2020 O-Week Report

ANNUALREPORT REPORT 2018 O-WEEK 2020

Your student experience starts here

Contents Key achievements

4

Orientation 7 Events 8 Volunteers 11 Commercial 12 O-Week online

14

Key achievements 17-21 February 2020

5,377

students collected an O-Week bag

14,650 total event attendance

Steady growth in student

participation, event attendance and commercial activity

Expansion to University Drive provided a dedicated club zone

Launch of a new Guild message as the ‘Student life experts’

65 640

student volunteers

98 stalls

4

volunteer hours

Orientation

448

students attended a Guild campus tour

5,500

campus maps distributed

280

attended Intro to Uni Life seminar

Events

6

sold-out events

Launch of Twilight Cricket and Gamer’s Night (e-Sports)

20

11

Rooftop Roller Disco attendance and capacity increased to 630

Volunteers

new student volunteers recruited

promoted to Volunteer Leader

New Volunteer Hub and social opportunities

Commercial

144 new members to Uni Fitness

Launched a new pop up merchandise stall

5

“

Seeing the buzz of the festival was amazing.

– Guild Crew volunteer

6

”

Orientation This year the Student Guild successfully welcomed the new cohort of Gold Coast students with many events and activities achieving record growth and participation.

Overall attendance increased from last year despite initially lower predictions due to the reduced 2020 intake and global Covid-19 epidemic impacting many public spaces. Activities were available all week however this year the Guild focused the majority of the orientation effort on the Monday, hosting tours, markets, club signon, and activations. Opening University Drive to host a dedicated club zone proved very successful with many clubs reporting up to triple the number of sign-ups on

previous years. This additional space also supported the growing number of corporate stalls which continue to be a draw card for students. To further define the zones, the Guild consolidated many of our own past stalls into one interactive Student Guild Lounge at The Link (G07) deck.

This was part of an overarching Guild strategy to convey a clearer Guild level brand and message to students that we are ‘your student life experts’ and ‘your student experience starts here’ (at orientation). The new messaging has also been supported by the launch of a new Guild website which is generating increased traffic and engagement.

KPIs

Official attendance (O-week bags)

2018

2019

2020

6,130

5,346

5,377

150

448

Campus tours (# of students) Intro to Uni Life seminar

N/A

200

280

Business stalls

25

31

40

Griffith stalls

14

15

11

Club stalls

38

34

47

Highlights • 4,500 students received an ice cream for voting on the perfect way to start their university experience (sport, social, clubs, volunteering) in the Guild Lounge • Student Guild Board members spoke at 6 O-Week faculty lectures to welcome new students • 91% of volunteers were positive the Guild captured new students’ attention at O-Week and 70% thought Guild messaging was particularly clear • Uni Bar launched a new Instagram page attracting just under 400 followers in the week • Uni Bar launched a new student Social Club, attracting 192 sign-ups

7

Events The Guild’s 2020 O-Week program saw several sell-out events and high engagement across all formats. The core program of events remained largely consistent from previous years however several improvements were made to logistics and marketing. The sport department initiated two new trials which were designed to build momentum in developing interest areas. Twilight Cricket

rallied supporters towards re-starting the Cricket Club and Gamer’s Night demonstrated a clear student interest for a physical space to support e-sport participation. This mix of innovation and stability saw our student volunteers rate the events schedule as the most effective component of O-Week, evidenced by attendance numbers.

KPIs

Dive-In Movie Griffith Aquatic Centre (G45) Rooftop Roller Disco Multistorey Carpark (G55) Float Fest Griffith Aquatic Centre (G45) Comedy Night Uni Bar (G07) Uni Bar Kick-Off Uni Bar (G07) Beach Party Uni Bar (G07) Twilight Cricket Athletics Track (G43) Gamer’s Night Athletics Track Club House (G43)

2018

2019

2020

500

465

420

450

550

630

150

250

420

400

375

600

600

1,000

1,300

1,200

1,255

N/A

N/A

50

N/A

N/A

65

Highlights • Beach Party sold out with 1,400 tickets sold and 1,255 attending on the night • Uni Bar Kick-Off was the precursor to monthly Uni Nights and had a record turnout of 1,000 • Rooftop Roller Disco achieved record attendance of 630 (14.5% increase on 2019) and also implemented a new shoe cloaking process and a time-based wristband which rotated groups around the rinks to ease congestion • 960 Red Bulls given away across all events

8

9

“

The best part about O-Week is the team bonding and making new friends. We’ve worked so well together.

