Faced with the challenge of engaging the mobile generation in their draft local plan Aylesbury Vale District Council channelled their inner Pixar and used animation to bring their story to life. Communications Manager Kate Brewster explains all
Have your say on the Vale of Aylesbury plan
The context
In the summer of 2016 we launched a big campaign to encourage as many people as possible in to engage with our draft local plan. With demand on housing in the area constantly increasing, the need to build new homes is one of our key priorities, but it's also important for us to make sure that our residents have had an input into whatever plans we develop.
Our campaign included all the traditional elements you would expect to see. We created an information document, undertook roadshows and media briefings, and produced a comprehensive Q&A about the plan and the reasons why we needed one. Although we were undertaking a huge amount of integrated activity, we didn't really have anything targeted towards the mobile generation, or time poor people, so we set about trying to change that.
What we did
We knew that videos, especially ones that could be accessed from mobile devices were popular with a younger demographic so we bought a software package that would allow us to create a video ourselves. We didn't want something that looked like a dry corporate training film so we decided to go for something animated to inject a little bit of fun into things. The package only cost £200 and one of our team was able to create a video in just two days, having never used any of the software before. It was extremely easy to use which not only meant it was practical to create in amongst juggling our other campaign activities, but also gave us an opportunity to learn a new skill.
The impact
We launched the video during the consultation and achieved 3,000 views. This was far more than we had expected and was really encouraging for us, especially as it was the first time we had used an animated video as a communications channel.
Why it worked
I think it worked because it focused on key messages rather than lots of small details and because it was something different to the usual channels we adopt to communicate with our residents. It looked engaging without looking like we were trying too hard and at just one minute and a half it was a quick way of getting the key information to a demographic who may not ordinarily consume our other media.
Lessons learnt
On reflection we perhaps could have launched the video earlier as part of our pre consultation activities to try and encourage people to get involved ahead of the formal consultation opening. Would have been interested to see how many more people we would have reached if we had started earlier but we were delighted with what we did achieve and it's definitely something we'll use again.
Want to know more?
For more information please contact Kate Brewster.