The Prince’s Trust group has enlisted BMP DDB to develop an advertising
campaign, targeting the young unemployed, to step up recruitment to the
volunteer programme.
A through-the-line communications strategy is being prepared,
concentrating on the programme’s objective to help jobseekers develop
their self-confidence, interpersonal skills and ambitions.
Ross Barr, the joint managing director of BMP DDB, commented: ‘We have a
special expertise in communicating with young adults and we’re delighted
to use this to help the Prince’s Trust Volunteers.’
The Prince’s Trust Volunteers run 12-week personal development courses
for 16- to 25-year-olds, involving a mixture of the employed and the
unemployed, of whom some are graduates and some are school-leavers
without formal qualifications.
BMP’s task will be to create a new look for the Prince’s Trust
Volunteers’ posters and leaflets, giving the organisation greater appeal
to the unemployed.
Many national employers, including Marks and Spencer, NatWest,
Sainsbury’s, and the BBC, send staff on the courses to gain experience
of dealing with a wide variety of people and circumstances.
Of the unemployed who attend the courses, 66 per cent find jobs within
three months, and 88 per cent are employed within a year.
Deborah Lincoln, the marketing director of the Prince’s Trust
Volunteers, explained: ‘By the year 2000 we plan to be working with
25,000 16- to 25-year-olds. Our partnership with BMP DDB is an important
part of our strategy to get our message directly to these young people.’
