How Purple Vision helped Wolverhampton City Council to deliver a tenant consultation programme and win a vote that secured £287 million from Whitehall

Situation

Wolverhampton City Council’s bid for £287 million for improvements to its council housing stock depended critically on its ability to secure a ‘yes’ vote for a new Arm’s Length Management Organisation (ALMO) from its tenants and leaseholders.  The promise of a vote changed entirely the nature of the consultation campaign the Council required, especially in light of early research that indicated only 26% of tenants and leaseholders would support the proposal.

“Securing that vote will depend on the effective execution this summer of a more sophisticated communications programme than this Council has conducted in its recent history.   Consultation with a vote is a high-risk and unpredictable exercise requiring input from specialist professionals and the application of communications techniques that are not available in-house.”

Mel Wyatt, Head of Communications,

Wolverhampton City Council

Challenges

• ‘No’ was not an option: Only a ‘yes’ vote would secure the necessary investment
  
• Dirty tricks: The campaign was likely to attract high-profile opposition
  
• Balanced information:  Government rules prevent overt Council campaigning
  
• In the spotlight: The conduct of the exercise would be under public scrutiny
  
• Tight timescale:  A major consultation was required in three months

Solution

A clear campaign plan was developed and care was taken to ensure that the right audiences and key messages were agreed at the outset.  Also, the proposed new organisation, ‘Wolverhampton Homes’, was given an attractive and recognisable identity. 

Central to the communication strategy was to create a highly visible branded campaign theme, and then to apply it through integrated media - advertising, newsletters, events and door-to-door – all supporting the same core message, ‘Vote for a better home’.

Vital to getting the message through to real tenants and leaseholders was to recruit and train a 100-strong team of ‘volunteers’, drawn from Council staff and tenant activists and paid modest overtime rates to help take the campaign out onto the streets.

In order to establish a quantifiable measure of progress, research was commissioned to establish the base-line of tenants’ understanding prior to any marketing activity, and then to track opinions as the campaign progressed.  This approach enabled a special focus on BME and other hard-to-reach groups addressing the need to reach all parts of the diverse community.

Through effective communication & control, including weekly campaign meetings and close project management, a firm grip was kept on the progress of the campaign.  Large organisations can easily be caught off-guard by opponents making tactical use of the media and ‘grapevine’, but by addressing these issues directly and driving the news agenda, it was possible to retain the initiative and avoid the danger of PR ambushes.

The ballot was won decisively, with 84% voting in favour of the Council’s proposal.  Furthermore, this result was secured on a large turnout of 41%, higher than both local and general elections.

“The approach they took was professional, and this was combined with terrific enthusiasm for the task in hand which they instilled in all stakeholders. We started with a sceptical tenants’ movement who were suspicious of our motives in choosing the ALMO route with baseline support of 26%. Over the following months this figure was turned around with a tenants’ ballot showing 84% support.”

Tony Brown, Wolverhampton Homes

Project Director