Digital
National campaign delivering 56m+ digital OTS and 75k new campaign site visits
Relaunching a new independent, not-for-profit banking complaints service for SMEs, across vertical and regional audiences. I delivered an integrated strategy with paid, earned and shared digital content to the fore.
I developed a new clear, proposition and Call to Action, along with a new campaign landing page, and agile improvements to the digital customer journey – mitigating the poor existing website design and excess friction and complexity in existing user experience.
The campaign deployed highly targeted website banner and MPU ads. and social media timeline advertising. Alongside the paid campaign, I devised clear content approaches for owned social media channels, and a stakeholder and industry-influencer outreach programme to drive shared content.
Inside six months this delivered:
• 56 million+ opportunities to see
• 75k campaign landing page website visits
• Better digital customer journey: analysed behavioural insights and improved website, contact centre service, and end-to-end customer acquisition processes
Results included:
· Sustained increase in inbound calls: 6% four-month increase (despite covering traditionally quieter period for NHS service of July and August)
· 5.7m impressions
· 4.2m impressions on Facebook and Instagram
· 1.52m individual users’ reached on Facebook and Instagram
· 357,500 views of video on YouTube – people watched full 29 seconds
· 1.5m impressions across YouTube, Google.com, other Google Ad networks and publisher channels
· Health inequalities campaign: 595k impressions (332k individual users) on Facebook and Instagram
· Content shared on channels by multiple partners including GP surgery screens; Councils’ social media; NHS Acute and Mental Health Trusts’ websites and social media channels; third sector organisations’ direct member and social media
Our innovative approach incorporated
· Brand new creatives and messaging platform including visuals, copy and video
· Both large-scale and audience-specific PPC advertising
· Mini-campaign test variants for underserved communities: geographic areas based on Indices of Multiple Deprivation; ethnic minority audiences via ‘migrated to UK’ self-identifiers, with content automatically translated wherever possible)
· Specific engagement campaign to encourage sharing, likes, comments
· Multi-partner marketing to amplify content and messages via assets provided for owned and organic channels.
Total digital content and PPC cost of the six-week campaign was just £12,800.
Developing and delivering campaigns to driving public awareness and take-up of COVID 19, flu, polio, MPox (Monkeypox) and all routine childhood vaccines such as MMR across six boroughs with more than two million combined population.
Work included all elements of devising a cost-effective strategy – at a time when the £millions budgets of COVID-19 were a thing of the past – and then campaign
planning, management and execution.
Forging relationships with partners and stakeholders to deliver innovative tactics across the south east London system was key.
Working with colleagues in Local Authority and NHS provider trusts’ (clinicians, operational and comms teams), GPs, community pharmacies, Public Health, local community groups and third sector organisations of various types and sizes, was essential to effectively reach and engage the most under-served and under-vaccinated communities.
Outcomes were strong. South East London was top or second-placed for vaccination uptake across each of the different immunisations – often highly targeted – across all London’s Integrated Care Systems.
Multi-channel engagement and comms activities included:
• Wide-ranging partnership marketing with digital assets and offline collateral in different languages and formats used in hundreds of public-facing environments and trusted relationships across all boroughs
• Paid, owned and earned digital campaigns including low-cost money social media advertising incorporating segmented approaches deployed via Facebook, Spotify, YouTube, on-demand digital audio – radio and podcasts, Instagram, Twitter and text messaging
• Highly targeted out of home advertising to parent and carer cohorts going to where to audience is via buses, mobile digital and distribution
• Innovative Intermediary Campaign enthusing and equipping the wider health and care sector to have conversations with people, raise awareness and use behavioural change techniques including Motivational Interviewing to engage under-vaccinated cohorts
Research and developing a new candidate attraction proposition and improved website
The four Acute Trusts in this new Provider Collaborative had launched a joint, centralised recruitment service for all roles except doctors, with a new hub and single team.
We delivered a highly successful joint Band 5 nursing recruitment campaign for the four Trusts, involving Directors and Heads of Nursing, and attracting hundreds of final year and newly-qualified nurses to respond, apply and attend special careers webinars.
But a more strategic, long-term approach was required to develop a unique South West London (SWL) NHS candidate value proposition, and develop marketing messages, content and a much better website – all at low cost.
