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Oldham LSP and Northwest Development Agency
Gold award, Community Campaign, 2004 NW IPR Awards |
INTRODUCTION:
Oldham Beyond is the title of a radical and far-reaching
public consultation exercise designed to ‘re-vision’
the Borough of Oldham for the twenty-first century.
The Brief
The agency was appointed by URBED to communicate the
purpose of Oldham Beyond.
URBED had devised a unique and
creative way of ‘talking’ to the people
of Oldham. Instead of the traditional style of public
consultation, URBED commissioned a giant inflatable
‘satellite’ to tour the borough and act
as an information and opinion magnet.
The satellite provided a setting where people could
leave preconceived notions of Oldham outside and step
into a space where they felt free to imagine new possibilities
for their town.
A Creative Approach
We aimed to maximise media coverage while recognising
the importance of the two Oldham newspapers to the success
of this project.
The team began thinking of a catchy
and enticing way to ‘sell-in’ the story
to the media and advised that the satellite would be
better described as ‘a giant thought-bubble’.
Media targets included the UK’s
major news organisations, the regional press, TV and
radio, regeneration and public sector media and the
key local media.
We understood how vital it was
to provide a striking image of the thought-bubble. We
also understood that much of the media would not be
in a position to send photographers to the launch. A
photo-agency was commissioned to create striking imagery
suitable for a wide range of media.
The Results
For the launch the agency obtained coverage for Oldham
Beyond in:
Broadcast
- Channel Four news
- BBC Breakfast news report
- BBC Northwest lunchtime news – live
- BBC Northwest tonight – second lead feature
- BBC Northwest night time news
- Granada reports lunchtime news
- Granada reports evening news
- Granada reports night time news
- BBC Radio 5 live – live interview on Breakfast
- BBC GMR live interview on Breakfast
- BBC GMR news bulletins throughout the day
Print
- The Guardian
- The Times
- Financial Times
- Daily Express – page lead
- Manchester Evening news – page lead
- Oldham Chronicle – front page
- Oldham advertiser – page lead
- Architects’ Journal
- City Planning
- Planning
- Local Government Chronicle
- New Start
- Regeneration and Renewal
- Property Week
Online
- FT.com
- BBC online
- BBC Teletext
- Manchester Online
- Rudi.net
- New Urban Futures
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