Kent Family Hub behaviour change campaign

Building awareness & trust for a new model of family support

In early 2024, Kent County Council (KCC) began rolling out a new transformational Family Hub model across the county to change how families, children and young people access early help and other support services. The vision – part of and England-wide rollout – was simple yet bold: create a single, accessible route into support, both online and in person.

But big changes require careful communication. That’s where Pillory Barn came in.

We were appointed to develop and deliver a behaviour change campaign that would:

• Raise awareness of the new Family Hub model
• Build trust in the new services available
• Help families understand how to access support in person, via outreach or through the new digital platform

Support internal teams across the county to communicate clearly and confidently from day one

Our Approach: Strategy-First, People-Focused

We brought together the full breadth of Pillory Barn’s services — strategy, social, creative, content and video — to shape a comprehensive communications campaign that would reach the target audience in the most effective way.

Strategic Communications Plan:

Based on research and stakeholder insight, we developed a clear strategy outlining audience barriers, recommended messaging, optimal media channels and a phased approach to delivery.

Stakeholder Alignment:

We supported internal comms by helping KCC district teams to embed the Family Hub brand consistently and confidently at launch.

Creative Toolkit Development:

We created a suite of brand-aligned assets including:

• Poster and advert templates for publications and OOH
• A range of leaflets and hub timetables
• Editable presentation templates, letterheads and advertorials
• Branded social media graphic library and social post content
• Branded QR codes and campaign imagery and graphics
• Campaign video, social video snippets and video testimonials

Social media calendar & training:

Recognising the importance of social media to reach parents and carers, we delivered a 3-month content plan, alongside social media training and assets, to empower  and support local hub teams.

Our delivery: Campaign launch and real-time support

We supported the Family Hub team through a successful soft launch, ensuring readiness across multiple touchpoints, from social media and physical collateral to internal communications.

Our close collaboration with KCC’s in-house Creative Services team ensured brand consistency and cohesion across all assets, reinforcing trust and familiarity with the new offer.

As the campaign progressed, we continued to:

• Adapt messaging in response to service rollout changes and sensitivities around the new model
• Refine strategy in response to real-time feedback and stakeholder input
• Respond flexibly to evolving needs, including video content production planned for future campaign phases.
• Raise awareness through a media advertising campaign in the opening weeks of 2025 reaching over 320,000 listeners on Global’s Heart Kent with over 100,000 impressions for online audio and streaming.
• Target parents, carers and young people with additional digital advertising through the KM Group, including a ‘takeover’ of the KentOnline website securing over 1.1 million impressions and over 1,700 clicks throughs to the Kent Family Hub website.

 

Our impact: Building foundations for long-term behaviour change

Early campaign performance exceeded KCC’s expectations, with engagement levels and awareness aligning with targets at each stage of rollout. Our work helped lay the foundations for a long-term shift in how families engage with support services — particularly through:

• Improved stakeholder readiness via training and toolkits
• Increased brand consistency across district communications
• Audience-reach through coordinated social media activity
• Positive internal feedback and collaborative relationships with KCC teams

The next phases of activity built on this momentum, with a focus on refining media use based on an external awareness audit, targeting low-awareness groups and amplifying advocacy among early adopters.