Red Tab Scholars Communication Plan
In late 2007, the Red Tab Foundation approved a need-based scholarship program for Levi Strauss & Co. employees’ dependents. The foundation had the budget to award 100 scholarships and wanted to target the company’s lower-income employees who worked in sewing factories, distribution centers, and retail stores around the world. Only 40% of targeted employees had internet access, and most of those working outside the U.S. did not speak or read English.
Solution
The solution centered on four strategies:
Work with local HR personnel to overcome language and technology barriers.
We developed materials to train the local HR staff and help them spread the word, including:
- A program overview presentation
- A colorful promotional poster that HR staff could edit in PowerPoint, translate and print locally
- An application form and detailed FAQs, translated into the local language
Leverage existing electronic communications.
We reached the majority of LS&CO. employees through an email from the CEO and a series of feature articles and promotional graphics on the company Intranet.
Develop “first-wave” and “backup” communication materials.
This communication program was the first of its kind for Red Tab Scholars, so we weren’t sure how employees would respond. If necessary, we were ready to insert a program flyer into employees’ paychecks, deploy a promotional event toolkit and produce a second promotional poster for local HR staff.
Visually brand the program to draw attention and increase awareness.
We created a program logo and used a distinctive, colorful graphic style to attract employees’ interest.
Result
The foundation received 200 applications—twice as many as there were scholarships available. There were so many qualified applicants that the foundation’s Board of Directors agreed to funnel more money into the program, funding 34 additional scholarships in 2008.
Applications came from 16 countries: Bangladesh, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Colombia, Greece, Hungary, India, Japan, Mexico, Philippines, Poland, South Africa, Spain, Turkey, and the United States.
Initial communications efforts were so successful that the backup strategies outlined in the original communication plan were not needed.
This project won two 2009 Gold Quill awards from the International Association of Business Communicators in employee/member communication and multilingual communication, as well as a 2009 Silver Anvil award from the Public Relations Society of America.