Recently we welcomed Strike to the Careers Service to run a City Challenge with us.
City Challenges are events providing students with the opportunity to support worthwhile organisations, whilst developing skills to improve employability. By taking part, students gain experience in group working, problem solving, innovative thinking, community engagement, public speaking and presenting.
Strike
Strike is a leading PR and communications agency based in Bristol, dedicated to delivering purposeful communications that inspire people to act and drive change. They work with charities, causes and cultural organisations to spark powerful emotional connections and mobilise audiences.
Through strategic insight, bold storytelling, and carefully crafted campaigns, they help bring client stories to life in ways that inspire audiences and drive them to act.
The challenge
Strike exists to help charities, causes and cultural organisations deliver positive social impact through strategic and creative communications. However, as a small, limited company, they are constrained by cash flow and available budgets.
Unlike charities and not-for-profits, they are not eligible to apply for grant funding on the whole, even though their work is all about supporting charities. Because they don’t make big profits or sell products, they are also not considered typically attractive to investors. If they were able to attract significant investment or support, they would be able to have much greater impact.
These are the challenge questions Strike posed to the students –
How can a small social-purpose communications agency attract funding and investment to scale our impact?
How can we raise our profile and demonstrate our social impact effectively to make us more attractive to potential funders, investors and partners?
Beyond our existing means of funding (clients and partners), can we identify new opportunities and creative ways to find new income streams and investors to support our growth?
Outcomes
Here’s what the students said about the challenge:
“My group members were from different countries and backgrounds. It helped in generating ideas despite the fact that we had language barriers.”
“I developed my public speaking skills.”
Here’s what Catherine from Strike had to say about the event:
“We absolutely loved it – the students showed so much interest in our agency, and enthusiasm and energy for the challenge. It was a genuine pleasure to meet them all and hear their ideas. A brilliant afternoon.”
“It was interesting to hear fresh views on our business – especially from a younger generation. It was really heartwarming to hear their enthusiasm for our work and interest in working with us too.”
Keep in touch with Strike!
Sign up to Strike’s Friday morning newsletter to find out more about what they do. Each week they pick out three standout campaigns and causes of the week – and they are always looking for suggestions to include in it.
You can also follow their socials, Instagram – @strikecomms – and LinkedIn.
Sign up for a City Challenge
We are hosting one more City Challenge this term, book your space now.
Find out about other ways we can help you stand out to employers on the Careers Service website.