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How the centralised communications team supports service departments

Lara Hejazi

Services Communications Manager

Corporate Communications Team

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Covering:

• What support is available to departments

• How we decide which communications projects to work on

• How we deliver and evaluate our communications

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Why do service departments need communications support?

• Much of the county council’s service provision helps to improve the lives of vulnerable residents

• We help ensure people know what services are available and how to access them

• To bring about behaviour change and encourage participation in decision making

• Keep staff informed through monthly departmental newsletters and articles on Compass

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How do we support service departments?

• Account Manager assigned to each department – able to provide strategic communications advice and direction

• Pooled communications officers deliver campaigns across all departments

• Presents opportunities for joint working and co-ordinated campaign delivery

• Agree priority projects on a six monthly basis

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• Safe sleeping• School

expansions programme

• Free bus pass renewal scheme

• Carer friendly communities

• Alone at Christmas?

Recent and current campaigns

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How we deliver our communications

There are key components which feature in all of our communications and must be considered as part of the planning process

•Audience •What are we trying to achieve •Key messages•Partnerships •Channels•Timing of delivery •Risks and mitigating measures •Evaluation

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Blind cord safety campaign • Two Hertfordshire

toddlers died within a few weeks of each other after becoming entangled in blind cords

• Communications team brought in to raise awareness and promote safety tips to prevent recurrence

“You can’t be with children every minute, but you CAN make blinds safe. We lost our son – protect your child”

Parents of Arthur

“We don’t want other families to suffer the way we have”

Parents of Emily

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Our audience

• Parents and carers of babies and young children were primary audience

• People who work with or care for babies and young children

• Anyone who has babies and young children visiting their home

• Manufacturers of blinds

• Retailers selling blinds

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What did we want to achieve?

• Raise awareness of the dangers posed by blind cords by using real case studies

• Call to action – use of cleats to secure blind cords out of reach

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Our key messages

• Blind cords can be extremely dangerous if they are not tied up

• Some simple precautions can significantly reduce the risk of harm

• Protect children by using a cleat to tie blind cords out of reach

• Obtain your blind cord safety kit from Trading Standards/ROSPA

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Partnerships

• Hertfordshire Constabulary

• ROSPA

• British Blind and Shutter Association

• NHS

• Hertfordshire Trading Standards

• Hertfordshire Coroner

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Which communications channels did we use and why? • Customer insight data used to determine channels

• Direct targeting through NHS health visitors, firefighters, Trading Standards officers

• Campaign material distributed via outlets visited by parents with young children

• Mumsnet and Netmums websites

• Warner family interviews offered to extend the audience reach

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Cont… Which communications channels did we use?

• National newspapers contacted with case study

• Social media

• Local media releases

• Internal channels

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Timescales

• Important to get the information into the public arena in good time

• Had to be sensitive to the needs of the family

• Launch planned to coincide with inquest

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Risks and mitigation

• Accused of scaremongering

• Parents fearful

• Risks put into context

• Practical advice offered to provide reassurance and simple call to action

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How successful was the campaign

• Small budget – human interest helped ‘sell’ story

• More than 50 individual news articles

• National news and television coverage

• Inclusion in British Blind and Shutter Association newsletter

• 6,000 blind safety kits distributed

• Early Day Motion – discussion in Parliament

• Campaign material shared with London borough

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Lessons learned

• Case study fundamental to success of campaign

• Local newspapers want a local angle

• Without a tragedy this message would have been difficult to deliver with little or no budget

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Service communications has… • Planned and delivered around 30 separate

communications campaigns since April 2012 • Expertise in communicating with vulnerable and hard to

reach groups• Advised on delivering effective and low cost

communications campaigns to embedded staff • Responded to ad-hoc requests for support • Kept staff informed• Kept members up to date• Provided crisis management advice and support

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questions?

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thank you