Redrow brief

Redrow

Devise a campaign that dispels myths about careers in the house building industry, attracting young talent to Redrow in the process.

Website — redrow.co.uk

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YCN Student Awards 2013/14

Social — @redrowhomes facebook.com/RedrowHomes

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Redrow

Background Redrow is one of the UK’s largest housebuilders, building almost 3,000 new homes per year across England and Wales. The company prides itself on being one of the UK’s most forward-thinking developers; always looking to stay one step ahead through innovations in quality, design, specification and customer service.

Central to its product range is The Heritage Collection family homes which combine traditional ‘Arts & Crafts’ influenced exteriors with bright, spacious interiors. Redrow also creates bespoke developments for specific locations, including contemporary townhouses and villas, exquisite country homes and several high value apartment schemes in central London.

Established in 1974, the company has regional offices throughout the country with almost 1,200 staff in a variety of roles. But in order to continue to be successful and sustainable - and meet its expansion plans - the business recognises it needs to replace its ageing employee profile and overcome labour shortages by using an innovative approach.

Redrow has an excellent track record for training and developing its staff, including bespoke management development programmes and access to vocational qualifications. It also has one of the industry’s best employee to apprentice ratios which, combined with its graduate training programmes and other trainee schemes, means 10% of Redrow’s UK workforce are trainees being offered formal on-the-job experience, the chance to study for formal qualifications, and very real career prospects. The company also has a purpose built training centre in Tamworth, which delivers bespoke courses to employees.

The company is an equal opportunities employer and aims to provide employees with the chance to develop a full and rewarding career.

In fact, in 2011 it was the only homebuilder to be included in Building magazine’s Best Employer Guide, where judges described career progression as one of Redrow’s “standout benefits.”

The company already offers some of the industry’s best schemes for apprentices, graduates or other trainee programmes. However, it recognises the need to target potential recruits even earlier, well before they have left school and made further education/career decisions.

This is where your help could be pivotal in the company’s progression.

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Redrow

The Creative Challenge The challenge is to devise a campaign which promotes what Redrow and the house building industry has to offer new recruits, dispelling the myth that jobs on offer only involve manual work on an austere building site.

Your campaign should attract young talent by promoting the variety of roles available and target school leavers at both GCSE (year 11) and ASLevel and A-Level (lower and upper sixth formers).

According to a recent survey, young people want flexible work schedules and a work/life balance.

The same report states that teenagers want employers to promote a sense of community, demonstrate excellent corporate social responsibility and a caring attitude to staff. They want companies to acknowledge good performance, provide a mentoring scheme, and offer opportunities to collaborate with senior management.

So how does the campaign demonstrate and communicate the message that Redrow meets those needs, using an appropriate channel, i.e., reaching teens where they spend time?

Media You are free to explore all channels – marketing, advertising, design, online, point of sale, social media, experimental ideas and everything in between – whatever you feel best communicates the message.

Your campaign must be highly creative and one that is intelligently resourceful and capable of putting small-to-medium size budgets to big effect. We envisage that creative use of social media will play a key role.

Studies show that teenagers engage in numerous platforms, but content is key. Their primary source of entertainment is TV. However, viewership habits change on a whim, and the use of social media continues to rise.

For instance, the British Army, which recruits up to 20,000 each year, with a target audience of 14-24 year olds, uses Facebook as its main channel for hiring. Methods include encouraging potential recruits to ask questions, showing videos of serving soldiers in their roles, and offering online gaming which allows candidates to demonstrate their skills.

As prolific users of digital technology, today’s under 18s are using social networking sites, instant chat and text to communicate. But they are also keen to protect their personal privacy online.

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Redrow

We want you to demonstrate a highly creative, integrated communications approach, engaging with our target audience at multiple points, which may also involve work experience opportunities, in-school visits or inclusion in the curriculum. It may identify relevant partnerships or suggest something completely original and innovative to spread the message.

Target Audience Our target audience is the age groups of 14-18 year olds, both GCSE (year 10/11) and AS-Level and A-Level (lower and upper sixth formers).

Preparation We suggest you visit some of our housing developments around the UK to get a feel for what we do. You’ll find a list and lots more information at www.redrow.co.uk.

Information about careers and jobs at http://www.redrowplc.co.uk/ Careers-And-Recruitment/ or tweet @redrowhomes, visit facebook.com/ RedrowHomes or email: training@redrow.co.uk You’ll also find out more about the business side of Redrow, including recruitment and training at www.redrowplc.co.uk. And you can view film footage of many of our developments at www.redrow.tv.

A document showing the variety of roles on offer can be found at http:// tv.redrow.co.uk/ycn-student-awards.php Mandatories We’d like to keep our brief as open as possible but the integrity of the Redrow brand must be respected at all times, and we’d like any activity to direct people to our website, wherever possible or appropriate.

Deliverables, Artwork and Additional Information For guidance on how to submit your work, please adhere to the main deliverables information which can be found at the YCN website ycn.org Any additional information referenced in the brief can be found in the supporting project pack, which can be found at http://tv.redrow.co.uk/ ycn-student-awards.php

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