Case Studies
U.S. Department of Labor
An education in success
Situation
Jump to design samplesThe Department of Labor wanted to launch a web-based marketplace for training and educational resources. It was in the development stages, preparing for its nationwide rollout. This was a free public service created by the U.S. Department of Labor in partnership with a consortium of 15 states led by Minnesota, the Council for Excellence in Government, the American Association of Community Colleges, the Public Broadcasting System and other leading organizations in training and education.
The first priority was to encourage training providers to load their course offerings into the website database. With no budget for advertising, Boscobel needed to develop a variety of low-cost, yet effective, outreach strategies to make training providers aware of this free service.
Objectives
- Develop marketing messages targeted to training providers.
- Identify cost-effective methods of reaching these training providers.
- Increase awareness in the training provider community.
- Build the database of training offerings by enticing training providers to log on to the website and enter their data.
Tactics
Boscobel began by developing a set of six key message points tailored to the sales and marketing needs of training providers. These message points would be communicated consistently across all creative platforms in order to create a strong brand identity for the service.
Although there was no paid advertising budget, it was still critical to find a way to reach a broad audience of training providers through targeted industry publications.
Through research and interviews with industry leaders, Boscobel identified a select group of trade and association publications with maximum reach within this specialized target audience, then surveyed these publications to determine their interest in running a public service announcement (PSA) encouraging training providers to visit the Web site for a demonstration. Receiving a positive response, Boscobel sent a personalized letter and color copy of the public service announcement to each publication.
As an incentive, Boscobel invited each publication to be acknowledged for their contribution with a credit line reading, “This is a public service announcement from the U.S. Department of Labor and (Name of Publication).” Other tactics included:
- Development of a comprehensive Strategic Outreach
- Plan outlining communications strategies and tactics for conveying key provider messages and building the brand.
- Creation of a distinctive logo design and core graphic image to shape the brand identity.
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Implementation of multiple executions of messaging and brand identity across the following creative platforms:
- Collateral materials, including four-color “bookmark” handout and four-color trifold brochure;
- Website graphics and content;
- Trade show booth for use at trade shows and industry conferences; and
- Internet communications, including monthly online newsletter and targeted blast e-mail messages coupled with selective links to industry listservs, search engines and portal sites.
For all of the above executions, Boscobel provided end-to-end concept, design, copywriting and production services.
Results
From the PSA and outreach to each publication, Boscobel reached a total circulation of nearly 700,000 readers in the training provider community. Publications that used the public service announcement include Training and Development magazine of the American Society for Training and Development, Corporate University Review, Public HR, Community College Times of the American Association of Community Colleges, and Workforce Professional of the International Association of Personnel in Employment Security. Had these placements been purchased as advertisements, the equivalent cost would have been nearly $50,000 for just one run.
In the first year alone, America’s Learning Exchange saw a ten-fold increase in resource provider listings. That initial success, combined with ongoing growth, led to several public and private partnerships for the Department of Labor. And, the total promotional budget increased by more than 500%.
Design Samples
