Engaging communication support can give the concentrated short-term boost that your organisation needs.
It’s what DYW North East and DYW Moray were looking for when they launched their Positive Futures project.
Project: Positive Futures
Client: DYW North East and DYW Moray
Meet the client
Developing the Young Workforce (DYW) plays a key part in the delivery of the Young Person’s Guarantee, making it easier for employers and education to connect and equip young people for the world of work. There are 21 regional groups delivering this support and Positive Futures was a unique collaboration between two of them.
The ambitious year-long project set out to discover how employers and young people viewed youth employability in Moray and the north-east of Scotland. And then they wanted to address the findings with a positive narrative, highlighting opportunities and available assistance.
So they turned to Hoolet for the expert communications support to tell the story.
“As an organisation, we contracted Hoolet to provide strategic communication services for a nine-month project,” said then director of DYW North East Mary Holland.
“Having worked with Joanna before, I know she has brilliant and diverse experience, works incredibly hard and always delivers.
“She is well-networked and can adeptly tap into communication and marketing channels.
“Hoolet rapidly got up to speed with the team and the project, and approached the process in an organised and efficient fashion.
“They were really keen to understand our needs as a client and once briefed, they got on with it and delivered.”
How we helped
There were three parts to the Positive Futures project:
- a research study to uncover the situation
- online and media campaigns to address the issues the study found
- building a library of resources and assets to support their work in the future
Hoolet provided the strategic communications advice and guidance as the project unfolded and began to take shape.
Meanwhile, a programme of proactive media coverage highlighting the Positive Future message explained the aims of the project and promoted participation.
Programme lead on DYW Moray Sarah Barnes said: “They went the extra mile to recognise our ethos, brand and also challenge our thinking where we lacked expertise.
“Even more so with press releases and writing, I could not recommend Hoolet enough.
“They can turn a couple of words or an idea into a 500-word thought-provoking piece.”
Campaigns
Three campaigns were identified that would benefit the regions, targeted at employers, young people and their main influences – parents and teachers.
Employers were targeted with a six-month campaign encouraging them to sign up to the Young Person’s Guarantee.
A targeted campaign devised by Hoolet drove more than 2,200 visitors to the specific “Why sign up” article, with nearly 400 visits to related articles. The six-month campaign contributed to 65 employers signing on the dotted line in that period.
Meanwhile, the benefits of gaining work experience were highlighted in a Foundation Apprenticeship campaign. This set out to inform young people and their influencers and also to encourage employers to offer placements.
In total, there were 1,355 clicks on links to campaign content and the videos created featuring apprentices telling their stories were viewed over 1,000 times.
Mentoring was the third focus, detailing the support available in each region and the benefits of a mentoring relationship. There were over 800 views of specific campaign content on mentoring during the campaign, which informed, inspired and encouraged young people and employers to get involved in their regional schemes.
Leaving a legacy
Meanwhile, a library of resources was being created, making sure the project left a lasting legacy for the important work Developing the Young Workforce (DYW) does.
These new assets were designed to fit the direction of industry and the employment landscape, with templates and processes in place for the teams going forward.
There were dozens of videos created to support the work of DYW, and the campaigns showcased these which resulted in a fantastic increase in YouTube visits of 1,200% for North East and 2,000% for Moray.
Hoolet founder Joanna said: “This was such a brilliant project to work on. The work that the DYW organisations do in bridging the gap between the classroom and the workplace is so important for young people and for society in general.
“They operate in a complicated landscape so being able to translate everything into a set of clean and engaging messages was key.
“The simple messages were spread through social media animations and graphics, as well as videos, stories and blogs that were designed to capture the audience’s imagination.
“We met and worked with so many inspiring young people and forward-thinking businesses. A special thank you should also go to the guys at shmu for helping create the content.
“It was definitely an experience to remember.”
Mary said: “I’m really happy with the work they produced, the insight and context they gave us into our existing communications and the legacy they’ve been able to leave within the organisation.
“I’d thoroughly recommend using Hoolet to add the strategic insight into your company’s communications.”
You can read the full report from the project, prepared by Hoolet, through this link.
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