About our client: University of Lancashire
The University of Lancashire is a leading and internationally renowned university in the city of Preston that has undergone huge transformation in recent years.
This investment has seen the creation of many new facilities and centres of excellence, including an Engineering Innovation Centre, to showcase its capability in diverse engineering fields to prospective and existing students, both in the UK and overseas.
Our brief
We were asked by the University of Lancashire to manage a communications strategy for the construction and subsequent opening of a new £200million Student Centre in the heart of the university’s main campus in Preston city centre.
The new centre would provide the university with a new flagship building, including the creation of a new public square, new public realm improvements and significant highways changes, including the introduction of new shared spaces for pedestrians, cyclists and motorists.
What we delivered
The strategy had to consider the communication needs of a wide range of stakeholders, including the student community, local businesses, motorists and commuters, and local authority audiences.
Freshfield created a plan which incorporated all areas of communications, including acting as a central media office. The new masterplan involved major public realm works which resulted in some road closures and changes to traffic flows in the city. Communicating these changes to the public to minimise disruption was a major part of the project.
During the construction of the Student Centre, Freshfield arranged a media day to open up the centre for the media to see and experience the new facilities. This media visit included facilitating regional broadcast media with filming and interview opportunities.
Impact
The campaign resulted in widespread coverage in regional and local media throughout the project. This included updates on key milestones (including advance warnings of traffic disruption), visuals of what the development would look like, and information on how it would transform student services. Local businesses praised the university for timely information, keeping them updated on the development.
