Are digital prospectuses engaging enough for students? And are students even looking for a ‘prospectus’ at all?
According to the 2025 Media Mapper report from SMRS, digital platforms, including university websites, video, and social media, emerged as the top research tools for students.
The least favourable options?
- Generative AI
- Video calls with university staff
- And you guessed it, prospectuses (both online and printed)
We know a digital prospectus can do a solid job when it comes to sharing written information in a digital format. But students are asking for more when they’re researching. More interactivity. More immersion.
What digital prospectuses can do well
- They’re more accessible and sustainable than printed versions
- They can offer some level of personalisation for students or audience types
- They’re a cleaner, more engaging alternative to a printed PDF
But, at the end of the day, is it just a re-skinned brochure with buttons?
What Vepple helps you do differently
Charlotte Hopes, Head of Marketing at the University of the West of England, Bristol, swapped their digital prospectus entirely for Vepple. The results? They captured the same number of leads in one week that used to take a month with the old setup.
So what’s going on here?
It’s all about a smarter setup.
🧰One platform, many jobs
Vepple brings together immersive and peer-to-peer content, 360 virtual tours, video, live/on-demand events, personalisation, social media and lead capture — all in one place.
No more juggling multiple platforms. No more duplicating content. No more stretching your team across more tools that don’t talk to each other.
🔁 Maximise your content
Already got fantastic TikToks or YouTube Shorts? Bring them into your Vepple experience to bring another level to your virtual tours.
And it works both ways. Proud of a Guided Tour (link to Guided Tour demo) you’ve built in Vepple? Embed it on your website or WhatUni profile (link to IDP blog). The best part? You only need to update content once in Vepple, and it updates everywhere.
♿Built for everyone
From subject-level personalisation to content for specific audiences (parents, agents, international students, commuters), Vepple helps you create highly-personalised journeys.
And with our purpose-built Accessible Mode, you can share a version of Vepple that’s optimised for students with additional needs, including via direct link in your conversion comms.
🤝 Community-inspired
We don’t just build features and hope for the best. We work closely with our customers and real students to make sure Vepple drives results. We communicate with our community through meetups, while analysing data and feedback to shape Vepple around what end-users (your students) are looking for.
Shout out to the many universities helping us evolve Vepple. You know who you are 👀
In Summary…
Digital prospectuses helped move things forward, but students have moved on again. They’re not just looking for a modern brochure. They want tools that let them explore, immerse, and experience what your university is really like.
With Vepple, you’re not just sharing information, you’re creating an environment that brings your campus to life, flexes across channels, and lightens the load on your marketing team. One tool, more impact.
We leave you with this thought:
“Why juggle five platforms when one actually gets the job done?”
— Probably not Aristotle, but we think he’d want you to save money on software licenses.
TL:DR
Students want immersive, personalised experiences, not just a PDF in a slick wrapper.
Vepple is helping universities cut down on tools, stretch their content further, and free up team resource to focus on the important stuff.
