CorpComms Magazine

There are some people for whom working for a major corporate giant is anathema. John Grounds is just such a person. Over his career, the director of communications for the NSPCC has worked for charities Action Medical Research and Barnardo's and as head of PR for the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament.

‘I was not absolutely clear what I wanted to do but I always knew that I wanted to work around social issues,' explains Grounds. ‘I did initially think about journalism, and did bits and pieces of freelance, and wrote a book called London: A living guide, which was before Time Out and covered social issues, like housing and women's issues.'

Grounds' only sojourn into the corporate world was a five-year stint at Body Shop, which he joined as head of communications in 1991. ‘I think they were ahead of their time,' says Grounds. ‘As a company in the early 90s, they were very brave and ground breaking in their approach to business. They had a courage to campaign.'

Two years after Grounds joined, Body Shop began to campaign in support of the Ogoni people of Nigeria who were protesting against the economic exploitation and environmental destruction of their land caused by the military dictatorship and multinational oil companies.

The execution of Ogoni activist Ken Saro Wiwa in 1996 caused Body Shop to redouble its efforts to bring about change. Grounds was heavily involved in the campaign.

‘If I didn't already know, I learned how to formulate a news story and the importance of media,' he says. ‘The Body Shop was also involved in campaigning against animal testing and was an environmentally aware company. One of the most exciting things about working there was the opportunity to engage with the public, and to motivate them to get engaged.

‘For most people, Body Shop is a local store. We relied on staff to campaign on the issues. We had to motivate them to get involved and to buy into what we were doing. As a consequence, I am a huge advocate of good internal communications and investing in people. I don't see it as either an ‘add on' or as an extra or luxury. There are elements of Body Shop that are similar to a charity; the whole point of the organisation is to campaign for change, and there is a level of engagement with staff who just want to be part of it.'

That is certainly the case with employees at the NSPCC. ‘The majority of staff work day in, day out with children; they are motivated by that,' says Grounds. It is more than just a job for them; they passionately believe in the charity's purpose, which is to end cruelty to children.

To this end, it provides professional services for young people and their families; seeks to change laws and public policies; and strives to raise awareness by educating people about the issues. ‘All three strands of our work are absolutely necessary,' says Grounds.

‘We provide 2,500 services and are a huge organisational charity, but we know that we are not ever going to be big enough to provide every child with the service they require. We provide some services and we aim to influence politicians and the public. We seek to do what we can. We are very clear on our corporate strategy.'

The umbrella campaign for the NSPCC is Full Stop, symbolised by a green dot, that, according to Grounds, ‘delivers a consistent message most effectively to our core audience'.

Launched in 1999, three years before Grounds joined, the power of the Full Stop campaign has been the way in which it has changed public perception of the abuse of children.

Some Full Stop advertising campaigns ran for just a short period of time - the first which featured the Spice Girls and Rupert the Bear covering their eyes were shown over a three week period - and yet are still mentioned by supporters.

Several of the advertisements, including Cartoon Boy (launched two months after Grounds joined) which showed an animated child bouncing back after several attacks by his father, have also been disturbing. ‘We do challenge people,' admits Grounds. ‘It may be seen as shock tactics, but we don't lie to our audience. We challenge people and we try to do so in an appropriate way. We engage people with an offer that they can do something about this. The primary purpose of all advertising is to encourage new donors. Above the line advertising is always about changing attitudes and gradually changing long-held views. There is a high recall for our advertisements.'

He adds: ‘The Full Stop campaign has made people think about abuse and is a hugely effective umbrella campaign under which we can address current issues. For example, one issue concerned parents and young people and the role of physical punishment. ‘We constantly renew and refresh the campaign using advertising, PR campaigns and digital media.'

Indeed, the charity has increasingly used digital media in recent years. ‘It has a younger audience, primarily in the 11-16 age group,' explains Grounds. ‘Over the past three years, the priority has been to change the way we engage with young people. We have been involved in YouTube, Bebo, Habbo Hotel [a virtual hangout where members design their own rooms] and Piczo [an online photo website community]. We are excited about these opportunities.'

Many younger people seem to respond better to online counselling. ‘Take a child dealing with a serious abuse issue; it can be a long process before they are ready to talk,' says Grounds. ‘They go online and find information and find other young people to talk to about the issues.'

Grounds believes charities, as a whole, use the digital space very well. ‘I think a lot of charities are innovative due to the nature of their work, their people and the budgets available,' he says. ‘They are very creative because every pound has to count. But digital media is only part of the picture; to use it to replace everything else would be a mistake. We use the full range of medium available. There are so many ways to reach different audiences, including the website.'

Independent research shows that, for many people, it is the issue of sexual abuse of children that is most distressing. ‘Research consistently shows that it is the most important issue,' says Grounds. ‘It is just part of a very big picture but what is interesting is that the public do see us as a driving force for change, which is both a great sense of achievement and a responsibility. They do look to the NSPCC to lead the debate.'.

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