A blog by Kysen MD Clare Rodway, capturing interesting conversations she has in the course of her work...
As another Divorce D-Day approaches (the last Monday in September is the second biggest peak day of the year for divorce applications, thanks to pressures on families over the summer hols) how nice to talk to a family law marketer who is taking an altogether more positive approach.
I talked this week to Kerry England, marketing director at The Family Law Company, about the launch of her 'Everyday Bravery' campaign. The centrepiece for the campaign is a film she has created featuring the stories of eight individuals who have shown bravery in the face of adversity, plus an invitation for people to nominate others in their community who demonstrate this type of bravery. The challenges described in the personal video stories include surviving domestic abuse, overcoming language barriers, living with extreme post-natal depression and pursuing a successful career after a stroke at the age of just 28. The stories all have positive messages showing how being courageous has helped them to get through. Kerry tells me, 'We hope that telling these stories will make other people see how strong they are and encourage them to stand up for themselves and others. We also want to create a sense of community around the value of bravery, so that people who might feel alone in their problems can get help and stand together.'
'The idea for the Everyday Bravery campaign began at a one-day Strategy Retreat with Kysen in St Ives, Cornwall. Kerry says, 'We wanted to share our core values with the outside world, all of which are based on the concept of being brave in our work. And we wanted to differentiate ourselves from the more cynical in our profession and communicate a message that is very different. The away-day provided the time and space to think all this through - together with the opportunity to brainstorm with the legal PR world's best! We explored various creative routes for communicating what our company stands for - and how it stands out from the competition - which helped direct the campaign. This opportunity to take time out of the usual hecticness of the working day and be more reflective is vital for a small in-house marketing team. This played a big part in the success of the creative campaign design'.
At the strategy session we talked in depth with Kerry about how the firm supports its clients, both with the legal advice its lawyers give and beyond that. As we discussed the detail of what this looks like in practice, Kerry was increasingly drawn to the idea that being brave isn't always about doing big, public things. Sometimes it's about making small, daily choices that take courage. So we started to develop a campaign framework that showed this understanding by focussing on the quiet strength that people show every day: the campaign concept of Everyday Bravery was born.
The campaign was launched this month with a film screening of the personal video stories at Plymouth University's Arts Cinema, together with the first public call for people to nominate others in their community who demonstrate this type of bravery. The channels Kerry has chosen to promote the continuing search for nominations are a YouTube video as campaign, social media posts, radio and print ads, events and a thread of thought-leadership article placements and news stories through Kysen. Already the social media campaign has attracted 19,115 views across the YouTube videos alone and Kerry has been invited on BBC radio Devon to talk about it next week.
The nominations will be considered by an independent panel which will choose the story that stands out most to them, plus two runners up. Panel members include: Annette Stone from accountancy and business consultancy Azets, Mike Bee from Big Box Media, Rachel Buckley, joint-MD at The Family Law Company, Helen Hoskin of Devon and Plymouth Chamber of Commerce, Andy Moreman of Young Devon and the General Manager at Bovey Castle, Dean Gunston, who is providing the generous main prize: the top nominee will enjoy an exceptional two day break at Bovey Castle - and a choice of extras, maybe a session at the hotel's Elan Spa & Studio, a round on the hotel's 18-hole Championship golf course or a guided Dartmoor tour to make this a really special experience, a real celebration of their bravery. The panel will also be choosing two further nominees, who will receive beautiful personalised hampers from Bespoke and Local, crammed with lovely locally sourced treats to spoil themselves with.
'Remember', says Kerry, 'this doesn't have to be a spectacular example of bravery but simply something that has taken courage.'
To nominate someone who has been brave in any capacity, large or small, in their lives, visit the company's website and choose the Everyday Bravery tab where there is also a link to the films on YouTube.
Nominations close on 31 January 2025 and the results will be announces in early February, in time for Valentines Day. We <3 this campaign!
