At the beginning of 2008 we were asked to develop a strategic communications plan for Lambeth College targeting 16-18 year olds.

They were struggling to recruit in sufficient numbers and wanted help developing communication channels and platforms which would appeal to this age group.

The scope of the work included research and development. We set up focus groups at the different college sites so that we could explore what current students would have liked to have received if they were embarking on the application process.

We also interviewed 12 key members staff and conducted a paper based survey of students and also their parents. We had good response rates to a direct mail survey with a 10 per cent return from parents and students. The views of students, staff and parents helped to shape the strategy.

We proposed a radical redesign of their website so that the navigation was clearer for each age group and information was segmented so that 16-18 year olds would have their own defined area, which was written in a language more appealing to this age group.

We also made a number of recommendations to cover print materials for induction, a pocket size booklet about being a student at Lambeth College and a number of recommendations around social networks and web based solutions to promoting courses.

The plan was endorsed by the College’s SMT.