Book of the Night Awardsview Book of the Night Homepage
Public Sector
WINNER
Get On 'Gets Counting'
Department for Education and Skills
Fishburn Hedges
The Department for Education and Skills, and Fishburn Hedges, pursued an innovative way to encourage men to improve their skills - darts.
As numeracy skills are a critical element to the game of darts, the DfES developed a partnership with the British Darts Organisation (BDO) in a bid to appeal to the seven million adults who describe themselves as regular darts players. It was supported with the first-ever maths survey of England's professional darts players.
Unsurprisingly the media embraced the story, with coverage in The Times, Guardian and on Radio 5, Sky, BBC 6 O'clock News and Five. The real coup was a five-part programme on the numerical properties of darts on BBC's Grandstand. Calls to the campaign hotline leapt by 400 per cent after the show aired and January saw 32,000 extra calls than usual to the DfES enquiry team.
The Department of Health is now looking to use this style of campaign as an example of best practice.
HIGHLY COMMENDED
30th Anniversary of the Sex Discrimination Act and Equal Opportunities Commission
Equal Opportunities Commission
The EOC prevented sex equality from becoming yesterday's issue by using the 30th anniversary of the Sex Discrimination Act to remind employers, employees and politicians that inequality still exists.
Its '30 Voices' publications, stakeholder events and 'Then and Now' statistics produced leaders in The Times, Guardian and Independent, while hits to the EOC website were up 25 per cent on 2004. The EOC also appeared on Radio 4's Woman's Hour.
HIGHLY COMMENDED
Command and Control - Driving recruitment for the police High
Potential Development scheme
The Home Office
Blue Rubicon
Blue Rubicon reinvigorated the public perception of a career within the police service by creating stars of its HPD scheme and getting them to talk to the press direct to showcase the diversity of officers who join. It scored a coup by securing the front page of Guardian Rise - the weekly careers supplement - for two weeks in February. Every one of the 37 items of coverage showed the HPD scheme in a positive light. HPD applications rose by 13 per cent.
FINALISTS
Gateway Programme
Sheffield City Council
Vodka from Russia, Licence from Westminster
Westminster City Council
