The Campaign Company Blog

Spieling about health

A fascinating article in today's Times ''Spiel at the wheel?'' discusses how taxi drivers are being harnessed as word of mouth marketeers, with an interesting example about one cabbie promoting the delights of a holiday in Bangkok following a 5 days all expenses trip to Thailand! And - as people become more and more overwhelmed by traditional forms of advertising confronting them in every aspect of their day to day lives - new and different approaches such as 'word of mouth' marketing are having increasing appeal.

This is absolutely our experience at The Campaign Company. In our work with NHS organisations - particularly foundation trusts - we have done considerable work helping Trusts build their membership communities. (Working with over 50 Trusts we've recruited over 160,000 public members - about 1 in 5 of the current public membership) We've found that traditional forms of advertising - the leaflet, the poster, the join on-line form have limited impact. People are much more responsive to a direct ask - particularly one-to-one. And we take this a step further by encouraging 'member get member' recruitment and the development of 'Membership Champions'. Someone who has already joined will be be a powerful advocate to their friends, family and those in groups and organisations they belong to. They'll know how and when to get attention and be able to hone the message to the person they are talking to - because they know them well. And they will be listened to - because they are trusted and known to them - the 'word of mouth' approach in the FT context!

And in their foundation trust members, NHS Trusts have a fantastic resource at their disposal - these people are so well placed to become the 'word of mouth' advocates not just about membership but about the Trust itself - health marketeers! And as 'Patient Choice' becomes more of a reality - Trusts must embrace their FT members as a key element of their marketing mix. These are the people out there in the community; they are the people in the pubs, clubs, workplace, playgroups, bus queues, school gates. Of course - not every member is a 'word of mouth' marketeer - the trick for the Trust is to learn more about it's members - segment and stratify - and find those who are. Then it's about building the relationship - giving them the information and then sinply 'getting them talking'!

And taking this a step further - these people are just so well placed to pass messages back - let the Trust know about the things going well - but more importantly provide quick feedback about things not going so well.  Bad news always spreads so much faster than good news - so Trusts need as many mechanisms as possible to get that valuable 'early warning'! 

What about the FT Governors?

The Local Government Association is today calling for 'NHS Trust directors (to be made) accountable to the elected representatives of the area' - Call for council power to fire hospital and police chiefs .Tonight Gerry Robinson is once again fixing the NHS in Rotherham on BBC2. What these two stories have in common is that they both ignore the potential role and mandate of the elected Governors of NHS Foundation Trusts. And who can really blame them? It must be a cause of anxiety for all FT enthusiasts (of which TCC is one) that FTs are finding it difficult to establish themselves as reference points when it comes to either democratic accountability or as an instrument to drive up service standards.

Is Civil Society Prepared for the Future?

Geoff Mulgan wrote in the Guardian yesterday about the Carnegie UK Trust Inquiry into the future of Civil Society. He was Chair of the Inquiry and in his article summarises some of the key findings.

Quite a few findings were pessimistic. Societal fragmentation, inequalities, racial tension, loss of public spaces (both physical and intangible) and increased fear through raised security against terrorism were all issues that could challenge civic society.

Third sector involvement in the delivery of public services was expected to modestly expand, but there was an issue of the private sector displacing the third sector in areas where it was established.

At the same time there was much greater debate, public awareness, government interest and cross-party consensus over the need to support civil society than the past and no senior politician ever argues "there is no such thing" nowadays!

Geoff Mulgan concludes by posing the question:

"So is civil society prepared for the future? Probably not. Most organisations have to live hand to mouth, juggling short-term funding and perpetual minor crises. Even the bigger ones rarely get much time to stand back and look at the bigger picture. Many are on a treadmill chasing after contracts and new funding."

This is probably the biggest challenge out there. Only through more wide ranging community engagement and public debate can we perhaps address the question posed.

