Case study LGcomms

An online media centre - from concept to live content in just four days

On Thursday afternoon Actuality Media was tasked with providing an online media centre for the LGcommunications annual conference the following week. The conference was to be the largest gathering of local government communications professionals of the year and the aim was to provide an online delegates pack with the full range of conference updates and background material. At the same time the temporary website would demonstrate the benefits of online media relations to some of the most senior local government PR people gathered in Birmingham.

Using the template and colour palette from the organisation’s existing website we were able to quickly set up a customised online media centre with revised subject headings and navigation to fit the needs of the conference. This then linked seamlessly from the LGcomms main site so that delegates could access the online media centre quickly and easily. The site was then populated with conference information and the whole thing was up and running by Tuesday afternoon. That’s just four days – and we didn’t work the weekend, honest!

As the conference progressed, news items about presentations and awards were uploaded and all these were linked into the information about the conference programme, background material, supporting reports, pictures and biographies. Where speakers made their powerpoint presentations available these were uploaded too. There was also coverage of the social aspects of the event such as the annual dinner.

The verdict? This is what the chairman of LGcommunications Jayne Surman said afterwards:

“I wanted to say a huge thank you again for the on-line media centre - it was an incredibly valuable addition to our website and enabled to us to give absolutely up to date news and reports on conference. Having the awards announced so soon after the event enabled delegates to share the news and pics with colleagues back in the office the very next day. We will be looking at a thorough debrief of conference and I am sure will be talking to you about how we can build on our relationship.”

Coverage

Speakers at the conference included local government minister Phil Woolas and senior figures from the Local Government Association (LGA) and the Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG). Their contributions were all made available to delegates via the online media centre.

Authorities attending:
Adur District Council, Ashfield District Council, Aylesbury Vale District Council, Bedfordshire County Council, Blackburn with Darwin Council, Borough of Poole, Boston Borough Council, Bournemouth Borough Council, Bracknell Forest Borough Council, Breckland District Council, Bromsgrove District Council, Buckinghamshire County Council, Cambridgeshire County Council, Cannock Chase Council, Carlisle City Council, Cheltenham Borough Council, Cherwell District Council, Chiltern District Council, Derbyshire County Council, Dorset County Council, Dublin City Council, Dudley Metropolitan Borough Council, East Sussex County Council, Essex County Council, Gloucestershire County Council, Halton Borough Council, Hampshire County Council, Isle of Wight Council, Lancashire County Council, Lancashire County Developments Ltd, Leeds City Council, Lincolnshire County Council, Liverpool City Council, London Borough of Camden, London Borough of Hackney, London Borough of Havering, London Borough of Hillingdon, London Borough of Merton, London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, London Borough of Southwark, Malvern Hills District Council, Manchester Fire Service, Mansfield District Council, Mendip District Council, Mid Suffolk District Council, Mid Suffolk District Council, Mid Sussex District Council, New Forest District Council, North East Lincolnshire Council, North Lincolnshire Council,North Lincolnshire Council, North Warwickshire Borough Council, North West Leicestershire District Council, North Yorkshire County Council, Nottinghamshire County Council, Nuneaton & Bedworth Borough Council, Oxfordshire County Council, Peak District National Park Authority, Peterborough City Council, Preston City Council, Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council, Redditch Borough Council, Rotherham Borough Council, Sedgemoor District Council, Sheffield City Council, Slough Borough Council, Solihull Metropolitan Borough Council, South Birmingham PCT, South Derbyshire District Council, South Hams District Council, South Kesteven District Council, South Lakeland District Council, South Oxfordshire District Council, South Tyneside Council, South Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service, Southampton City Council, Stockport Metropolitan Borough Council, Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council, Stoke on Trent City Council, Stratford upon Avon District Council, Suffolk County Council, Tameside Metropolitan Borough Council, Tamworth Borough Council, Teignbridge District Council, Telford and Wrekin Council, Thanet District Council, Torbay Council, Tunbridge Wells Borough Council, Tynedale District Council, Wakefield Metropolitan District Council, Warwick District Council, Warwickshire County Council, Welsh Local Government Association, West Lancashire District Council, West Oxfordshire District Council, West Oxfordshire District Council, Westminster City Council, Woking Borough Council, Worthing Borough Council, Wychavon District Council, Wycombe District Council.