Research into Community Campaigns in my Local Area.

Wild Stevenage

Wild Stevenage is a local campaign to protect Stevenage's local wildlife. The Campaign began in April 2011 and was recently completely. The Campaign was supported by the Heritage Lottery Fund,  SoStevenage and Stevenage Borough Council  It has achieved a great deal of changes around the town. They produced nature trails in  Monk's and Whomerley Woods and Shackledell Grassland and family activities were run on Stevenage wildlife areas.

One of the recently added footpaths in Stevenage

The campaign used several media platforms including posters, leaflets and a website, this meant that the campaign was spread amongst several different media platforms but also that it could appeal to a wider range of age groups. One thing I would add would be social networking pages like Facebook or Twitter to appeal to a more young adult audience and keep up with digital media and how it affects society today. 



Here is an example of the Wild Stevenage Website 

The Target audience of this campaign is a range from children to the elderly, because the focus of the campaign is that families from around Stevenage would work together to regenerate the local area. I'd like to draw inspiration from this for my own campaign as it makes regenerating an area more affordable while also having the support of the community. 

This campaign was obviously successful as the community bonded together and supported the campaign, with several people helping to look after the land and the campaign reached all of its goals.

The Target Audience is clearly addressed on the website, the layout is simple and user friendly which shows it is trying to address a range of age groups and technical skill. The webpage features some children working on the regeneration which not only demonstrates an ideal age group but also makes it appealing to parents and grandparents. There is no link to any social networking site which shows that the campaign isn't aimed at young adults or teenagers. 

The website features persuasive techniques such as Slogans, logos, a company name and clear contact details, all of these will attract the target audience and encourage people to get involved. 

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Baldock Town Partnership

The Baldock town partnership is a campaign to improve Baldock's economy and support local businesses during the recession. The campaign started in 2005 and is still active today. The campaign is represented at North Hertfordshire District Council and other Baldock groups by local members and owners of local businesses. In 2 June 2007 the Baldock Town Partnership became partners with a private limited company. The partnership was initially given £14,000 from the North Herts District Council but all other funds they must find and allocate themselves.

The Baldock town partnership has a webpage on a general website for the town of Baldock and also features in part of 'Enjoy Baldock's newsletter. There is no posters, leaflets, documentaries or social networking pages, I think this gives the campaign a disadvantage because it is difficult for people to find out about the campaign and it doesn't attract young people by using popular social networking sites.

I think the Target audience of the campaign is older adults, probably around 40 or 50 because it doesn't use any digital media techniques to attract young adults or teenagers and the layout is far too professional and the language to complex for the campaign to be aimed at children. 

This campaign is quite successful because it clearly has several volunteers, but unlike some other campaigns this campaign is still in progress despite being started nearly ten years ago. 

Friends of Norton Common
The Norton Common Nature Reserve is a local community area for families and wildlife, it was created along with town in 1903 by the community planners who saw its potential as a town that could connect with nature. FoNC work to protect and preserve Letchworth's wildlife, they work with the Countryside Management Service and North Hertfordshire District Council to solve the problems and build awareness.

 

The campaign uses several different production methods including a website and a leaflet. The campaign is aimed at family sort of age group, with a website designed to appeal to adults but the aim of the campaign is to save the nature reserve which is a goal that could appeal to all age groups even children. The website has quite a neutral colour scheme which shows that it is not aimed at a particular gender. This is clearly not aimed at young people because it isn't represented on social networking sites which is a successful way of appealing to teenagers or young adults.

The Friends of Norton Common Website

Front of Friends of Norton Common Leaflet 

Back of Friends of Norton Common Leaflet 

The Campaign was relatively successful as it has received a lot of support and local publicity , however the campaign's aims have not yet been achieved.

The campaign leaflet uses techniques like slogans, rhetorical question, visual imagery, tables, a campaign logo, a company logo, maps and many other conventions. These help make the campaign more appealing to the target audience and helps get the point across clearly. 

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Triangle Community Gardens 

The campaign was created in 1999 to promote the values of gardening and community in Hitchin. It was originally set up by people who lived locally and wanted a space for families to use as a place for gardening. 

The campaign uses production methods such as a website and social networking sites on Facebook and twitter. 

The website uses techniques like logos and slogans. It uses simple language so it can appeal to a wider range of age groups including children. The bright and colourful website shows that the target audience includes children. This tells us that the campaign is aimed at families or scouting/guiding groups. 

The social networking links show that the campaign uses digital media to make it appealing to young adults and teenagers. 

The Twitter page for Triangle Community gardens

Facebook Page for Triangle Community Gardens 

The campaign uses social networking to appeal to a wider audience, including teenagers. 

I think the campaign was successful because it has a great deal of support and achieved the goals that it was set even now 15 years after the campaign was founded, the gardens are used by many local people. 

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