A comment from the past

I've been deleting quite a few comments lately.  But one comment, from September 2009, I didn't either delete or publish; I just saved it.  Now, I think, it's time for it to see the light of day.

I set up a website in 2008.  After a year or so I suddenly found that a pusillanimous web host had bowed to A4e's claim that it was "defamatory" and closed it.  I had no opportunity to find out exactly what was supposed to be defamatory, let alone remove it.  All I could do was retrieve as much material as possible and set up again.
In September 2009 New Deal was turning into Flexible New Deal, and A4e had embarked on a marketing exercise, a road show entitled "Know Hope".  A friend in Hull saw it, and I published a short piece on 24 September.  That same night a comment came through, which I now publish in full:

"This site never fails to amaze with any attempt to try and badmouth the work A4e is doing in any capacity.  The fact is that A4e have campaigned for a new way of working after listening to clients who did not like the system under New Deal.  Flexible New Deal is an entirely new way of working where people are given a personal career coach and a structured plan over twelve months where A4e have the time and resources to assess exactly what their needs are. This has taken years of research and work with the government with the aim on improving services to help the hardest to reach.  The Know Hope Campaign is nationwide and the reason for A4e logos and branding not taking centre stage is that the emphasis is mainly on the client - Their Journey and getting them back into Sustainable Employment.  The majority of people in Hull were really enthusiastic about the changes and the new way of working. A4e are taking feedback on board and trying to make a difference. No company is perfect but A4e staff are all passionate about getting people back into sustainable employment and trying to make a difference.  A4e have tried to communicate with the person who leads this negative site to try and establish exactly what happened to make them launch this incessant tirade against the company.  We help so many people every day and there are so many positive stories that would do so much more good instead of this constant stream of negativity and accusation.  A4e want to aspire to inspire and empower people to leave benefits and improve their own lives. This is not corporate spiel but actually how everyone feels in the organisation and strives to make a difference in an economic climate that is hard to maintain a positive outlook in.  We want people to Know that there is Hope for them. It does not matter if you have barriers to employment - under Flexible New Deal we are here to make a difference.  No doubt this will be interpreted in a different way if it is even posted. But suffice to say A4e are sick of trying to find out exactly what your issue is with us. We have tried communicating and talking sense to no avail.  We genuinely want to help people - can you not find it in your heart to give us a break and see the good we can do?"

I was gobsmacked by the sheer mendacity of this.  They had never "tried to communicate", unless getting a website closed was communication.  They had never tried to find out anything.  How could they?  So what was the point of this comment?  Did they really expect me to publish it?  Probably not, but maybe they hoped it would slip through.  And who were "they", anyway?
Ah well, time moves on.

The FND advertising campaign

We reported on A4e's "Know Hope" roadshow, marketing its Flexible New Deal offering. So it's interesting to read on The Drum, a website for the marketing industry, an account of the campaign by a firm called Deviate: - "Deviate creates Flexible New Deal Work for A4e".

Of course at this stage success can only be measured by the amount of attention the campaign raised. "Daily blog reports encouraging visitors to track the tour’s progress helped generate almost 7,500 website visits in the first three weeks with a further 1,500 people visiting A4e’s online Flikr photo-gallery. A4e’s dedicated site for employers www.fnd4you.co.uk, also created by Deviate, was promoted by direct mail and online and print business media coverage." Perhaps JCP also has some indication of its success in the number of clients choosing A4e over the competition. As to the success of FND - that will be another story.

The Know Hope Roadshow

A tweet from A4e says: *In Scarbro' yesterday, one man told us how A4e had changed his life and one woman who had been in f/t work 12 months had bought 1st house."

I asked a contact in Hull to look in on the roadshow there today, and he has sent me the following email:

"They had a van in Victoria Square, an old Volkswagen camper van painted in the Know Hope branding. They weren't giving out leaflets, as far as I could see, they just wanted to engage people in conversation. They had two cameras set up on tripods - not sure why, but they seemed to be getting people to wear a Know Hope t-shirt and be photographed in it. The A4e logo was around, on the back of the van and on the team's jumpers, but it wasn't prominent. I would say that they are pushing the Know Hope branding, with A4e very much secondary. I didn't go up and talk to them, sorry. I don't look like a potential client so I didn't know what to say."

It certainly looks like they are trying to start FND as a new brand. Will it work?

Twittering A4e - and No (sorry, Know) Hope

If you look for Twitter feeds on A4e you'll get two kinds (see below) - tweets from disgruntled clients, and PR tweets from A4e itself. They've got a new one called A4eworks, where you can learn about the roadshow they're running to promote FND under the banner of Know Hope. They've gone from Rotherham (see the video here) to Middlesborough yesterday, Scarborough today, Hull tomorrow and Barnsley and Doncaster on Friday. You have to admire their courage (sort of). Of course, FND is going to be nothing like New Deal. "Flexible New Deal is a completely new approach, and it's just that - 'Flexible'. We know everyone is different and so the 'Flexible' part means that organisations like A4e are free to help you and your specific needs. Getting back into work through Flexible New Deal means the help you get is completely tailored to you and your individual circumstances. It's your own personal journey back to work." Etc. Read it all here and remember it.

I can't help thinking that the slogan Know Hope is a mistake!

PS. I apologise if I gave him the idea, but someone who calls himself highpark1 has just added his Hub pages as Twitter items. These are anti-A4e stories, all of them taken directly from other people's sites, without acknowledgement, let alone permission.