Press releases

Students in Birmingham were welcomed to the city with an exclusive gig at Kerrang on 15 October. Students from the city’s three universities enjoyed a gig by local band Max Raptor. The band, a four piece rock/punk band who has recently supported major acts such as The Zutons and Calvin Harris, scheduled a special performance to celebrate Student Birmingham, a campaign by Marketing Birmingham.

The website - www.studentbirmingham.com - has a special Kerrang! section offering students the chance to win tickets to exclusive gigs. These gigs allow fans to get up close and personal to the band and are filmed and streamed online. The performance by Max Raptor will be available soon to view online at www.studentbirmingham.com.

Student Birmingham was launched last year to promote Birmingham as the place to be for students and graduates. The next phase of the campaign builds on previous activity including a website – www.studentbirmingham.com - which has a guide to what’s on in the city, top tips and blogs from current students. The campaign encourages potential students to choose Birmingham as their university destination, and ensures those who are currently studying in the city stay and build their careers here.

Dave Hodgson, marketing director at Marketing Birmingham, says:
“Students are a vital asset to a city and so it’s a competitive market with many locations to choose from. We want to ensure students from across the UK choose Birmingham as a place to live and study, and Student Birmingham’s partnership with Kerrang will help to reach out to them.

“Students come from across the country to study in Birmingham. We’re already seeing this in our campaign with over 80% web traffic is from UK visitors outside of Birmingham (the most are from London).  
“Student Birmingham is a campaign by students for students. After all, who better to spread the word about Birmingham, than students currently studying here?”

Wil Ray, singer with Max Raptor, says: “As a Midlands band, most of us have grown up in Birmingham and love what it has to offer. It’s a great night out, and there’s a real hotbed of talent coming from the city’s music scene! It’s an exciting time to be a musician in Birmingham, and we had a great response to our gig – the students loved it!”

Birmingham has the biggest student population of any city outside London, educating around 60,000 undergraduate and postgraduate students. In addition to the facilities and resources offered by the universities themselves, as Europe's youngest city, Birmingham offers students the opportunity of a fantastic lifestyle with top quality culture, shopping and nightlife.

Dave Hodgson, marketing director at Marketing Birmingham, with Max Raptor