The DofE Experience List

Avatar
Written by Miri Buac

Tags: campaign communications PR

2020 is looking good. That’s if our first campaign for the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award is anything to go by. We kicked off the new decade securing blanket media coverage and more than 30 national hits for the launch of ‘DofE’s Experience List’ – 25 things teenagers can do to build confidence and resilience.

Tasked with reminding young people, parents, and teachers how great the DofE is for boosting young people’s ‘character’ and ‘employability’, we stripped it right back and asked – do we even know what ‘character’ is and how exactly do we achieve it?

We knew the government created an ‘Activity Passport’ of character building activities for primary school children but that no list existed for teenagers. So we made one.

We worked with the DofE to carry out robust research into what builds character in our formative years. We asked young people, teachers, parents, business leaders, and the public what experiences they’d recommend. We carried out research to identify gaps in the opportunities teenagers have today and how they feel about ‘character’. A survey of business leaders also shed light on whether employers think teenagers are equipped with the skills needed for work.

Cue the Experience List – the definitive list of inspirational and challenging activities young people should have a go at – including ‘try veganism’, ‘digital detox’, and ‘volunteer for a charity’. Reinforcing how rewarding DofE can be for young people, many activities on the list could be experienced while taking part in the Award.

The List went down a storm and received a brilliant reaction from the public and media with phone-ins, comment pieces, and features breaking down favourite experiences and discussing rites of passage.

So far, we’ve secured 82 pieces of coverage and 33 hits across the nationals with highlights including Sky NewsBBC NewsroundBBC Radio 2Radio 4, and 5 Live, 5 pieces in The Telegraph, 3 pieces across the Daily Mail and Mail Online, and 3 pieces inThe Guardian.

Since its launch the Experience List webpage has been viewed by more than 30,000 people, with the social media campaign reaching an audience of over 380k. Across social, we had amazing support from former Dragon James Caan, Girlguiding, #iwill, and lots of schools and teachers across the UK.

Watch this space for more hit campaigns in 2020.

The DofE Experience List being discussed on Sky News

The DofE Experience List being discussed on Sky News

The future of payment – the revolution of mobility technology

Phasing out petrol and diesel cars and introducing EVs is a great option in...

More information

Claire Brady on Net Zero Hero Podcast

Some people think that ‘circularity’ simply means recycling, but it is so much more...

More information

Earth Day

Earth Day provides an opportunity to take stock of our progress towards addressing the...

More information

When it comes to making sustainability claims, getting it wrong can cost organisations the earth

According to Robin Hicks, “2022 was the year that policymakers started to take greenwashing...

More information

Less is more: How low alcohol brands are targeting their Gen Z consumers

Dry January may be over, but giving up alcohol definitely hasn’t gone out of...

More information

Beyond B Corp: Breaking up with Barclays 

Last year we became a certified B Corp, and to do so we had...

More information

Three takeaways from the IPCC’s ‘final warning’ report 

This week has seen the release of the latest IPCC report assessing the climate...

More information

Why we’ve introduced a 4.5 day working week

As the rulebook of the working week gets rewritten, at Stand we continue to...

More information

Stand shifts as we move into our second decade

I founded Stand with one simple (but typically ambitious) belief: that good comms can...

More information

So… has the pandemic set us back or propelled us forward?

Last week, just days after the restrictions in England were lifted, we hosted our...

More information

Wellbeing is not a one-size-fits-all approach

It’s safe to say that being plunged into multiple lockdowns across the past 18...

More information

Covid-19 has given us a harsh lesson in education inequality

Although ‘Freedom Day’ is here, Covid’s effects will, as we hear all too often,...

More information

The pandemic of inequalities

Last week, the Health Foundation’s Unequal pandemic, fairer recovery report made headlines, revealing that...

More information

Has the pandemic set us back 50 years, or will it propel us forward?

At its onset, Covid-19 was described as the great leveller. But the pandemic has...

More information

Pride 2021: Tokenistic campaigns just won’t fly anymore

June is Pride Month, a time for celebrating the diverse accomplishments, identities, and members...

More information