Case study - Consulting on the high seas

Our client wanted to secure input from HGV drivers into the design of a lorry area it planned to build in the South East of England.

This presented two communications challenges: the target audience for the consultation was not tied to a particular geography and included many people for whom English was not a first language.

We identified that HGV drivers who might use the lorry area would typically use ferries across the Channel. The ferry crossing was also a point in time when HGV drivers would have the time to engage with proposals and share their views.

We therefore arranged a series of consultation sessions in the HGV driver lounge of a cross-channel ferry. This gave the client team for the project the opportunity to engage directly with people likely to use the lorry area and secure their input into its design.

Recognising the international nature of the audience, we worked with the ferry operator to identify the languages most commonly spoken by passengers in the lounge. This allowed us to produce translated consultation materials and ensure the events were staffed by speakers of relevant languages.