Cullercoats
RNLI (The Royal National Lifeboat Institution) has enlisted the support of
talented business students as it embarks on a marketing drive to celebrate its
200th anniversary.
Students from Northumbria University Business
Clinic came up with a range of suggestions to help the lifeboat station promote
events around the charity’s 200th anniversary and other activities
that would help it safeguard its future in Cullercoats.
The RNLI is a highly respected charity that was
established to save lives at sea. Its mission is to provide lifesaving
services, including a 24/7 lifeboat search and rescue
service. With a presence in Cullercoats Bay since 1848, it has cultivated a
robust community of volunteers and relies on donations to carry out its
services.
The organisation approached the Business
Clinic for marketing support and a group of students led by team leader Laura
Smith – including Lucy Pennock, Eve Remington and Ella Ridley – conducted extensive research into the organisation, its
goals and ambitions.
On the back of the research, gaps were identified
in the social media presence of the lifeboat station and in areas that would
help it extend its engagement activities across the community.
The students then developed a series of
recommendations that would enable Cullercoats RNLI to drive forward a more
effective marketing strategy. The recommendations featured a 200-minute mega
raffle and special RNLI Legacy Film Night event (to be
promoted heavily via social media), as well as a monthly social club that
would bring together members of the Cullercoats community. The premium
recommendation was to enhance the traditional features
of Harbour Day – a spectacular fun-filled day of family-friendly
activities – by adding more interactive components to attract a larger audience
to its successor, Harbour Day 2.0.
Dr Kay Heslop, lifeboat operations manager at RNLI Cullercoats, said:
“The Business Clinic students excelled in providing fresh ideas for the RNLI to
engage with the community in our 200th year. Their ideas were
tailored to honour and foster a sense of community, commemoration and
inspiration in the community of Cullercoats.
“As a charity they were mindful of our tight budgets and all of their
recommendations were fully costed. Thanks to the students, we were able to
embrace new ways to market ourselves more effectively to the local community. They’ve given us food for thought and we’ll look to
implement some of their ideas going forward.”
Team leader Laura Smith said: “This project was a fantastic
opportunity to develop my teamwork and project management skills on a live
project. Working with the RNLI gave me a chance to get some real-world
experience to make my CV stand out, hands-on experience that writing a
dissertation wouldn’t have given me.
“RNLI were great to work with, offering support throughout the
challenges that came our way during the project, and we were determined to meet
their timescales and deadlines. The project really improved my work ethic and
motivation, and I honed essential skills including teamwork, communication and
project management.”
“My time with the Business Clinic shows how powerful practical,
real-world learning can be in higher education.”
Nigel Coates,
founder of the Business Clinic, added: “The RNLI is one of our most respected
third-sector organisations and we realise they don’t have the necessary resources
to carry out all the activities they’d like. We were only too happy to help
them in their 200th anniversary year as it’s vital that more people
know about the great work they do in the Cullercoats community.
“This project exemplifies
the value of the experiential learning that we offer students. Our programme
has benefited hundreds of private, public and third-sector organisations since we
established the Business Clinic more than ten years ago.”
The Business Clinic has delivered 780
consultancy projects involving more than 3,100 students across all business
subjects since it was founded by Nigel Coates in 2014. It offers pro-bono
consultancy support to SMEs, multi-national organisations, charitable
organisations, educational trusts and social enterprises that operate across a
wide range of sectors, both in the North East of England as well as further
afield in the UK and overseas.
Students work at
the Business Clinic within their final year of study, offering clients a full
consultancy experience that takes in activities as diverse as feasibility
studies including finance, investment and growth; HR including recruitment,
retention and diversity; marketing including branding and digital; business
analytics; logistics and supply chain management. The aim of each project is to
undertake research and make recommendations that will benefit organisations in
the short and long term.
