🎓 University of Bristol: Rethinking the Offer Holder Visit Day Experience

How a student-first mystery shopping exercise helped improve engagement, presentation delivery, and the overall on-campus experience.

When students visit campus, every detail matters. From the first signpost to the final seminar, the University of Bristol wanted to ensure its Offer Holder Visit Days made a powerful and lasting impression.

Building on recent improvements to its Open Day experience, the University partnered with us to evaluate its visit days from the student’s point of view — focusing on presentation delivery, signage, visual communications, and campus interactions.

🔍 What We Did

We attended Bristol’s Offer Holder Visit Day as mystery shoppers, experiencing it exactly as a prospective student would.

Here’s how we helped:

• 🎤 Seminar and Talk Evaluation
  We attended academic talks, central sessions (e.g. student finance, accommodation) and breakout groups — capturing the delivery style, level of engagement, and how inclusive and welcoming the atmosphere felt.

• 📍 Navigation and Wayfinding
  We tested how easy it was to find key locations, the visibility of signage, and the helpfulness of printed materials and staff support.

• 📚 Visual and Marketing Material Review
  We assessed everything from display graphics to exhibition stands, looking at how clearly they communicated the University’s brand, values and messages to new students.

• 🎥 Video Blog + Insight Report
  We created a short video blog to bring the findings to life, alongside a comprehensive written report with direct observations, key improvements since 2017, and actionable next steps.

📈 Results That Matter

• ✅ Clearer understanding of what’s working and what’s not

• ✅ Insight into how students perceive staff, signage, and seminars

• ✅ Real feedback on presentation quality and atmosphere

• ✅ Strategic recommendations to support student recruitment and conversion

“This project helped us turn assumptions into insight — and insight into action.”
— Student Recruitment Team, University of Bristol

🚀 Why This Approach Works

• 👥 Puts the student experience first

• 🔍 Blends qualitative and observational insight

• 📊 Generates data that informs strategy and design

• 🎬 Delivers content in a shareable, visual format