Diverse Communities

exp_diversecommunitiesAs the UK becomes more culturally diverse, Government, businesses and charities must engage with a wide range of different audiences. This requires a culturally sensitive approach and a mixture of traditional and non traditional communications tactics. Linstock and its specialist Associates know how to develop and implement campaigns targeting diverse communities including the Black and Minority Ethnic (BME), Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender (LGBT), and Gypsy and Traveller community.

Linstock is on both the Central Office of Information’s (COI) cultural diversity framework and the London Development Agency’s (LDA) communications roster for engaging with BME audiences. Linstock has previously worked with the Commission for Racial Equality (CRE).

Client case studies

  • Census 2011: Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic groups

    Brief: The next full census of people and households in England and Wales will take place on 27 March 2011. Run by the Office of National Statistics (ONS), the census provides essential information from national to neighbourhood level for government, business and the community.

    The ONS appointed Linstock’s team of specialist consultants to raise awareness of the importance of the census among the UK’s growing Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) Communites. Ultimately, our role is to increase participation in Census 2011 among BAME groups. There is a perception that BAME communities may have been underrepresented in previous research.

    Census 2001 revealed that the BAME communities make up 7.9% of the population. This percentage is expected to increase to up to 12% in Census 2011.

    Activity: We are working closely with the Census team at the ONS to develop a campaign that combines traditional and non traditional communications tools.

    We will also be running an outreach programme with schools, engaging directly with parents, teachers and pupils to explain the value and benefits of Census 2011, and we’ll be taking the Census message into the community through community centres and religious groups. There will be some headline grabbing PR initiatives too.

  • Defra: Gypsies and Travellers

    Brief: The Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (Defra) engaged Linstock in April 2009 to raise awareness among the Gypsy & Traveller community of new EU horse identity regulations. This was the first campaign that Defra had run targeting Travellers – a horse-owning audience that is extremely hard to reach.

    Activity: We used a mixture of direct engagement with Gypsies and Travellers at horse fairs, targeted media relations and outreach with stakeholder organisations and support groups.

    We created a simple leaflet explaining the benefits of the new rules. We also worked hard to get the message out through local authority Traveller liaison departments and Traveller support organisations as trusted sources of information.

    Results: Overall, we met or exceeded every one of our evaluation targets. Our attendance at Appleby Fair, Europe’s largest Traveller gathering and one of its biggest horse events, was well received by the community. We distributed thousands of leaflets and completed a survey of Travellers’ views, collating 131 responses.

    Balanced articles appeared in Travellers’ Times and Gypsy History Magazine, as well as regional press in areas with the greatest concentration of Travellers.

    We also built upon our relationships with local authorities and Traveller support groups, using these trusted channels to distribute a further 4,000 leaflets to Travellers in priority areas.