Advice for Campaigners

An interesting article by Chris Stalker, head of campaigning effectiveness at NCVO in Guardian Society this week examines some of the issues faced by campaigners at a time when "people power" is being enthusiastically welcomed in government circles.

As well as setting out some of the challenges faced by voluntary sector in its relations with the government - some of which I personally think are a little pessimistic, - the article also makes some telling points regarding how the voluntary sector campaigns:

"We must be clear about what we want to achieve, and have a narrative and model for change. We must target and influence the relevant decision makers, be agile, and monitor and evaluate for impact. The importance of assessing and demonstrating impact to stakeholders is critical at a time when campaigners are increasingly in the public eye and when weak campaigns can be exposed for setting inappropriate objectives around promotion of the organisational brand and growing levels of funding support, rather than explicitly seeking social and political change."

This is sage advice and something that TCC stresses in both the advice we give and the hands on engagement we do in partnership with many organisations.

Union Modernisation Fund

Round two of the Union Modernisation fund is now underway and it seems likely that competition for funding will be even keener this time than in 2005 – so applications will need to be particularly relevant and well structured to stand a good chance of success.

The Campaign Company wrote five of the successful bids in round one, securing nearly £300,000 of DTI funding for our trade union clients.

The priority themes are largely unchanged from round one:

• Improving the understanding of modern business practices by full time officers and lay representatives, to better enable unions to work constructively with employers
• Capacity building to support training and development for equality representatives.
• Improving two-way communication between unions and their members, leading to a potential for greater participation of members in the union
• Improving the ability of unions to respond to the increasing diversity of the labour market, and to supply services geared to the needs of a diverse membership
• Developing the professional competence of union officers; and applying modern management methods to the running of unions as efficient, outward-looking and flexible organisations
• Assessing the challenges and opportunities of union restructuring and union mergers.

Many trade unions are now thinking about submitting an application to round two. Applications have to reach the DTI by 20 April 2007 which does not leave a great deal of time to prepare the detailed submission the DTI guidelines require.

Once again The Campaign Company is offering  help and support to unions in identifying innovative areas for development and constructing appropriate bids which meet the very specific guidelines and constraints set by the DTI as well as assisting in the delivery and management of their successful UMF funded projects. We have first hand experience of the pressures and constraints facing trade unions and the context in which they work.

If you would like to discuss the possibility to The Campaign Company providing your union with some additional support please get in touch with kathryn@thecampaigncompany.co.uk

Blogging in the Balkans...

This is a first-a posting from outside the UK! David and I are back in Croatia working with our friends from the SDP helping them with their preparations for elections in November 2007.Whilst there is much that is different from the UK - it's still a relatively new democracy, it has PR and a list system,coalition politics etc. there is so much more that is the same.Principally the need to (in the words of Ivica Racan former Prime Minister and Party President) "Moramo biti sposobni odgovoriti na pitanje ne samo kako pobijediti na izborima, vec i zasto pobijediti na izborima"  - "we have to be able to answer the question ,not only how to win the elections but also why."

TCC will be working on a Training programme over the next 12 months looking at campaign message strategy and communications.www.sdp.hr

For more photos, view the gallery by clicking here.

Trustee Talk

A new blog designed to support young trustees has been launched today. Kay Ritchie, new chairperson of the British Youth Council will be 'dishing the reality' of her weekly experiences in her role as a decision-maker and trustee Check it out here

Kathryn Carver the Conference Character

The latest edition of the Foodworker has now been published and 30,000 copies are wending their way through factories and bakeries as we speak. This newsletter is created by the Bakers, Food and Allied Workers’ Union for their members and staff, and there are articles on the food industry, the union and related issues.

This edition, however, is of particular interest to The Campaign Company as Kathryn is on the front page, sharing photo space with the great and the good, including Councillors and Solicitors. This is in reference to the Annual Conference in Bridlington where Kathryn spoke about the UMF projects that BFAWU is working on.

The Membership Systems and Communication project is now drawing to a successful close, which has resulted in a specification for new membership system software, together with recommendations for a broader communications strategy.  This will enable the union to modernise and improve its communications with staff and members at all levels.

