Background

With many councils paying over the odds for commonly bought goods and services, the Regional Centres of Excellence National Procurement Programme (NPP) is designed to unlock millions of pounds in efficiencies by transforming local government procurement.

To ensure all councils can enjoy the savings, a series of ‘On the Money’ guides will be published. Each guide sets out the best procurement options available and provides a step-by-step process for making the transition onto these deals as straightforward as possible.

The first ‘On the Money’ guide – published in November 2006 – focuses on postal services and shows how local authorities could share in £20 million of savings simply by making better deals.

Brief

We were charged with promoting the launch of the programme and each individual ‘On the Money’ guide. All media relations would be coordinated internally leaving DTW to manage the advertising and direct marketing elements of the campaign.

Approach

We identified four key titles – Local Government Chronicle, Municipal Journal, Public Finance and Supply Management – to target with the advertising campaign and negotiated a comprehensive programme of activity to run through to Spring 2007. After devising the creative concept we produced a

series of launch ads, as well as the advertisement to support the postal guide.

In addition, we developed and distributed an e-newsletter to every local authority and created an online advertising programme. Furthermore, we produced an A5 flyer, which was inserted in Supply Management with surplus copies distributed to each Regional Centre of Excellence and also provided extensive copywriting support.

Outcomes

• Production of programme launch and postal guide ads in LGC, The MJ, Public Finance and Supply Management
• Creation and distribution of A5 flyer
• Creation of web banner advertisements
• Production and distribution of e-newsletter to targeted local authority database
• Development of marketing collateral including NPP explained fact sheet

In addition to delivering the activity above, we have enabled the nine Regional Centres of Excellence to communicate a unified message to their authorities in relation to improving procurement practices. Furthermore, our work has ensured that all relevant stakeholders are aware of the programme and are beginning to enjoy its benefits.