Online Advertising with UCAS during Clearing 2008

What happens on the site during Clearing?

On A Level results day, 14th August this year, the UCAS homepage is taken down and replaced by the clearing homepage which links only to the Track service where applicants can see the status of their applications and to the Clearing Vacancy search, a list of all the vacancies still available.

This page stays live in place of the UCAS homepage for 2 days. After that time the normal UCAS homepage goes back but carries an additional link to the clearing homepage (the page which was live for the first 2 days). The clearing homepage stays online for 4 weeks. This page carries 4 ads and additional text links at the bottom of the page but they are both restricted to commercial organisations.

There are two options available for member institutions; Vacancy Search and Track Logout, both of which are live for the full 4 weeks of clearing.

VACANCY SEARCH

This slot appears inside the clearing vacancy search. This is strictly limited to 4 advertisers. However this is the first touch-point for a university or college during the clearing process. The audience is made up of those people who are searching for a course through clearing. Adverts link, of course, to the universities own website. As with all clearing advertising, bookings are on a first come first served basis and must be made with a valid PO number.

Clearing Vacancy Search - 2007 Stats

  • First day of Clearing 2007 2,772,458 impressions were recorded
  • First week of Clearing 2007 5,013,275 impressions were recorded
  • End of Clearing 2007 6,334,779 impressions were recorded

Advert Specification

  • 120 x 60 pixel, landscape aspect
  • Animated gif or static gif, no Flash
  • File size not larger than 3KB
  • 4 slots available
  • £20,000 plus VAT

TRACK LOGOUT

When users log out of the Track service they are shown the Track Logout page. This page is displayed regardless of whether the user logs out correctly or simply closes their browser. This ensures that it is seen by every user who logs out of the Track service. The page carries ten 345 x 60 banners, the top four of which are guaranteed to be visible in any maximised browser, regardless of screen resolution. Again these ads are available on a first come first served basis with a valid PO number.

Track - 2007 Stats

  • First Day of Clearing 2007 4,985,920 impressions were recorded
  • First week of Clearing 2007 8,836,980 impressions were recorded
  • End of Clearing 2007 10,573,339 impressions were recorded

Advert Specification

  • 345 x 60 pixel, landscape aspect
  • Animated gif or static gif, no Flash
  • File size not larger than 5KB
  • 10 slots available
  • Top 4 Slots £14,500 plus VAT
  • Lower 6 Slots £10,000 plus VAT

Tracking and Click Through Rates

UCAS hosts and serves all images and but is unable to guarantee tracking on click through rate due to extremely high levels of traffic. Therefore we recommend implementing third party click tracking. We do not support third party image tags however. If you are unsure about this please contact Dan Fraenkel on 01242 544880 prior to producing your ad. Page impression and unique user data is available. All prices exclude VAT.

File Size

Due to the massively increased traffic levels during clearing this file size is non-negotiable and failure to provide a file which meets this requirement will lead to the ad being dropped from the page.

Bookings

Bookings will be taken by telephone only from 9am 14th April 2008 a valid PO# will be required at the point of booking. On that day, as mentioned earlier, the advert slots will be allocated on a first come first served basis. Graphics and URLs must reach UCAS Media no later than Wednesday 25th July 2008.

Bookings will be coordinated by Dan Fraenkel and will not be available through any other members of the team. To book please call Dan on 01242 544880.