Communications planning at Ladbrokes plc
The high-street and e-gaming group Ladbrokes is a household name. With over 2,000 retail branches and several other divisions, it’s clear that getting communications right is very important. Ladbrokes had a ‘legacy’ benefits scheme which the organisation acknowledged was in need of a serious review. With the appointment of a new HR Director for Reward in late 2007, the process got underway.
Over the next 12 months, a reward brand was developed, bringing together long-service, customer service recognition and the wider employee benefits portfolio. Under the banner of ‘ClubLadbrokes’ and the strapline ‘Stretching Your Money’, a rolling programme of communications was the framework which underpinned the relaunch. Using Asperity’s in-house design service for brochures, posters, web banners, wallets and everything else, sporting imagery underlined the employer brand while adding interest for employees.
The relaunch of employee benefits was staged to bring in each part of the package separately. Starting with discounted gift vouchers, layering on Cashback, online and offline discounts, and with local offers still to come, engagement has been in excess of expectation. The Club Ladbrokes brand has very high recognition within the workforce and the discounts scheme is perceived as a valuable benefit.
As part of the relaunch, Ladbrokes enabled Asperity to do a till-based survey of retail employees to find out how many people would be interested in childcare vouchers. The results (a significant 16% of respondents) meant that the time was right to introduce CCV and Asperity added this to the integrated employee benefits platform, keeping everything in one place.
In 18 months, Ladbrokes has repositioned reward as a central part of its HR strategy.
“We’re really pleased with Club Ladbrokes – being nominated for no less than 4 awards is the icing on the cake.”
Sara Davies, HR Director – Reward, Ladbrokes plc
