at least one scholarship.

The number of entrants decreased from year one because the competition was run in fewer countries and for a shorter period of time. Focusing on four priority markets, the campaign succeeded by building on the first year of the campaign and continuing to promote the UK English language sector overseas. The impact of the campaign was suitably summarised by a student in Mexico who resigned from their place of work to take up the scholarship, quoting: 'I think that sometimes there are once-in-a-lifetime opportunities and I decided to take the risk. Nowadays in Mexico, studying in other countries (especially overseas) is a privilege that only few people can afford; somehow, I was in the right place at the right moment and I wouldn't let it go that easy'.

For further information about this campaign, please contact the PMI2 team.