 |
 |
Newsletter - Issue 1. September
2004 |
|
Communicating education and
skills
Issues in public relations,
marketing and communications
from Harrison Cowley, the UK’s
largest public relations network |
 |
|
Are we ready to promote
vocational education?
A recent City & Guilds survey
announced that vocational workers are the ‘most fulfilled.’
The press has gone into overdrive on the rise of the so-called
‘middle class plumbers.’
Such stories
could play a role in ensuring that the emerging 14-19
curriculum is successful. Why?
After great debate and acres of surveys all
parties are viewing Mike Tomlinson’s interim findings on the
future of 14-19 qualifications with optimism and general
acceptance.
The problem now though, before skills gaps can
be addressed and the UK’s workforce better trained, is one of
winning support from young people, parents and even some
businesses saddled with the misconception that the ‘vocational
route’ is the lesser path.
School’s Minister David
Miliband sees it as “…transcending the traditional divides.”
Surveys, reports and real evidence that the vocational path
can bring job satisfaction, good pay and a fulfilling
educational experience are what’s needed now to drive the
message home. Many organisations are now trumpeting the work
of path-finding pilots and helping to draw a line beneath the
deeply ingrained divide between academic and vocational
education. Harrison Cowley has just completed a nationwide
campaign of activity to raise awareness of vocational
qualifications and the Increased Flexibilty Support Programme
for the Learning and Skills Development Agency
(LSDA). |
|
Talking
teens?
How do you go about informing school pupils about
alcohol abuse without preaching? An inventive project with
Hertfordshire County Council is proving to be of interest to
both teaching staff and their pupils.
It’s Manic in Herts is a website that targets teenagers
with information and alternatives to weekend bouts of binge
drinking.
As much as teenagers are unified in their
response to communication messages, they are a difficult
audience to reach. Young people aged 13-17 can be grouped by
many subdivisions:
• Age
• Gender
• Socio-economic
background
• Ethnicity
• “Tribes”
An important point
to remember with teenagers is: one size does not fit
all.
Check out how HC is working with Herts council to talk
to this hard to reach group about their issues, in new ways.
www.itsmanicinherts.com |
Bumper numbers headed to UK
Universities
Up to 240,000 extra places may be needed to cope with a
growing HE demand says the Higher Education Policy Institute.
A demographic blip (more 18 year olds over the next few
years), a pre-top up fee scramble and increased numbers of EU
students will swell the ranks.
There are already
1.33 million undergraduates in England alone,
and the pressures on those tasked with addressing this
audience set to increase. As the numbers increase so do the
challenges. Students from the EU accession countries will no
longer be classed as ‘overseas’ students, but those numbers
continue to rise (there are around 175,000
overseas, fee-paying students in Britain) and pump money into
the sector.
40,000 of these students are
Chinese and other huge growth markets include India, Ghana and
Bangladesh. And these students are headed for new and
established Unis in the UK, so no institution can rest on its
laurels.
As Colin Gilligan, professor of marketing at Sheffield
Hallam University claimed recently: “These are students who
are ‘brand promiscuous’. They will try out institutions that
engage with them, with relevant appealing communications which
speak their language.”
HC has worked with leading universities on
communication and marketing to reach this dynamic
group. | |
|
|
Learning and Skills Council consults new
expertise
 The Learning and Skills Council
Greater Manchester has appointed Harrison Cowley North to
provide B2B marketing, public relations and youth &
consumer marketing services. “We have special expertise in
promoting educational issues and work across every level of
the country’s educational institutions. The skills we’ve
developed along the way will serve us well as we look to
assist the LSC in its work,” said Sarah-Jane Gray, Office Head
at HC North.
| |
|
|
 SEX – RU Thinking about it enough?
Sensitive issues: sensitive
audiences
RUThinking is covered
regularly in the teen press titles such as Sugar, Bliss, and
CosmoGirl. It has also featured on teen programmes such as
Byker Grove and As If and Harrison Cowley work closely with
scriptwriters and producers on soaps and children’s programmes
regarding teen sex and relationship storylines.
As a
result RUThinking was featured on
the Eastenders and Coronation Street websites when the
characters Vicky and Maria became pregnant. An important part
of the campaign is aimed at the harder to reach boys as well
as ethnic and deprived audiences who may not have access to
teen magazines. This is done via through working with
appropriate brands and events such as Tim Westwood’s under 18
clubs and Radio One’s One Live events.
| |
|
|
 Harrison Cowley reappointed by DfES
Getting the message and campaigns right requires a
partnership approach. We’re very pleased to have been
re-appointed as public relations roster agency to the DfES.
“We have worked together on a number of campaigns, including
Sure Start and have built a solid understanding of the
department’s existing work and ongoing challenges. Our DfES
work reaffirms the company’s education offering. We’re now
working to promote every level of educational provision, and
this allows us to share expertise across the board,” said Paul
Kelly, CEO, Harrison
Cowley. | |
|
|
|
 Promoting colleges – new
kit
SJR College, Wigan, is the first college in the country
to use Harrison Cowley’s new ‘college promotion kit.’ Though
they’ve consistently raised student numbers over their 32
years, college staff felt that their achievements and profile
could be more widely publicised. A new facilities investment,
in partnership with local business JJB Sports, is also
beginning to take shape and the college is determined to
trumpet its reputation with a planned campaign of media
activity over the coming
year.
| |
|
|
|
Harrison Cowley North
Manchester, Belfast, Birmingham, Bristol, Cardiff,
Dublin, Edinburgh, Leeds,
London,
Southampton
----------------------------------The UK's
largest public relations
network---------------------------------
Email: info@harrisoncowley.com
A member of
the Public relations Consultants Association, and holder of the
Consultancy Management Standard
|
|
| |
 |
