Experience & credentials

I’m David Miller. I’ve been helping blue chip brands for years, from Marmite to Toyota, from Saatchi & Saatchi to WPP.

In 2011, I joined the University of Exeter as Head of Marketing, and for the next five years I helped drive the Exeter brand up students’ consideration lists to the point where in 2016 when I left, 50% of AAA+ students included Exeter on their UCAS short-list.

One of the most enjoyable elements of my role was working with academics, refreshing low-recruiting programmes and launching entirely new programmes. From the BSc in Medical Sciences to BSc Business in the Cornwall Campus. From Natural Sciences to Liberal Arts. Not to mention bringing a marketing perspective to the entire Masters portfolio.

Most marketing people in universities are good at selling their current portfolio. But often they don’t have the time, or sometimes the skill-set, to help academics refresh their portfolios or develop and launch new programmes. This is why I set up Academic Programme Development. Partly because I love working with academics. Partly because developing differentiated programmes and university positioning is core to student recruitment. And so much cheaper than wasting millions on advertising campaigns.

My USP as an HE marketing man? I bring a private sector skill-set to higher education, with a clear focus on portfolio development and university positioning. Both require years of experience in proposition development. Experience which you simply don’t get if you’ve only ever worked in the public sector. 

I work with a range of other specialist talents, from data analysts to market researchers to university planners. Sometimes within universities, sometimes, without. Together our combined efforts relieve the pressure on academics, de-risk the programme development process and maximise the chances of success.