Whether you’re in the thick of COVID-19 comms and have hit a brick wall, or you’re trying to plan future campaigns amongst all the chaos, there’s a new resource to inspire you.
by Karen Pagett
You might be thinking that the very last thing you need to do right now is read more, with endless COVID-19 updates to keep across and interpret for your residents, businesses and staff.
But coming up for air and taking a look at how your comms peers have tackled some of the issues you might be facing (albeit, not all of the issues, us being in unprecedented times and all) could be just the tonic you need to freshen up your perspective.
The COMMS:FILES is an online “bank of inspiration” where hundreds of examples of the very best communications campaigns run in recent times by, and on behalf of, public sector organisations around the country have been deposited so ideas that worked can be shared with the wider comms community.
If you want quality assurance, the COMMS:FILES includes more than 300 submissions from last year’s comms2point0 UnAwards which always attracts the highest calibre comms efforts from local councils, the NHS, universities, and the ambulance and police services, as well as freelancers and agencies working with the public sector.
It’s a resource that’s very easy to use. You just type a term into the search box and browse through the results, which are a mixture of award entries, case studies, reports and campaign materials.
I tested out the COMMS:FILES with a few phrases that have been pertinent to communicators over the lockdown period. For each of the terms I typed into the search box, I’ve picked out just one example of the campaign gems uncovered below.
“Crisis communications”
The first day of an inaugural food festival – months in the planning – is wiped out by an unanticipated blast of severe stormy weather. Worse still, the heavy wind and rain was highly localised to where the festival was due to take place, so the initial cancellation announcement led to a tidal wave of complaints on social media from those outside the area.
The comms team at Durham County Council swung into action with its crisis comms plan. But what made all the difference was quick-thinking officers becoming weather watchers for the duration: photographing and videoing the soggy scene at Seaham for a series of posts that not only turned the tide of opinion, but turned the situation into a short-term and long-term
win.
Happily, the following day was sunny, and the festival was back on. So, new photos of this better day dawning were also posted on social media which – added to the interest shown in the story from the previous day – meant visitor numbers exceeded all expectations. And followers for the council’s social accounts shot up: great news for future campaigns.
“Vulnerable residents”
There’s been a real resurgence in neighbourliness and marshalling local help during the coronavirus outbreak, but this wasn’t the case when the comms team at West Yorkshire and Harrogate Health and Care Partnership was compiling research ahead of a campaign aimed at slowing down demand for care services in its area (jumping up 5% year on year).
They found that around half of all adults rarely spoke to their neighbours and 68% described them as “strangers”, yet living alone resulted in older people being 50% more likely to end up in A&E, 25% more likely to develop mental health issues.
The team’s response was the grassroots “Looking out for our neighbours” campaign to inspire individual and neighbourhood action. Striking in how much it was informed by conversations with people in local neighbourhoods in a range of locations – from remote and rural to solidly urban – the communities in effect co-produced the campaign.
The resultant ‘neighbourhood packs’ of activities, designed to make a difference to individual and collective wellbeing, were tailored locally and the comms team kept the campaign at the forefront of people’s minds with frequent reporting on successes through video and other social posts. As a result, a staggering 75% of people in the area started to build activities into their lives to that mean they looked out for their neighbours.
“Mental health”
In most offices staff know which colleague is the designated First Aid help. Staffordshire County Council came up with an initiative so staff who needed support with anxiety and depression rather than paracetamol or plasters could get help from a team of trained “Mental Health First Aiders”.
Part of the comms team’s Mindkind internal comms campaign, these first aiders were made visible by wearing purple lanyards and encouraged to lead the conversation about mental health around the organisation. The campaign also saw mental health training given to all line managers (who also got
themselves an identifying badge).
Purple lanyards aside, this idea could work just as well in times of remote working if staff knew there was a trusted person to reach out to on the phone or a video call for support if they were struggling.
“Recruiting volunteers”
“Be an Enfield Hero” was an ambitious, multifaceted campaign to attract volunteers from under-represented groups to offer support across different London Borough of Enfield service areas.
Based on a series of profiles of volunteers from all ages and backgrounds published on Enfield’s website, its messaging focused on ways in which residents with differing levels of spare time could all make a difference and be a hero in their borough.
The “100 hours” initiative that was part of the campaign rewarded those who clocked up a ton of volunteering during the year and Enfield Council held celebratory events to recognise those going the extra mile.
Through CAN, adverts ran on websites and social media channels specifically targeted to residents living in Enfield postcodes – with creatives that spoke to specific social groups. Once someone had shown an interest by clicking on the link to one of the “Hero” volunteer profiles, a second ad (“Now become an Enfield hero!”), delivered through the same channels, would “nudge” them into taking the next step.
“Behaviour change”
Faced with too many unfocused requests from all around Broxtowe Borough Council, its snowed-under two-person comms team created a fabulous toolkit to help non-communicators plan and deliver their messages in a more professional way and learn how to ask for help from comms in a way that would produce the right outcome.
But it was still a substantial document to ask colleagues without a background in communications to digest. So, they developed a “snakes and ladders” board game to simplify their messages further and encourage buy-in. (“Do you know who your audience is? No? Go back to the start!”)
An amazing 67% of council staff took a look, there was a reduction in the number of ad-hoc demands for comms help – and even Barclays Bank wanted to nab the idea for its own employees.
You can share your own learning to provide a flash of inspiration for the public sector comms community. There’s a simple form on the COMMS:FILES website where you can upload case studies and other resources – comms job descriptions, team structures, useful templates – you think might be of use to others.
Karen Pagett is a freelance writer working for CAN, which delivers digital advertising – and more – for the public sector. To find out about CAN’s work sign up to the monthly ebulletin and say
hello on Twitter @counciladnet
