The CMN Conference 2027 is designed to inspire, challenge and equip FE marketing professionals with practical ideas they can immediately take back to their colleges.
When? Monday 1 February 2027, 9am-4.30pm – Date TBC
Where? Eastside Rooms, Birmingham City Centre
You’ll hear from a line-up of engaging keynote speakers sharing insight, experience and fresh thinking to energise your strategy and spark new approaches.
Across the event, choose from 12 workshops and presentations covering the most relevant and talked-about topics in FE marketing, from recruitment and brand to digital performance, insight and engagement.
New for 2027, we’re creating even more opportunities for genuine peer learning:
- Non-competitor College Meet-Ups – connect with colleagues in similar roles, share challenges openly and build meaningful sector relationships
- Roundtable Discussions – collaborative conversations on the issues everyone is currently tackling, not just listening but contributing
You’ll also be able to explore the Exhibitor Hall, where carefully selected partners showcase innovative tools, platforms and services designed specifically to support college marketing teams.
And another new addition for 2027, Product Demo & Service Discovery Sessions: meet the people behind the technology, see platforms in action, and ask the questions you can’t ask in a sales email.
The programme blends inspiration, practical learning, and honest sector collaboration, ensuring you leave with ideas, confidence and a stronger network.
How to Book
Booking will open at the end of June.
Travel & Parking
Travelling by train: Birmingham New Street Grand Central Station is only 0.9 miles from the venue. Check it out on Google Maps
Travelling by car: Millennium Car Park is the nearest car park – Howe Street, B4 7AP.
Open every day, 6am to midnight. (Car park is locked at midnight but vehicles may be left overnight – charges still apply. Total cost will be calculated at time of exit). Pay on exit – cash, debit or credit card.
Up to 12 hrs – £8. Up to 24 hrs – £11.50.
Please be aware of Birmingham’s clean air zone.
Accommodation
The Aloft Hotel is joined to the Eastside Rooms. We have secured special rates for the event:
Single Occupancy – £121 per person per night, B&B (+VAT)
Double Occupancy (twin room) – £135 for two people per night, B&B (+VAT)
These rates are only available through the CMN. Please select the option when booking your event ticket(s).
Alternatively, there are other hotels nearby, which you can book direct:
Clayton Hotel – 0.5 miles from Eastside Rooms
Premier Inn Birmingham City Centre Exchange Square – 0.5 miles from Eastside Rooms
Travelodge Birmingham Central Moor Street – 0.7 miles from Eastside Rooms
Keynote Speakers
The event is at the planning stage so we will be announcing the keynote speakers in the summer. Watch this space for more details!
Conference Exhibitors & Workshop Hosts:
The line-up so far…
Bluestorm are a full-service marketing agency, specialising in supporting colleges across the UK in every facet of their marketing. From expertly web development that engages and informs prospective students to dynamic student recruitment strategies, targeted keep-warm initiatives, eye-catching prospectus designs, and beyond, we’re dedicated to enhancing your institution’s presence.
Forward & Thinking are an experienced team of education marketing and media experts, working with over 50 higher and further education clients across the UK. Forward & Thinking understand the education landscape and pressures faced, particularly around funding, allocation of resources and recruitment targets, we work hard to ease these burdens by offering exceptional multi-channel campaigns that deliver results by expertly planning media that engage and convert audiences.
Pathways is a suite of career tools that help students see the link between your courses and careers. It brings high quality careers information into your website and shows prospective students and their parents possible career options after studying on your courses.
Pathways is an affordable solution, set up is easy, it requires no extra work from your IT team and helps fulfil Gatsby Benchmarks and Ofsted’s careers criteria.
Prospectus Plus is a digital tool that provides a sustainable and personalised solution for creating prospectuses. We prioritise sustainability by offering an eco-friendly alternative to paper prospectuses.
Users can create a personalised copy of your prospectus, showing the most relevant content to their needs and interests all in one place. And in turn, creating a higher conversion rate.
Our built-in analytics enables you to monitor and evaluate the effectiveness of your prospectus. This helps you to optimise their prospectus design and content to improve overall performance. Prospectus Plus is revolutionising the way educational institutions approach prospectus creation, offering a comprehensive solution that delivers measurable results.
Transform how you manage student relationships with our intuitive, cost-effective CRM designed specifically for educational providers.
Whether you’re a small, medium, or specialist institution, our SaaS solution creates a single source of truth, streamlines communication, enhances engagement, simplifies data management and centralises all your marketing and recruitment needs—without the complexity (price and consultant need) of an enterprise system!
With quick implementation (<28 Days) and ongoing product updates, our CRM helps you hit the ground running with simple, easy-to-use, sector-specific technology loved by our partners & users.
Visit our stand to see how we can support your institution’s goals with a tool built specifically for your needs.
Exhibition Space & Workshops
If you feel your business would benefit from attending the CMN conference and networking with further education marketing professionals from across the UK, there are options available to attend as an exhibitor and/or host a workshop. Please email emma@m-network.org for more information.