Mark Hendry, sales and marketing director at Agripa, discusses the importance of conveying the right messages to the general public in challenging financial times and explains how local authorities can maximise their existing resources to make their budgets work harder.
According to a survey by Hull city council, winner of ‘The Best Local Authority Recycling Initiative' category in the 2010 Awards for Excellence in Recycling and Waste Management, 95% of respondents agreed or strongly agreed that it was important to know how much the city is recycling.
Mark Hendry is sales and marketing director at Agripa Statistics like this clearly demonstrate the importance of effective communication with local residents but, despite this, marketing and advertising is often one of the first areas to feel the pinch when it comes to budget cuts.
However, while some local authorities are making dramatic reductions in communications activity, others are simply becoming more resourceful, finding new and innovative ways to get their message across to the local community.
It is councils like these who will be in the strongest position to weather the storm and maintain the support of their communities. This is particularly true in today's challenging economic times, where people need to be convinced now more than ever that their taxes are being spent wisely.
Multi-media society
In today's multi-media society, it is questionable whether traditional advertising routes alone offer the best value for money. As a result, we are seeing an increasing number of authorities adopting channels such as Twitter as a cost-effective means of updating local residents regarding activities and initiatives.
Another area growing in popularity is that of vehicle-side advertising. With councils being challenged to make the most of their own assets, what better way to maximise the value of fleets by turning their vehicles into mobile billboards?
Refuse and recycling vehicles tend to operate exclusively in the local community and will be out on the road five days a week, through town and city centres as well as in more rural areas. Bold and eye catching advertising on the side of these vehicles therefore offers a high-visibility, timely and relevant local communication tool with proven results.
Campaign
After the campaign, they carried out an advertising awareness survey and discovered that, of the 72% of respondents aware of the campaign, 59% had first become aware of the new service through the signs on refuse collection vehicles.
Last year, Charnwood borough council used the side of their vehicles to promote their reduced rate garden waste collection service. They monitored the number of sign-ups to the service and discovered that the week after the campaign advertisements were put up on their vehicles – a week in which there was no other promotional activity – 409 people signed-up. The only higher number of recruits – 464 – was achieved following a series of roadshows, where people were actually signed up to the service on the day.
Results such as these highlight the effectiveness of vehicle side advertising but, until recent years, vehicle livery involved stickers or painting. Both of these methods are timely, messy and costly to update. However, systems such as Agripa's simple yet innovative frame and mesh solution provide a more cost effective solution.
Graphics can be supplied on patented aerodynamic mesh panels or solid vinyl and can be changed frequently to promote new campaigns, products or services. They can also be stored and re-used at a later date, helping local authorities to add value and maximise the effectiveness of their campaigns without breaking the bank.”
Agripa's unique vehicle advertising system which is now used on more than 3,500 refuse and recycling vehicles, serving over 220 UK-based local authorities. For more information join @AgripaGroup on Twitter or visit www.agripa.com.
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