Trust Youth

Clients such as NDCs, NHS Foundation Trusts and similar organisations may find ‘Trust Youth’ helpful. In partnership with CRAE and the Governance, the British Youth Council has launched Trust Youth, a guide on what being a trustee means for children and young people and how to recruit them. The guide has been developed which children and young people; it explains what the National Occupation Standards for Trustees and Management Committees mean in words that children and young people can understand, as well as outlines the practical steps organisations can take to recruit young trustees.

Food, Glorious Food

Kathryn and I went to Leicester yesterday where the Baker’s union had organised a series of interviews to gain an insight into what people felt about the changing workforce in the factory.

It was an interesting day, we spoke to a whole range of people, from union members, to reps, to management.  We also had a focus group with Asian women and one Polish girl who had just arrived in the UK. Everyone had different things to say about what it was like working with different people from different parts of the world, and what could be done by the union to make everyday life a bit more enjoyable.

The best bit of the day though, was the chance to go to the staff shop and help ourselves to sackfulls of free M&S pies and pasties.  We came away with a sample of every dish that the factory produces, to stock up our freezers for the winter. I particularly recommend the chicken and leek pie, for those of you who have to pay for your food….

Remember when August was a quiet month...

Time was, that August was the opportunity to sit back and relax, and think about the previous months' hard work and autumn's challenges.

No longer!  This week sees TCC undertaking a major consultation exercise in Cumbria, working in London with the Department of Work and Pensions, Ministers and a collection of young people from all over the UK developing strategies for combatting child poverty and undertaking focus groups for the Bakers' Union in Guisborough and laying the foundations for a Democracy Wall in North Yorkshire.

Look out for regular updates on all of these in the blog!

Time off for Trade Unions - getting the right balance

The Government is carrying out a review of workplace representatives to examine ways in which that their role should be adapted to the modern workplace and their contribution to the workplace maximised.

This is something that we may be able to offer to help and support our Trade Union clients with - for at least one project we have carried out research on this very issue -and we should make sure others are aware of the opportunity to feed their views in.Have a look at the terms of reference-

Terms of Reference

The Government recognises the valuable role played by workplace representatives.  This review will assess whether representatives have sufficient access to facilities and facility time to enable them to carry out their functions efficiently and effectively, bearing in mind the needs and resources of modern workplaces.  It will also assess whether there is a need to clarify or simplify the relevant statutory rights governing facilities and facility time, and whether there is adequate practical guidance provided to help parties apply those entitlements at the workplace.

The Government aims to complete the review by spring 2007 and any recommendations will be implemented before the end of this Parliament.

Timetable-A formal three-month consultation will be held later this year.  The review will be concluded in the spring of 2007 

Political Disengagement

I want to start gathering a range of resources on political disengagement-any contibutions welcome as comments!

I'm starting off with:

From the Power Enquiry  http://www.powerinquiry.org/report/documents/PowertothePeople_002.pdf

From Involve Download involve_post_party_politics.pdf

And from the Electoral Commission -Download audit_of_engagement_2.pdf and Download summary_of_audit_2.pdf

Barnsley Hospital - Sees and Hears Young People!

Barnsley Hospital NHS Foundation Trust has been highly commended by the judges of this year's BT 'Seen and Heard' Awards and awarded a regional award for providing 'a great example of how organisations can effectively listen to young people and act upon what they have heard'.

We recently worked with the hospital, Barnsley Youth Service and Connexions to involve young people more effectively and to boost NHS Foundation Trust membership amongst young people in the area. This included a series of facilitated meetings with one of the subgroups of the Trust's Council of Governors - the Futures group - and young people from the Youth Council and Connexions to discuss their concerns about health matters and their local health service. As a result of these meetings there were immediate changes, e.g. changing terminology from 'adolescent' to 'Young People' at young peoples' request, and involving them in the design of leaflets aimed at young people, thus ensuring an effective peer-led approach to communications. We also organised with the Youth Service an event for 13-19 year olds that raised awareness and promoted involvement in the Trust. 'The Session', held in a local nightclub, featured live bands and DJs, as well as various stalls and workshops on health issues. TCC also produced a DVD of 'vox pops' of young people giving their views on the hospital - watch the video online here. The boys talking about hospital telly are my favourites!

