Driving behaviour change to support the introduction of a new car parking scheme through a creative, multi-channel travel-to-work campaign
The Brief
The demand for on-site car parking at Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust (NUH) far outweighed capacity. This was a cause of long-term frustration for employees, negatively affecting their morale.
Nottingham is a well-connected city with a multitude of travel options, including Europe’s only tram stop on a hospital site. The team at NUH worked in partnership with local providers to develop a plethora of competitively priced public transport offers. MIH was asked to promote these alternative transport options, alongside the implementation of the new car parking permit system, to drive behaviour change across the organisation.
What we did
Because this would be a far-reaching travel campaign encompassing many elements, we created a brand for the programme named ‘Let’s Talk Travel’. The programme was underpinned by a comprehensive communications plan, including newsletters, social media, web and intranet content.
Informing people about the new car parking permit system was one component of the campaign, which also included promoting public transport options, providing engagement and feedback opportunities and sharing environmental and sustainability information. Ultimately, the campaign sought to ensure that there were travel options and ways to engage with the campaign for everyone.
The Let’s Talk Travel campaign had a dedicated email address and regular newsletters. The campaign was comprised of four elements: engagement and feedback, public transport, car parking and environment and sustainability. Each element of the campaign had its own colour, icon and identity to enable staff to navigate the communications by choice.
We also produced four videos, each following an NUH colleague on their journey to work on differing modes of transport. These films promoted the personal and environmental benefits of choosing alternative travel, to help influence staff choice.
MIH facilitated virtual Q&A sessions at times accessible for all NUH shift workers. They offered colleagues the opportunity to feed back on their own travel experiences and featured demonstrations of new digital transport tools including a new car-sharing app, e-bike app and bus tracking systems. The sessions were key to ensuring the needs of staff, patients and visitors remained at the heart of decisions being made about transport. The output of these sessions drove further improvements, which were then fed back through the Let’s Talk Travel newsletters.
The result
Over four months, we promoted the travel options available to colleagues through the eyes of their peers and increased both awareness and uptake of alternative transport methods. Communicating information about travel through the medium of video engaged and encouraged more staff to consider the way they travel. Since the start of the campaign, staff have chosen to take advantage of the staff tram pass. There has also been a keen uptake for the newly improved Medilink bus and the journey sharing app.
Staff feedback gathered throughout the campaign resulted in colleague-led improvements to existing services. It also provided the facilities team a platform to promote new investments including new bike shelters, shower blocks and additional car parking, all of which have created a positive buzz around travel and transport.
“We couldn’t be happier with the results of the Let's Talk Travel campaign. It not only exceeded our expectations but also resonated with our colleagues in a way that truly showcased the hard work we’ve put into the travel and transport offer at NUH. The team’s creativity and strategic approach made the campaign a success. The result is a testament to their expertise and commitment to our vision”
Donna Jones, Head of Facilities, Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust