Brabantia – case
study
'In Touch' employee newsletter
Background
LawsonClarke was asked to handle internal communications for its existing client, Brabantia. It was tasked with producing a newsletter for employees at the company’s UK head office and manufacturing centre near Bristol.
Objectives
- To improve communications with Brabantia employees
- To explain new developments within the company
- To provide a vehicle for news/human interest stories
- To generate new ideas and better working practices
- To offer a continuous and regular flow of information to all employees
- To encourage employee feedback
Strategy and Plan
The aim was to include information and news from both Brabantia’s existing employee forum and management team, while also featuring ‘people stories’. To encourage employee involvement from the outset, an internal survey was sent to everyone to find out what they wanted to read about and what information was needed.
Using information from the survey, LawsonClarke put together an initial contents list and began to identify useful contacts from Brabantia’s production and management teams. It also used Brabantia’s regular management meetings as a way of generating ideas for news stories.
A comprehensive production schedule was devised to manage time spent on information gathering, writing stories, photography, design, client approval and distribution.
To ensure continuity of style, all stories were researched and written by LawsonClarke, and one of its consultants, Seph Kenton, appointed as editor.
It was important for the newsletter to be easy-to-read and well designed. Professional photography was used to ensure eye-catching, news-style images, while a designer was chosen to ensure the style looked fresh, yet still complemented Brabantia’s corporate design guidelines.
An A3 size, folded to A4 and high quality paper is used, making it easy to pick up and read whilst providing a large, high impact front cover space.
To make sure the newsletter is read by as many people as possible, it is sent to employees’ homes making it accessible to other family members.
‘In Touch’ is published quarterly - Spring, Summer, Autumn and Winter.
Measurement and Evaluation
The newsletter met the original brief and objectives to provide Brabantia with an effective means of communicating with its employees, as well as a medium for staff to present their own news and event information. Positive feedback has been received via face-to-face contact with employees and evaluation forms.
Results
- The newsletter is sent to all Brabantia employees and contract staff
- David Slater, sales director at Brabantia UK said “LawsonClarke handle everything from researching, writing and editing, to managing the design and photography.
- “The finished newsletter is a great communication tool that allows the management team to provide a broad sweep of company news to employees, whilst offering everyone the chance to shout about their own news and achievements, whether within or outside of work.”