Brand strategy.
Young Person’s Guarantee
60%
of young people say getting a job feels impossible now there is so much competition. (Prince’s Trust Youth Index, 2021)
The effects of the pandemic have been particularly rough for the young people of Scotland. Not only has it limited their social interactions, but it’s also shut them out of the workforce with most of the key industries that employ young people (such as hospitality) being forced to close.
The Young Person’s Guarantee is a £60m government initiative that forms a commitment to every 16–24 year old in Scotland to guarantee an opportunity that will positively impact their future. That opportunity could be a job, apprenticeship, further or higher education, training programme, or volunteering.
It aims to avoid the social and economic damage of a generation of young people falling into long term unemployment.
But it needed a brand. A brand that could:
GET every 16–24-year-old not in education or employment
TO avoid feeling like their career is in limbo
BY starting a positive opportunity through the YPG
The strategy.
Life for a young person is often impacted by forces outside of their control - a global pandemic as case in point - on top of existing triggers for anxiety that they can’t do anything about (e.g., insane competition for grad jobs vs 20 years ago). This can manifest in a feeling of powerlessness and sap a young person’s confidence. YPG embodies assurance by giving a sense of control back to them and guiding them with their choices. From certainty comes confidence, and from confidence comes achievement.
Human problem.
Young people can feel powerless & alone in a market stacked against them.
The insight.
Powerlessness is driven by forces you can’t control.
The proposition.
Dependable opportunity with you at the helm.
Brand advantage.
YPG is a certain next step with support along the way.
Manifesto:
Not everyone knows what they want to do in the future.
So, having lots of opportunities available matters. They let us try new things and work out what we’re into.
The Young Person’s Guarantee helps every 16–24 year old find those opportunities. By committing to help every one of them with their next steps. Whether that’s a job, apprenticeship, further or higher education, training programme, or volunteering.
It offers a solid foundation in an uncertain world.
And the support to find the best route for them.
Vision: A Scotland in which every young person is confident about their future.
Mission: To support every young person with guaranteed opportunities.
Purpose: To enable a generation of young people to access the opportunities that are right for them.
Awards: This work was a finalist at the Marketing Society Awards for Brand Development in the Strategy category.