More information on the Seen and Heard Awards on the BT 'Am I listening?' pages here.

Easy Read Guide to Voting

Applicable to all sorts of situations where elections might form part of the process- http://www.electoralcommission.org.uk/files/dms/EC-Easyguidetovotinglow_22216-16478__E__N__S__W__.pdf

Evaluate, evaluate, evaluate

The DTI has identified a number of Union Modernisation fund projects as case studies for on going and specific evaluation. The evaluation is carried out by experts from the University of Leeds Two of our projects have been selected - the GMB and BFAWU Systems and Communications. Yesterday was the day for the BFAWU evaluation. The very word ‘evaluation’ can make people nervous – it does imply some level of assessment of performance after all. So the meeting was approached with just a degree of apprehension. In fact, it turned out to be a very positive experience - and actually really useful – which demonstrates the value of regular and on going evaluation of work by a third party. The issues we covered included • Communication lines within the project team • How we are spreading awareness of the project’s objectives • Clarifying exactly what we want as the outcome from the project It made us think again about the way we are approaching the project and posed some questions about overall objectives which can get lost in the pressure to meet specific outputs.

Making Reps look good

As some of you will be aware I am working on a project for a largish trade union to help them develop a communications strategy that will help them to improve communications with members and strengthen the role of workplace reps in relations between management and staff. Our recent brainstorm was really helpful and since then I've incorporated a lot of good stuff into a draft report - mainly based around how to make reps look good. This includes stuff on: formalising the role of reps; helping reps to be a communication hub; improved training; improving 2-way comms between reps and members, reps and HQ and vice versa; face to face support from senior officers; maximising word of mouth comms; better use of notice boards; promoting successes; introducing a new service promoted via reps; enabling 'elasticity', and modernising their data collection and management systems. BUT i would appreciate any further suggestions from colleagues - particularly those with trade union/membership organisation experience...?

The Baker's Union - integration at grass roots level

Yesterday Kathryn and I went to a bakery in Cardiff.  We were there as part of a project we're doing with the Bakers, Food and Allied Workers' Union who are looking at diversity in the workplace.  We spent the afternoon in the factory canteen talking to people who have come from all over the world and have ended up working together in Cardiff.  The union wants to find out exactly where its members are from, and about any difficulties that they experience in the workplace.  We asked people to fill in a questionnaire asking them about what they think of their workplace, identifying any language difficulties that they had, and how the union can improve its services for their members – both international and national!

We received useful feedback, everyone was interested in what the union was trying to achieve.  Although, it was a hot summer’s day, 35 degrees in the shade, and the shoes provided for us didn’t exactly fit in with the summer theme…!

Welcome to the TCC Blog

The Campaign Company (TCC) is a communications consultancy. 

We believe that the success of organisations depends on their ability to connect with people. This connection can only happen when there is a lasting and genuine dialogue between themselves and the communities they serve.

This connection ensures that organisations make good decisions that lead them to thrive – because better decisions are made when people have had the opportunity to participate more fully in the decision making process.

We work with many local authorities, health trusts, New Deal for Communities, Trade Unions and other bodies to increase member or public participation in decision-making processes.

We have extensive experience in community engagement, membership development, strategic communications, issue-based campaigns, political management, youth engagement, fundraising, democracy development, public opinion research, event management and marketing

Our experience and record of success in encouraging and increasing public participation, coupled with our agility and unique package of skills puts us at the cutting edge.

We have decided to launch a blog to better engage with our clients.  We hope that you will find it useful and feel able to contribute to it.