University of Sydney comes to life with launch of its new virtual tour via The Monkeys and Collider

Prospective students will be able to experience life at the University of Sydney from afar with the rollout of an innovative new virtual tour this August created in collaboration with agency The Monkeys and Sydney-based production company Collider.

As the University of Sydney prepares to welcome more than 27,000 visitors for Open Day on Saturday 29 August, international- or rural-based students unable to attend can explore the campus online by visiting the virtual tour website.

The tour shows the University of Sydney experience through the eyes of current students, who narrate an interactive video of the campus and a snapshot of the best that Sydney has to offer.

As well as taking users on an immersive, 360-degree journey across the University’s landmark sites like the iconic Quadrangle, graffiti tunnel and Charles Perkins Centre, the tour also visits tourist hotspots such as Sydney Harbour and Bondi beach to depict the complete University of Sydney student experience.

Says Paul Bruce, creative director – The Monkeys says: “Choosing a university is a huge decision that will shape the rest of your life. We wanted the experience to give users time to consider the social and cultural factors, as well as deliver factual information, in a more engaging way.”

Users can explore locations on the interactive tour by swiping or rotating their devices, following along a narrative video or choosing their own way through the sites by clicking on selected hotspots for more details.

Johanna Lowe, Head of Marketing, Communications and Engagement – The University of Sydney added: “The virtual tour provides the perfect platform to showcase our beautiful campus and buzzing culture with the world.”

Says Johanna Lowe, head of marketing, communications and engagement at the University of Sydney: “The virtual tour provides the perfect platform to showcase our beautiful campus and buzzing culture to the world, helping our future students to make sense of the place as they prepare to make one of their biggest life decisions – where to study.

“The tour is part of our broader digital transformation, and is focused on reaching our audiences the way they are communicating – on their mobile and tablet devices first.

“We set out to produce a tool that was not only best practice in higher education marketing, but was truly world-leading both in terms of innovation and technical functionality.”

More than 10,000 – or close to 20 per cent – of students at the University of Sydney come from overseas.

The tour has been launched as part of the University of Sydney’s new website, which uses the sector-leading content management system, Adobe Experience Manager (AEM). Implemented by BizTech Enterprise Solutions, the new corporate site was developed in consultation with Deloitte Digital to streamline user experiences in design and navigation.

Says Marian Theobald, director of marketing and communications and chief marketing officer at the University of Sydney: “Our new corporate site is the first step in a multi-year project to revitalise the University’s digital presence, assisted with our fresh visual identity.

“With 1.2 million pages and hundreds of independent sites, our former website didn’t ‘show off’ the University as well as it could. For a large and complex organisation like the University of Sydney, with diverse user groups spanning current and future students, researchers, donors, alumni and the general community, it was important to enhance the functionality of our site.

“Our new site is user-centred and experience rich. We offer terrific content at the University of Sydney – and now we’re thrilled to be able to offer a more intuitive and responsive platform to engage with this content across platforms and devices.”

More than 22 million people visit the University of Sydney’s web pages each year.

Phase One of the website rollout, covering the ‘Current Students’, ‘Future Students’ and ‘About Us’ sections, began on 31 July. All other University web pages will be integrated into the new website on a staggered basis continuing into 2016.

The University of Sydney

Score: Marcus Loeber