Bournemouth, Christchurch & Poole Council

This award is open to a single council or where appropriate a partnership of councils, or a council-owned company. Private sector partners can enter on a council’s behalf, with the permission of the council itself. The communications function is more integral to what councils do than ever. There is increasing need to influence behaviour in relation to, for example, recycling, transport, looking out for older neighbours, or reinforcing public health messaging – including with regards to Covid. And there is the importance of building trust in the difficult decisions councils have to take in these challenging times. Campaigns can make a significant contribution to achieving these objectives, and this award is designed to showcase councils’ expertise in this area.

Our bold Sort **it Out campaign was designed around a specific audience to tackle defined anti-social behaviours in August 2021. Out of home content in key locations, use of social media channels most used by our audiences and a combination of fun artwork, strong messaging and consequential content combined to deliver a high-impact campaign that resonated with our primary audience and those who influence them. We took a calculated risk and it paid off, with evidence all negative behaviours reducing significantly during campaign implementation.

The Local Authority is the leading local government podcast from LGC and TPXimpact. Each month we will bring together leaders and changemakers from within and around local government to discuss the most significant social challenges facing the sector. TPXimpact is a change consultancy on a mission to deliver impactful, sustainable digital outcomes that make a positive difference in how individuals and society experience the world. Bringing together leading transformation specialists, we started with the belief that organisations should make a positive difference in people’s lives. Our multidisciplinary teams use technology, user-centred design and data to deliver better results, improving outcomes for individuals, organisations, communities and society. This is transformation that matters.