The biggest misconceptions universities have about launching a virtual experience
Universities rarely question the value of a virtual experience. More often, they hesitate simply because setting one up sounds like an enormous undertaking. When your team is already balancing Open Days, clearing campaigns, website projects, CRM migrations and a seemingly endless stream of stakeholder requests, adding one more initiative to the list can feel overwhelming. […]
How UWE Bristol replaced their digital prospectus with Vepple and increased leads by 969%
TL:DR By consolidating recruitment activity into a single high-performing virtual experience, UWE Bristol dramatically increased leads while reducing costs by 92%. The Challenge Over successive recruitment cycles, undergraduate digital prospectus requests had steadily declined for UWE Bristol, resulting in a 40% year-on-year decrease in leads for the university. It was clear the prospectus was no […]
How Heriot-Watt University doubled RUK Offer Holder Day attendance with Vepple
💡 TL;DR Heriot-Watt swapped out heavy print and static PDFs for a personalised, digital guide in Vepple to make their Offer Holder Days more connected and student-friendly, and their key RUK audience attendance increased 79% year-on-year. The Challenge Recruiting fee-paying Rest of the UK (RUK) students is fiercely competitive for Scottish universities. It’s a massive […]
How the University of Huddersfield turned the Vepple Team-Building Event prize money into a well-deserved breather
In the current Higher Education climate, team bonding (especially in the form of ‘fun’) is often the first thing to be struck off the balance sheet. When university marketing and recruitment teams are facing stretched budgets, rising enrolment targets, and the relentless pressure of the recruitment cycle, justifying an afternoon of team-building can feel like […]
All eyes on campus: Why 360° photography is a hygiene factor in 2026
In the competitive world of student recruitment, the first impression you give prospective students can really be make or break. Your imagery is often the very first moment a prospective student steps into your world. But while most university sites are excellent at explaining what a degree entails, they frequently fail at the one thing […]
Making the case for a virtual experience (when budgets are tight)
If you’re thinking “Vepple looks great, but how do we justify the investment?”, you’re not alone. Across the sector, budgets are under pressure and that’s forcing universities to look much harder at where their money is going, what’s actually working, and what students genuinely engage with. We speak to a lot of teams who are […]
Vepple Voices: How I used virtual experiences to narrow down my Open Day choices
Hi, I’m Jamayla, a 17-year-old performing arts student from Leeds, currently choosing my five universities for my UCAS application. When it comes to picking a uni, there’s a lot to think about. Finding Vepple completely changed how I went about it, from what I looked for, to how I prepped for open days, and how […]
Vepple In-Person 2025: Highlights, takeaways and snowmen
On Thursday 4 December, we packed out a room with over 60 student recruitment and digital champions for Vepple In-Person and brought everyone together under one roof. Fresh ideas, campus stories, future-thinking conversations, and even a little festive competition…. And dare we mention our Christmas Cracker Icebreaker? If you missed it (or want to relive […]
The students you don’t see: How Vepple opened up new opportunities for BCU
💡 TL;DR BCU used Vepple to make ‘stealth students’ visible, driving 53% brand-new leads straight into their recruitment funnel. The Challenge Like many universities, BCU noticed a steady drop in open day attendance – a trend exacerbated by the rising cost of living. Where students once visited five campuses, they were now attending fewer and […]
How Greenwich reimagined Open Days — and engaged more audiences along the way
💡 TL;DR Running separate virtual campus tours and in-person Open Days didn’t split attention — it increased it. The Challenge The University of Greenwich successfully implemented hybrid events post-pandemic, using Vepple to support virtual attendance at each in-person Open Day. Guided by their data, the university’s Events team decided to rethink their strategy for 2025 […]