Insight
ACL Essex is the county council’s official adult education provider.
The brief: “We want an agency to support our PR and marketing needs. Our main campaign aims are to promote and increase numbers on our courses.”
Implementation
We meet regularly with client to discuss how to move forward. We constantly move our attention to courses that need a boost, communicating with client to ensure best use of time. Providing ideas to promote courses, arranging interviews and attending events are all part of the job. We regularly write up media releases and distribute to local outlets.
Each year, we attend the ACL Essex achievement awards and speak to award recipients. We capture learners’ stories and use them as case studies to promote courses. We are also on hand to provide press office services for GCSE and A Level results days.
We have also provided photography and film services. Photography taken by our in-house photographer has been used on the ACL Essex website and has helped promote ACL Essex and its services. We also organised a film to promote the new Digital Hub at ACL Colchester, which client can use to promote their digital skills courses.
Impact
We have gained hundreds of pieces of coverage in local news outlets, including Newsquest titles, Your Harlow, Essex Magazine and more.
We have also arranged several interviews with ITV Anglia, roundtable discussions with BBC Essex, plus follow-up, “where are they now?” interviews with ACL Essex learners. Many of these interviews include ACL Essex learners, along with Cllr Tony Ball, who talks about the strategic side of ACL Essex.
Our work with ACL Essex is ongoing.
“We love working with Big Wave PR. It’s great to have an external organisation who act as a sounding board and consistently provide new ideas. They aren’t restricted by the limitations that we sometimes face, and they always offer us a fresh perspective. They constantly gain press coverage for ACL Essex in areas where we’re keen to boost our profile. It has been, and continues to be, a pleasure to work with Big Wave PR.”
