GIVING PEOPLE A VOICE ON EDUCATION

Young people, parents and teachers will be urged to ensure their voice is heard on the next five years of education in a new campaign launching on 10th September.
With politicians writing the manifestos for the next general election now, independent education foundation Edge will be collating the views of the public to send a message to politicians that the current education system needs to be changed.
Edge believes there needs to be many paths to success with more practical and vocational learning in schools.
The campaign was trailed over the summer through public relations, social media, local radio promotions and events for young people to record their message to the manifestos.
It will be officially launched through national print, online advertising, media partnerships with MTV and AOL, as well as ongoing PR and social media, on Thursday 10th September.
Political press advertising, party conference debates and stakeholder relations will also take place throughout the autumn to raise awareness of the campaign.
The call to action across all channels of the campaign will be for the public to visit www.edge.co.uk/revolution and record their opinions – through video and text – on the changes they would like to see in the education system. The views of the public will then be used on MTV, AOL and in future Edge advertising campaigns. In the autumn, the views of young people and parents will be presented to the politicians that are drafting the education policies for the next election.
David Lane, Director of Marketing and Communications at Edge, said:
"The exam results season focuses people's minds on young people's futures, but we need to ensure that education doesn't slip back down people's list of priorities. It is vital that parents, young people and teachers realise the decisions being taken by politicians now could have a massive impact on the lives of generations of young people.
"Our campaign will gain public support for Edge's Six Steps to Change Manifesto and galvanise the country to ensure these changes are considered by the key policy writers for all the three political parties and included within the election education manifestos.
"It is essential that the political party manifestos for the next general election contain a vision of the education system for the future – one which provides many paths to success and embeds practical and vocational learning at the heart of all young people's education."
MCBD's press campaign is designed to encourage everyone who is interested in the future of education to share their ideas and voice their opinions. It uses provocative imagery of young people and parents raising their hands in the political arena – at No. 10, the Prime Minister's Podium and the House of Commons – as a symbol of their desire to make a difference to education. All the advertising features one email address – ideas@edgehaveyoursay.co.uk – to encourage people to tell politicians how they think education should be improved.
Elvis' online advertising strategy mirrors this approach with online ads and emails driving response to the Edge website (www.edge.co.uk) where people can have their say by adding a message, uploading a video or debating on the Edge forum.
PHD has brokered media partnerships with MTV and AOL to create high-profile showcases for young people and their parents to offer their views. MTV will showcase celebrity testimonials from the likes of NDubz and Diversity to inspire young people to have their say on education through video uploads and social media commentary. Parents voices can be heard through Edge's interactive page on AOL ParentDish, the online forum with the biggest parenting reach.
Band & Brown's public relations – converged closely with the above the line activity – will use hard-hitting news stories, live events and social media to ensure people realise it's vital they have their say now on the next five years of education. Working closely with Edge's in-house team the PR will also ensure that the people's voice is delivered powerfully to parliamentarians and decision makers.
Using a host of social media mechanics including Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and blogger outreach, Brando Social will engage with the online public to raise awareness of the campaign. Continuing the success of the ‘Edge Badge' (a customisable widget that can be installed on blogs and Facebook profiles for people to challenge their networks to debate educational reform) students, parents and teachers will be able to upload their videos calling for reform through a YouTube channel with winning videos appearing on MTV.
Agencies involved in the campaign are: Band & Brown (PR and stakeholders), Brando Social (social media), Elvis (online creatives), MCBD (advertising creatives), PHD (media planning & buying) and PublicZone (web build).
For more information please contact Simon Francis, Sarah Davidson or Zoe Penn at Band & Brown on 020 7419 6950 / edgeteam@bbpr.com