We undertook an in-depth research project, with staff and externally, to understand the key drivers – and barriers – to working in the Trusts and the geographical footprint.
We then turned this new insight into a new value proposition and South West London differentiator, with a distinct messaging platform and clear key messages to attract candidates into the area.
We developed a new website structure, with improve information and navigation round job roles and families, a quicker user journey to core content, and interesting and creative new written and video content. We arranged, briefed and filmed some 30 new staff videos of people working in the Trusts telling their stories and in their words why others should come and join South West London (SWL) NHS services and teams.
Qualitative and Quantitative research included:
• Discovery phase: scope, current state of play
• Comparator organisations websites: similar NHS partnerships and organisations and other public services with distributed and/or multi-site models ranging from multi-academy trusts to large Police forces
• Candidate journeys: on the previous SWL website, and for comparator organisations, based on key job roles and generically
• Online surveys of recruitment staff, hiring managers and staff at all levels and in all job roles in the SWL Trusts
• Focus groups and 1-2-1 interviews: ten separate sessions taking a deep dive into the key job families and roles and understanding the challenges, barriers, drivers and opportunities to attract people into the services, Trusts and region as a while
Our in-depth report explained the findings, identified trends and commonalities, summarised the issues and opportunities – and proposed new strategic candidate propositions, messaging and marketing communications approaches. These were all adopted by the client.
We developed a new structure and content for the website, which is now live at: www.nhscareerssouthwestlondon.nhs.uk
This was all developed and delivered at low cost. It has made an immediate and long-term impact, helping SWL stand out in a hugely competitive market.
South West London NHS Acute Provider Collaborative NHS Recruitment Hub
St George’s University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
Low-cost innovative content-led campaign boosting recruitment and saving £millions
Award-winning low cost digital campaigns, to target nurses across the UK and Republic of Ireland and drive engagement, applications and recruitment for south London NHS Trusts in a highly competitive market.
I developed an innovative content strategy, placing nurses at the heart of messaging and in videos as the voice of the hospitals. High impact, low-cost social media advertising, creative owned and shared channel content, Facebook and Twitter ‘Ask the Chief Nurses’ Q&As, and a unique series of Careers Open Event webinars reached thousands of nurses and final year students, driving recruitment to St George’s, and then across four Trusts in a new Provider Collaborative from 2019.
Bottom-line and reputational impact and achievements included:
St George’s:
• Vacancy rate reduced from 19.5% to 9%
• Spend on commercial temporary staffing agencies reduced by £25.8 million in 2018-19
• Bronze Award – Government Communications Service – Communications Excellence Awards 2018
• Silver Award winner – In-House Recruitment Awards 2018 – Best Use of Social Media (beating shortlisted major consumer brands easyJet, ITV, John Lewis Partnership, Legal & General and Nando’s)
• Winner – Nursing Times Workforce Awards 2020 – Recruitment Marketing
South West London NHS Recruitment Hub:
• Launched first ever four-Trust joint nursing recruitment marketing campaigns
• Record candidate acquisition performance with 350+ viable Band 5 Nurse applications received in first campaign
David has developed strategies and implemented large-scale multi-channel national marketing campaigns for me that have delivered real and measurable results. This work has been completed in challenging and high-profile environments with full regard of the stakeholder issues and challenges. David combines a range of strong marketing and communications skills with the ability to operate at the most senior levels. He has also demonstrated the ability to purposefully engage with stakeholders and secure buy-in and involvement from colleagues and external organisations. His breadth of experience and ability to identify the key challenges and opportunities in new sectors means he can deploy effective, innovative approaches that are truly focussed on results. As a CEO leading turnaround and transformation of complex, high profile organisations, it is essential to me that when I bring in senior interim resources, I need people who can understand the challenges and add value quickly through consultancy and delivery. David has played a valuable role in two such situations, one a £10bn+ programme that underpinned a government executive agency turnaround and was a Cabinet Office priority. I value his advice, his rapid understanding of the challenges and drivers, and his ability to develop and then deliver solutions. Working in demanding, high profile environment makes it essential to forge positive relationships with internal, partner and external stakeholders. He brings these abilities, and the resilience to stay focused on the true objectives. David has these attributes and more, creating value for me as a valued member of my executive team.
Mark Grimshaw CEO, Business Banking Resolution ServiceFormerly CEO, Rural Payments Agency