Martin Bojam recently joined Education Cubed as Non Executive Chair. An HE veteran with decades of experience under his belt, he brings vision and knowledge to the table and is a welcome addition to the Cubed team. We spoke to him about his appointment and found out why digital marketing is so important for HE institutions.

How did you get involved with Education Cubed?
The shareholders and directors felt that I had a lot of Board level and management experience, specifically in education agencies, which would be very helpful as the business continues to grow.

Why did you want to work with the agency?
A project like this is very exciting. The agency has put down strong roots, has a strong client roster and excellent people, from top to bottom. I hope I can help build on these foundations.

Best piece of advice for an HE agency like Cubed? 
Keep focusing on client service 24/7 and continue to deliver excellent advice and value. It’s a very difficult environment for HE at the moment – universities need as much help as they can get.

Why is digital marketing so important for HE institutions today?
In some ways, the principles of advertising and communications haven’t changed over the years: what do you want to communicate, who do you want to communicate it to, and what’s the most effective means of doing so? Digital marketing now enables us to target more messages precisely to those we want to receive them, in a variety of cost effective ways and a range of contexts. There are, as always, a lot of snake oil salesmen out there. HE institutions need a well-informed, imaginative and transparent digital partner like Education Cubed to work alongside them.

What trends do you expect to see in HE in the future?
Too many for this piece! The number of 18 year olds in the UK will continue to fall until 2020, and won’t rise to the 2014 figure until 2024. Coupled with increasing uncertainty over non-UK numbers – and greatly increased competition at home and abroad – the sector will face significant financial pressures at the same time as questions over value for money, student satisfaction and even the role and importance of universities in society. I think that’s enough to start with!