Strategy
New campaign strategy
The new teacher recruitment strategy is an evolution of the current approach, and centres on the rewarding interactions between teacher and pupil. As such, teachers will feature in the creative work along with the children. The challenge was to find a way of keeping what was powerful about the previous campaign but combine it with something new to keep it motivating. Research with teachers confirmed that the core satisfaction of the job lies in the interactions they have with children: these are highly rewarding because teachers invest a huge amount of thought and effort in generating the most effective interactions possible - using creativity, humour, imagination and sensitivity to inspire pupils. Their focus on building rapport not only serves learning by creating a positive and supportive atmosphere, but can also help guide children’s development.
However, prospective teachers are not aware of the impressive array of skills teachers employ to get the most from the pupils they teach. When the target audience is presented with the reality of what teachers do on a daily basis: the methods they use, the range of skills they employ to inspire, guide and encourage children, they are inspired. Crucially, teachers’ skills are seen as being achievable as well as aspirational. These are people who wish to be challenged in their jobs, who thrive on interaction and are self-assured: therefore they respond positively to the reality of modern-day teaching.
The TDA commissioned independent creative development research, the core objectives being to validate the persuasive power of the proposed creative evolution of the recruitment advertising, to see which scripts work strongest and to provide guidance prior to production as to what, if any, refinements are required. This involved speaking to the groups of people who make up the campaign’s target audiences - student, career finders and career changers, the make up of the focus groups reflecting our bias towards our priority subjects. The work also involved getting the views of serving teachers and head teachers.
The new strategy and the proposition researched extremely well with prospective teachers, serving teachers and key stakeholders.
The ads are available to view at tdanewadvertising.com