Building for independence - Henshaws College

Remit

Henshaws College in Harrogate is a leading education and skills provider for 16-19 year-old visually-impaired students who also have complex physical disabilities and learning difficulties. Students come from all over the country, especially the North of England.

Following a three-way competitive pitch, Quest was commissioned to develop and implement the launch of the College's Buy a Brick appeal to boost funds for Nidd House, new purpose-built student accommodation which will dramatically boost the quality of life for 22 of the College's students. The campaign would run over a six month period from October 2007-March 2008.

Objectives

• Gain exposure for Henshaws College and the Buy a Brick appeal through print and broadcast media
  
  
• Develop existing links with local print media and secure inroads into radio and TV
  
  
• Forge stronger links with the community at large, as well as with potential sponsors
  
  
• Promote an understanding of Henshaws' work

Planning and implementation

Quest worked with Henshaws to create strong photography to ensure maximum impact for the launch of the Buy a Brick appeal - securing coverage across the local and regional media.

Quest then sustained the momentum with appealing hooks and angles to ensure a constant ‘drip feed' and liaised closely with sponsors to ensure their contributions were acknowledged. The team developed a particularly strong relationship with the Harrogate Advertiser, a dedicated media partner, to secure extended features and interviews.  

The campaign ended on high with blanket coverage secured for the official opening of Nidd House by former Home Secretary David Blunkett.

Results

Quest over-delivered on its media targets by more than 100 per cent. By the end of March 2008, Quest had secured 51 pieces of local and regional print and broadcast coverage. This translated to AVEs of more than £350,000 - more than a fifty-fold return on investment.

Highlights included TV items on Tyne Tees (who enjoyed their first visit so much that they returned for a follow up feature!), BBC Look North, ITV Calendar and North East Tonight. Extended coverage included two 1,000-word features in key regional newspapers.

Quest also raised around £4,000 in sponsorship and prizes for Henshaws College's annual ball, and made a Christmas donation. Over the course of the campaign, the Buy a Brick appeal raised more than £110,000.

Henshaws College was so delighted with the coverage Quest achieved for the Buy a Brick appeal that the College has retained Quest's services for an additional 12 months and extended its remit.

The Quest team is now devising a campaign for Henshaws Yorkshire, which encapsulates Henshaws College, the Children and Family Service, Rehabilitation Services, Community Housing - and the renowned Arts and Crafts Centre at Knaresborough.

"We appointed Quest PR to launch our Buy a Brick fundraising appeal. Not only did they excel at obtaining excellent media coverage for us, they also significantly raised the profile of the services provided by Henshaws Society for Blind People in Yorkshire. They are a highly professional team who know exactly what stories will work."
Anna Woollven, Marketing and Communications Manager