In this issue
Borough News
Reigate on Ice cancellation
New law for landlords
Unauthorised encampments
Supporting the annual canvass
Spotlight on....our Modern Slavery campaign
Summer round up
Coming up
Training and guidance

We're currently seeking your input about what sort of communication skills training you'd value - tell us by taking this short survey.

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If you have any feedback or questions about anything in this update, or would like help or advice about anything communications related, please contact the team via communications@reigate-banstead.gov.uk or 01737 276512.
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Training and guidance

We're currently seeking your input about what sort of communication skills training you'd value - tell us by taking this short survey.



Hot topics
Borough News
 

Borough News was produced over July and August, and hit doormats in September.

 

 

Click heading to read more...


Borough News was produced over July and August, and hit doormats in September. This edition focuses on helping residents to help themselves, such as by making use of free countryside activities to get active or making sure they are prepared for severe weather.

The magazine features subjects as diverse as modern slavery, the bird box trail at Earlswood Lakes, housing and recycling. To support the introduction of Universal Credit, the magazine has a double page spread on money management.

We’ve been promoting the magazine on our social media, including with a short video of the Leader.


Reigate on Ice cancellation

To counter inaccurate claims made by the organisers on social media about the cancellation of this year’s Reigate on Ice, we proactively managed the issue and working with Greenspaces, issued a statement via our social media channels and to key local media outlets to correct the misinformation and ensure the Council’s position was clear.

 

 

Click heading to read more...


To counter inaccurate claims made by the organisers on social media about the cancellation of this year’s Reigate on Ice, we proactively managed the issue and working with Greenspaces, issued a statement via our social media channels and to key local media outlets to correct the misinformation and ensure the Council’s position was clear. A followup joint statement was subsequently coordinated and released alongside the Matthews Organisation.

Our tweet linking to our initial statement was our most read post in August and September with 387 post clicks and a reach of 30.6K. In addition we arranged interviews on BBC Surrey Breakfast with the Leader and with the Portfolio Holder, Cllr Horwood, on SUSY Radio. 


New law for landlords
 

To prompt landlords of houses in multiple occupation (e.g. house shares) to get ready for a change in law before the government’s 1 October deadline, we pushed information through a range of communications over the summer and early autumn.

Our website and social media channels were utilised, alongside a press release, a Borough News article and a mailing to landlords.



Unauthorised encampments

These continue to be a hot topic on social media and with the local media. We have responded promptly to social media chat and media interest about the encampments, giving updates on action taken to move the travellers on to reassure the local community.



Supporting the annual canvass
 

We're using Twitter and Facebook supported by traditional media, to remind residents to respond to their annual canvass form, and to do so online where possible.



Feature story
Spotlight on....our Modern Slavery campaign
 

Our modern slavery campaign launched in July and will run until late October. The campaign is designed to raise awareness of the signs of modern slavery and to encourage residents to report suspicions.

 

 

Click heading to read full article...


Our Modern Slavery campaign launched in July and will run until late October. The campaign is designed to raise awareness of the signs of modern slavery and to encourage residents to report suspicions. Please continue to talk about the campaign with your constituents and, if tweeting, use the hashtag #HiddenInPlainSight. Campaign results so far include: 

  • Reach of over 1 million on social media with over 600 clicks
  • PR coverage including BBC Surrey
  • Over 1,000 visitors to the modern slavery pages on our website
  • 1,600 fold-out cards distributed to partners and the public
  • Over 700 pledges from local people to support the campaign (you can pledge here)
  • 97% campaign awareness level among staff

The full campaign evaluation will look at any increases in reporting.

 

Campaign lead: Katherine Lloyd.


Summer round up & coming up
Summer round up
 

We had a full and busy summer, with some highlights including the Be a Councillor campaign seeking to raise awareness of the importance of the Councillor role, encouraging residents to comment on the Boundary Commission's proposals for ward boundary changes, and taking the opportunity to promote the Earlswood Lakes bird box trail during the school holidays.

 

 

Click on the heading to view a full round up of our summer...


  • Be a Councillor: Thank you to those who helped to promote the #BeACouncillor campaign. Pulled together in a short space of time, the campaign has seen some fantastic results. A full evaluation is currently being prepared but we’ve reached over half a million social media timelines with lots of positive engagement along the way. The majority has been from our target audiences which proves the tactics we used really hit the spot!
  • Open air cinema returned to Priory Park: We supported Luna’s promotion of its open air cinema season in Priory Park with a social media campaign, website banner and distribution of leaflets and posters:
    • June main screenings: 2,245 tickets sold, £5k profit for the Council
    • August kids’ screenings: 1,421 tickets sold, £2k profit for the Council.
  • Remembering Russell Jenner: Environmental Health News and the Surrey Mirror ran tributes to Russell following the Council’s tribute issued in liaison with Russell’s family and colleagues.
  • Ward boundary changes: We used our social media channels to encourage residents to comment on the Local Government Boundary Commission for England’s proposals for ward boundary changes, along with direct mail to all households with their annual canvass form. We also asked partner organisations to cascade consultation materials to reach a wider audience.
  • DMP update: To keep residents up-to-date on progress with the DMP, in July we announced the start date for the examination hearing with a news release and social media posts. Messaging continues to focus on our plan-led approach and how residents can engage with the process.
  • Bird box trail promo: The summer holidays provided an opportunity to promote the new bird box trail at Earlswood Lakes, using targeted media relations and social media activity.
  • Piggybacking awareness days: We used national and regional awareness weeks to push messages about several of our services through social media. For anti-social behaviour awareness week, we provided bite-sized facts clarifying facts around what counts as anti-social behaviour and how to report it – something residents are not always clear on. We shared Surrey Police’s emotive video campaign for domestic abuse awareness week.
  • Food safety: We promoted food safety messaging throughout the summer, beginning with food safety week in June and following up with information on preventing food poisoning from barbeques and picnics. 

  • Pest control service: Complementing the summery theme, we used Facebook, Twitter and our website to publicise the council’s pest control service for treating wasps’ nests.
  • Mayor’s Volunteers Awards: The annual celebration of volunteers’ contribution to the community was shared with local media and our followers on social media.
  • Tribute to Cllr Mrs Mill: Following the sad passing of Cllr Mrs Mill the council issued a tribute to local media and local government trade media, which was shared on our website and via our social media channels.
  • Remembering WWI: Over 200 seats were booked for the free screening of War Horse and a historical talk at the Harlequin as part of the council’s First World War centenary commemorations. Our social media posts received high engagement, particularly those about the raffle prize of two Michael Morpurgo signed books.

  • Heritage on show: Residents came out in force to see behind the scenes of the Town Hall for Heritage Open Day. Our news release received coverage in the Surrey Mirror’s feature about the initiative as well as local news websites, and our related social media post ranked second highest by clicks during August, and achieved high reach.

 


Coming up
  • We were invited to speak at the LG Comms Academy this month, an event attended by 500+ comms colleagues from across the country, on the platinum award-winning RingGo cashless parking campaign
  • We're launching a financial wellbeing campaign to support our residents with the roll out of Universal Credit
  • 'My Reigate & Banstead' accounts will go live on our website - allowing people to register for an online account and receive updates on services they have an interest in. Following an initial soft launch to promote the new service in October, there'll be a wider campaign in the New Year when more functionality has been added.


Consultations

We’ll share information here about key consultations – please help us to promote these via your own channels.

For you:

The Leader and Communications team would like Members views on the Council’s corporate identity in advance of a project to refresh it. You can take part here (closing 29 October)

For residents:

We're asking residents for their views on new equipment for the Priory Park play area (closing 26 October)