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The Start
The Government’s Apprenticeship Levy presented a huge opportunity for Henley Business School. Although the Levy it was a competitive market, the revenue that could be generated presented an opportunity to fill a potential revenue gap due to changes in their product portfolio. We needed to define the target audience and then present them with messages and communications about the Henley’s leadership and management offer funded by the levy.
The overarching business objective was to recruit 40/50 companies providing cohorts of 40/50 by 2020 (50:50 2020).
The Middle
Through collaborative brainstorming sessions, we explored all elements that make up the brand including Brand Architecture (Hierarchy of Message), The Golden Circle (How/Why/What), Brand Tower (Vision/Mission/Values), Audience Definition, Market Positioning, Value Propositions, Comms Strategy and Media Approach. No stone was left unturned.
We selected 200 target companies made up from the following sectors: finance, health, IT-Telecoms, utilities (plus other/large employers – various sectors) and within those C-Suite, Prospective Students and HR Management.

Our media strategy was broken down into 3 areas:
- Hum: To educate prospects about the Apprenticeship Levy we used YouTube, Native Content, Linked In and Programmatic Display.
- Sing: To position Henley as the institution who can help prospects benefit from the Levy.
- Shout: Raise the volume on it all with strong calls to action across DM, eDM, brochureware and a comprehensive search strategy.

The End
By 2020 revenue had grown to £6m and the number of cohorts had grown year on year.
- 2017: 1
- 2018: 6
- 2019: 12
- 2020: 28
By 2020 the number of clients was 127 across some of the biggest companies in the UK, including Lloyds Banking Group, Royal Berkshire NHS Foundation Trust, John Lewis Partnership, Medway NHS Foundation Trust, FCA, CenturyLink, Verizon UK, Ashfield Healthcare, Fujitsu and Novartis.
For more on the Apprenticeship Levy and how you can help your prospects make the most of it, contact nick.friend@hunterlodge.co.uk




