We've had a surge in new customers over the last couple of months, so we thought we would share some inside info on the best ways to launch your programme.

Our hands-on approach has meant we've worked directly with hundreds of Warp It users, if not thousands, to support their set up, launch, and ongoing project.

On communications

Before you run your pilot programme (see here), you’re going to need to talk to your Communication Department about a communication strategy.

The Communication Department knows what they’re doing. They're the most well-connected people in the organisation for getting a message around. You need to sit down with them and start developing a collaborative strategy (see here).

That first campaign that you make with them has to be solid and well-developed. You need to get the message across to as much of the staff as you can about why they should use Warp It, what’s in it for them, how they can participate, and how easy it is to use.

Get some social proof, visuals, and create a good campaign. Get the campaign on the intranet, in the corporate newsletter, and on the organisation’s computers as a screensaver.

You can even print posters and go and stick them up.

On thinking outside the box

A great example of this comes from Simon Laughton at St Mary’s Hospital on the Isle of Wight.

As well as doing all of the traditional communications, you should think outside the box and do additional activities to stand out and break through all of the background noise and news in your organisation. You should put together some intranet content (see here), work with your IT department to see what they can do (see here) and get a message out through memos and staff meetings (see here).

You might need to get some approvals, but it’s a worthy operation.

Before you launch, you've got to be hitting staff from all angles with your promotion of the project. Every channel you can. Get posters on the backs of toilet doors, talk to bosses and managers to promote the project down the chain.

You’ve got to work hard to promote the benefits to change the culture because it’s not easy, it takes a huge effort.

On senior management

One way to make change is to get senior management on board. Go as high as you can and get their endorsements for the reuse project.

Capture that endorsement and put it in your communications. Start with a quote and push for a video (see here). If you can’t get senior management to help with a video, do it yourself. It’s personable, an easy communications medium, and it’s easier to explain instructions. It’s also shareable, and we like shareable.

On staying focused

Here’s my final tip. Don’t do your launch and then go on holiday for two weeks.

You need to be engaged and acting as a driving force in the weeks and months following your launch. You’re going to get membership requests and not only do you want to approve them, but you'll want to see who they are coming from and how you can make them evangelists or green champions for your cause. Don’t fling out a message and expect it to stick.

Some of the best ideas come from collaborating

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