Having got Cabinet Office approval for a partnership with Asda, the DfES appointed The Team, an issues-driven brand communications consultancy, which was already on its roster, to handle the project.
Details of the project and guidelines for how it would appear in-store were agreed by the DfES and ASDA at the outset and The Team worked directly with the DfES rather than Asda. Design work began in early 2004. The Team's work was divided into two parts: first, working closely with the DfES to source and re-package information; second, creating an in-store retail concept.
‘At all costs we wanted to avoid the sort of leaflet dispensers you find in post offices which look such a mess and are so confusing you invariably walk away empty-handed,’ says The Team's Client Partner, Viv Wilcock.
‘The leaflets had to be high impact and easily understood’ she explains. ‘The retail presence needed to stand out, while blending in with the retail environment and branding was important to underline the DfES's involvement.’
Because none of the information was new, it was important to divide it up into easily understood, themed chunks. This involved both the agency and the DfES working together closely for two to three months.
The Team has worked extensively with government departments on issues-based communications campaigns. As a result, its in-house copywriting and creative team knows only too well the challenges of getting content right for a wide audience. 'Ensuring the right tone of voice and applying that consistently is always an important part of the process,’ says Wilcock.
With The Team creating instore material, Asda took little day-to-day involvement in the design development process. It had already agreed general principles - including criteria for evaluating the campaign's success - with the DfES.
However, there were many different stakeholders involved in the development of the campaign.
These included voluntary organisations with whom the DfES developed the advice in the leaflets and directed parents to other sources of help; and other government departments such as the Home Office, Department of Health and Department for Work and Pensions. Not surprisingly, clearance, a critical issue for all government communications campaigns, was an even greater challenge than usual.
‘It was a huge undertaking,' says Smalley. ‘We set up a steering group of 30-plus people. Approval from this group was required at initial concept stage, then again when we had decided exactly which message would get its own leaflet, and how that content would be structured.’
When all aspects of the pilot had been mapped out, further approval, from three ministers and a Secretary of State among others, was required to release funding for implementation. It was a challenging process, Smalley concedes, but ‘It was important to manage it appropriately, as the hope was to create a new communications platform which we could use for other campaigns.’
