Accessing Support from Local Business

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Accessing Support from Local Business

• Madelein Dinwoodie
• 22 May 2008

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Media Trust

• We harness the skills, resources and creativity
  of the media industry to help voluntary
  organisations and charities make a difference to
  peoples lives.
• Campaigns
• Community Channel
• Community Newswire
• Media and communications training
• Media Matching
• Youth Media
• Productions

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Media Trust mentoring

• Youth Mentoring
• Media professionals volunteer their time and
  expertise to disadvantaged young people, working
  together on youth-led media projects.
• Media Matching
• Media professionals volunteer their time and
  expertise to charities and voluntary
  organisations.

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• Channel 4 and Youre Hired after school
  programme
• Six week Apprentice Style media challenge
• Young people came up with and created a marketing
  plan for a new comic
• Four volunteer mentors from Channel 4 attended
  sessions over six weeks
• CEO of Channel 4 offered his views at the
  mid-point of the project
• Pitched their ideas to a celebrity panel -
  including Andy Duncan at Channel 4

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Feasibility

• Importance of research
• All companies interested in getting involved
• Highlighted they needed an easy and flexible
  offer
• Different cultures and different styles of
  working
• Realised it was important to know and understand
  each audience and make the offer attractive and
  relevant to them
• Very important for the offer to be feasible in
  terms of delivery - dont over promise

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The Youth Mentoring sell

• How did Youth Mentoring sell this opportunity
  into business?
• Outlined all of the benefits of involvement -
  tailoring to the specific company - highlighted
  at the pitch
• Linked expertise to the volunteering opportunity
  to give the company direct benefits for staff
  getting involved and staff more confidence to
  want to get involved
• Made it easy for companies to get involved and
  offered tools to help them recruit and then
  support their staff throughout their involvement
  - highlighted at the pitch

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The Youth Mentoring sell

• Designed the scheme for the time-poor media
  industry and made it as flexible as possible
  encouraging more people to get involved
• Offered support on PR opportunities
• Engaged competitors in the same industry
• Got buy-in from the top down
• Gave the project a professional look e.g training
  pack

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The Youth Mentoring sell

• Gave the project an exciting look and feel

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Engaging the business HR/PR/CSR

• Not just for the greater good!
• HR
• Personal and professional staff development
  opportunities
• Mentor training - internal business mentoring is
  used within companies for staff development and
  internal communications
• PR
• Positive promotional opportunities trade press
  and possibly national press
• CSR
• Social responsibility and direct company benefits
• Links with local community groups

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Engaging the staff

• Make mentoring appeal
• Links with local community/people
• Personal and professional development -
  leadership skills
• Make as easy and as flexible as possible to get
  involved
• Ensure staff know that they have something to
  offer

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Engaging the staff

• Promotion
• WOM is the strongest marketing tool - so plan the
  project
• Launch events
• Speak the language of the industry

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Engaging the staff
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Summary

• Do your research
• Tailor your offer
• Outline the benefits
• Plan your pitch
• Make it easy and flexible to get involved
• Take on as much of the work as possible
• Remember it isnt a big ask, you have a lot to
  give as long as you take the right angle

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Exercise

• In groups choose one of your mentoring projects
• Then choose a business on the list that you would
  like to engage
• In your groups outline a pitch to the company
• Choose one member of the group to highlight how
  you would pitch the opportunity to the company
• The other group will give you feedback on your
  pitch