– Guild Crew volunteer

10

”

Volunteers New Volunteer Leader roles were formalised which gave 11 of the more experienced student volunteers an opportunity to lead their own zone. This aided Guild staff’s ability to communicate key messages, check in on welfare and trouble shoot multiple areas simultaneously. In the lead up to and during O-Week, more emphasis was placed on providing social networking opportunities to volunteers

through events and activities. A key introduction was converting the Athletics Track Club House into a dedicated Volunteer Hub to provide a central location for briefings, breaks and social catch ups following shift completions.

These initiatives were very successful in boosting volunteer recognition and satisfaction.

KPIs 2018

2019

2020

Number of volunteers

50

61

65

Volunteer shifts

106

120

110

610

640

Volunteer hours

Highlights • 11 experienced volunteers were recruited as ‘Volunteer Leaders’ providing peer to peer leadership throughout the week • 97% of volunteers had a mostly positive experience and 91% had positive interactions with new students overall • 94% often or always felt positive and full of energy with only 24% experiencing some moments of stress or being outside their comfort zone • 88% agreed they were given enough preparation and training while 91% agreed they were provided with clear communication and direction during the week • 20 of the volunteers were new in 2020 and performed incredibly well jumping straight into the busiest week of the year • 82% of volunteers surveyed believed they were placed in roles which were well suited to their skills and interests

11

Commercial There seemed to be little hesitation for students to stay on campus throughout the week, evidenced by reasonable growth in sales across the Student Guild’s commercial outlets (1.2% up on 2019). This financial performance was aided by several new trials and initiatives. Uni Fitness implemented new systems that enabled front desk staff to provide facility tours and detailed membership advice (where previously students were referred to a membership brochure). Uni Fitness also replaced ‘Open Day’ with O-Week discount vouchers, offering students flexible trials which proved very successful, setting a new record of 30 new membership sign-ups in one day.

The Uni Store created a new pop up stall among the O-Week corporate stalls which took advantage of increased interest in buying GUGC branded merchandise and apparel. Village Café noticed a reduction in foot traffic with approx. 300 Griffith College students reported to have been affected by the ongoing Covid-19 outbreak, however still achieved strong results. Australia Post also noticed an emerging demand for postage services with students opting to sell their used textbooks online. Some challenges were experienced with the implementation of a new point of sale system just prior to the busy period however these issues are being resolved as the project progresses.

KPIs 2018

2019

2020

Total O-Week sales

$72,866

$75,434

$76,361

Uni Bar - O-Week sales

$43,140

$46,805

$46,648

The Uni Store - O-Week sales

$19,494

$16,713

$16,984

Australia Post - O-Week sales

$1,770

$1,795

$1,575

Village Café - O-Week sales

$8,462

$10,121

$11,154

132

144

Uni Fitness - New members

Highlights Village Café

Uni Bar

• 1,161 customers visited in O-Week compared to 1,110 customers in 2019

• Event attendance and engagement was higher overall in 2020 despite total Uni Bar sales for O-Week being slightly lower than the previous year

• $3.00 iced coffee promotion - sold 276 iced coffees

• Beach Party sales were $21,642.00 ex GST, up approx. $1,000 on 2019 • Uni Bar Kick-Off took $12,000 ex GST

12

Uni Fitness

The Uni Store

• Increased O-Week membership sign-ups with 144 (vs 132 in 2019)

• 149 O-Week 15% off vouchers were redeemed, 77 for merchandise

• A new initiative handing out 48-hour discount cards at the Monday O-Week stall saw 36 new members join the gym, setting a record for most sign-ups in one day (30)

• The O-Week pop up stall achieved $900 in merchandise sales

• 53 gym trials were activated with 5 converted to membership

• Top seller was 317kg of bulk confectionery achieving $1,273 revenue

13

O-Week online 17-21 February 2020

pare values from a single u can compare the number alesperson. Values are the whole. To highlight a pie drag it away from the center.

Fundraiser Results by Salesperson

GUGCSTUDENTGUILD.COM.AU PARTICIPANT

UNITS SOLD

Organic search

33

Direct

67

Users

3,381

hart

Return users

New users

67%

33%

Total page views

31,654

Direct

Most visited pages 2

Pie and donut charts compare values from a single category. For example, you can compare the number of products sold by each salesperson. Values are shown as a percentage of the whole. To highlight a pie wedge or donut segment, drag it away from the center.

Social Pie Chart

48%

Referral

5. Uni Fitness

Direct 31%

30%

Direct

Organic search

Direct

Referral

As at 21 February 2020

14

Referral 11%

Organic search

4. Intercampus bus

14,077

R

Social 7%

30%

Facebook likes

D

S

7%

2. Beach Party

Social media

O

Acquisition

1. Homepage 3. Clubs

P

Instagram followers

2,730

Social

15

The Link (G07) Parklands Drive PO Box 96 Gold Coast Campus Griffith University QLD 4222 gugcstudentguild.com.au (07) 555 28724 guildinfo@griffith.edu.au 16