HOUSES OF PARLIAMENT

Empowering every community

Since 2011, the Houses of Parliament has run UK Parliament Week (UKPW)—an annual series of events hoping to generate more interest around national politics. But with lagging support and a lack of youth attendance, we needed to devise a new approach: to supercharge engagement and encourage wider involvement.

Strategy
  • Positioning
Design
  • Visual Identity
Activation
  • Guidelines

BREAKING THE BARRIERS

Despite being the biggest initiative as part of the Your UK Parliament programme, UKPW was struggling to attract and maintain a substantial following. Members of the public were either unaware of its existence, or felt too detached to involve themselves or engage. To break down these barriers, UKPW needed to feel more human and accessible—educating communities on its valuable purpose, whilst also reminding them why their voice matters and why they should get involved.

FINDING THE VOICE

Our solution needed to encourage each and every person to find their unique voice—and, crucially, remind them of the power of doing so. This vision led us to our core concept: inviting everybody to ‘Explore, Engage, Empower’—an emotive theme that then became the backbone of UKPW’s engagement, outreach and event structure. We realised this theme through an accessible visual language and tone of voice that encouraged people to start conversation, get involved and have their opinion heard.

SPEAKING FOR ITSELF

As a result of the process, UKPW increased its overall number of participants by 233%—expanding from 360,000 to 1.2 million in 2019. The event also notably expanded its Under-18 audience, with youth attendance at 90% of events. Thanks to the work’s success, our relationship with the Houses of Parliament continued across multiple workstreams: from a tone of voice and messaging toolkit, to the development of annual creative for the UKPW event. At every step, ensuring communities are compelled to influence change.

“Creative and efficient are words that best describe Rowdy but not the only ones; committed, innovative and friendly are also essential components of this company. Lisa and the team went above and beyond our vision when approached to help re write our Tone of Voice and communication strategy. 

We would highly recommend Rowdy if you are looking for a company committed to giving your organisation a competitive edge.”

David Clark, Head of Education and Engagement, Houses of Parliament

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