TEC Partnership.
Twenty years of creative partnership transforming education marketing
TEC Partnership.
TEC Partnership is one of the largest education and skills providers in the UK, comprising multiple colleges, university centres, and training providers across Yorkshire and Lincolnshire.
With eleven distinct brands under one umbrella organisation, they face unique challenges in maintaining individual identities while delivering cohesive marketing and communications.
Sourcefour has over 20 years experience in working with the TEC Partnership, evolving from a traditional design agency relationship into a strategic marketing partner that touched every aspect of their marketing operation.
A partnership built on understanding.
What started with designing prospectuses two decades ago grew into a comprehensive marketing service that spanned strategy, branding, design, web development, digital marketing, and ongoing campaign management.
This wasn’t a typical agency-client relationship. Our Managing Director, Rob, had worked closely with TEC Partnership throughout those 20 years, giving him a fundamental understanding of the organisation’s history, structure, and aspirations. This depth of knowledge meant we didn’t just execute briefs, we anticipated needs and proactively solved problems.
Our proximity to their Grimsby site meant we could be on-site in 10 minutes when needed, allowing for genuine collaboration rather than remote management.
Transforming their digital presence.
Through 2023 – 2025, we undertook one of the most significant transformations in TEC Partnership’s digital history.
The challenge
The organisation had accumulated 48 separate websites across their various brands and courses. This created massive management overhead, inconsistent user experiences, and technical vulnerabilities with all sites hosted on a single server.
The solution
Working closely with the TEC Partnership team, we migrated and rationalised the 48 websites down to a more manageable 18, without losing any required functionality or content. This wasn’t simply about deleting sites, it was about restructuring their entire digital ecosystem to work smarter.
We provided guidance on moving to more stable servers, reducing risk by distributing sites appropriately. We regained access to essential third-party plugins that had been restricted, and implemented a standalone course manager that solved longstanding issues with their previous solution, migrating all courses in a matter of weeks.
Ongoing management
Our web service evolved to routine maintenance ensuring plugins stayed current and performance didn’t drop, content updates, accessibility and performance standards, and proactive recommendations for improvements.
In a year we typically handled over 700 support tickets, with 80% resolved within 24 hours and an average response time of just 4 hours. For an organisation that relies on a marketing and web partner that is highly responsive, this gave them confidence and peace of mind.
Prospectus design that drives applications.
For education providers, the prospectus remains a critical recruitment tool. We’ve designed dozens of prospectuses for TEC Partnership’s various colleges and brands over the years, each one tailored to its specific audience while maintaining production efficiency across the organisation.
Our approach focused on showcasing what makes each college unique, letting student voices and real experiences tell the story rather than relying on stock imagery and corporate language. We create prospectuses that students actually want to read and parents trust.
The work requires understanding not just design, but the entire student recruitment journey, application cycles, and how printed materials integrate with digital campaigns.
Digital campaigns that deliver ROI .
Education marketing has specific challenges, including tight recruitment windows, competitive markets, and the need to reach both students and their parents or employers with different messages.
We plan, create, and manage paid digital campaigns across Google Ads, Meta (Facebook, Instagram), and LinkedIn, timing them precisely to maximise impact during critical application periods.
A recent Meta campaign for TEC Partnership’s distance learning courses generated over £25,000 in revenue from just £2,450 of ad spend, delivering an ROI of £10.20 for every £1 invested.
Partnership, not supplier relationship.
The relationship we’ve built with TEC Partnership goes far beyond the traditional supplier model. We operate as an extension of their marketing team, fully embedded in their planning cycles, brand development, and strategic decision-making.
This partnership approach means we’re invested in their success, not just completing projects. We challenge their thinking, bring ideas proactively, and look for opportunities they might not have considered. When they’re facing a marketing challenge, they don’t need to explain the context or provide background, we already understand the bigger picture.
We share their wins and work through their challenges together. Whether it’s a tight deadline for a critical recruitment campaign or exploring new ways to reach changing student demographics, we’re there as partners who genuinely care about the outcomes.
This level of partnership is rare in agency relationships, and it’s only possible because of the trust built over two decades of consistent delivery and genuine collaboration.
What the team says:
“Working with TEC Partnership for over 20 years has been one of the highlights of our agency journey. We’ve grown alongside them, adapting to every shift in education marketing from print-dominated prospectuses to complex multi-channel digital campaigns.
The depth of relationship we built meant we understood not just what they do, but why they do it. We knew their audience, their challenges, and their aspirations. That understanding allows us to be genuinely strategic partners, not just suppliers.
Education marketing is wonderfully varied. One day we’re designing a prospectus, the next we’re running a digital campaign, then we’re developing brand strategy for a new initiative. That variety keeps us sharp and ensures we bring fresh thinking to every project.”
Rob, Managing Director
