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Cheshire West and Chester Council
Communication Strategy
Delivering a multi-channel campaign report and data visualisation project, communicating the support provided by Cheshire West and Chester Council to organisations within the region during the COVID19 pandemic.
Recognising their role in supporting the local community during COVID19, Cheshire West and Chester Council (CWaC) delivered several projects that supported businesses survival and growth. In response, 16 different business grant schemes were implemented. Over 39,000 payments to retail, leisure, hospitality, and wider supply chains were made from the £140m grant allocation.
Rolling over to 2021, CWaC was offered a £1m ARG ‘top-up grant’ to develop, design and deliver a critical business support programme; ‘Let’s Talk Business’. The programme was designed to support recovery, growth, adaptability, diversity, and business expansion during a period of strain. Applying for a grant would also offer a gateway to direct support from the council, welcoming businesses to hands-on workshops and bite-sized training across multiple industries.
With a mission to communicate the support across the wider area, CWaC chose to collaborate with TMC. Enhancing the ‘Let’s Talk Business’ messaging would require a brand refresh, leveraging emotions such as excitement and compassion to target key SME’s directly. Emphasising the inclusivity of the project would also spread awareness to rural businesses, alongside young adults from under-represented backgrounds aiming to build their own business.
Our Solution
Plans centred an omni-channel approach, researching and implementing platforms into a timeline with the most relevant audience. Multiple angles would be needed to encourage participation across the Cheshire area, with a variety of demographics seeking assurance of the projects legitimacy and their qualification to be involved.
A calendar of text posts, graphics, animations, and videos was concepted and created by TMC, to ensure consistent messaging touchpoints. Instagram, LinkedIn, and Twitter were chosen as the most beneficial platforms, showcasing to the required audience the vibrant branding and historic reliable reputation.
Alongside this, snappy clips of workshops and talking heads were taken from those currently participating in the programme, and repurposed across YouTube. TMC’s video production team produced three videos a month from a range of speakers, selecting those from multiple backgrounds with a diverse range of experience.
Throughout the project, reactive marketing ran alongside the planned communications plan timeline. This opened the opportunity to respond to areas of interest, making the project more relevant to current events and trends. Artwork and design for e-mail signatures and web banners was built into the project, securing CWaC’s built reputation by creating consistent branding within every channel.
Understanding through data visualisation
Upon completing the communications strategy, impact measurement was required by CWaC’s stakeholder network. To create an understandable and digestible analysis to engage the businesses and communities involved, a data visualisation direction was taken. Metrics and qualitative results were bought to life through illustrations, for ease of reading and ensuring the highest engagement.
As an extension to this, a mixed media video was built to support the presentation of the report. Animated elements were created by our team and stitched into real-situation footage taken across the area, displaying the businesses that have been helped. This broke down the contributions made during the project, picturing how funding built a route to survival and growth for many businesses. Through this transparent and comprehensive report, Cheshire West and Chester Council has built trust across the community for future initiatives.
TMC develop powerful communications strategies to fulfil commercial objectives, working collaboratively with organisations across multiple sectors to create positive impact.
Interested in how omni-channel communications could fit into your strategy? Contact us today.
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