Bridgehead Communications
BMet College

Case study · BMet College

One survey that reset BMet’s adult-learner strategy and made the regional news

We commissioned an independent survey of 1,000+ adults, published a research report and secured regional media coverage averaging DR 63, giving BMet data-driven insight to shape its adult learner outreach strategy.

4

pieces of coverage

4

outlets and editions

1

country

6.9M

audience reach*

Results

The results, 2023-04

4 pieces across 4 outlets

4 pieces in 4 outlets, 2023-04. Counts come from the coverage book piece by piece; the audience figure is measured per outlet (Portal Coverage Builder, September 2026) and marked with an asterisk.
Express & StarDA 73

13 Apr 2023

Cost of living crisis 'holding West Midlands adults back from engaging in further education'

Read the piece
Shropshire StarDA 68

13 Apr 2023

Cost of living crisis 'holding West Midlands adults back from engaging in further education'

Read the piece
The Business DeskDA 55

17 Apr 2023

College group's survey reveals vast appetite for learning is being stifled by cost of living

Read the piece
BdailyDA 57

17 Apr 2023

Cost-of-living crisis stopping West Midlands adults from engaging in retraining and upskilling

Read the piece

The object · Research report

Attitudes Towards Adult Education in the West Midlands and Birmingham

Survation · Published 2023

3 findings, as printed in the report

  • 57% of adults would consider returning to education
  • 1 in 4 incorrectly believed they were ineligible for formal education
  • 33%+ cited cost and childcare as their primary barriers
4

pieces of coverage

4

titles

29k

estimated readers*

6.9M

audience reach*

*audience reach and estimated readers, Portal Coverage Builder, September 2026. Portal Coverage Builder: one audience-reach figure per outlet domain (the maximum reported), summed across every domain; estimated readers is the sum of views across every piece. Figures reproduce the portal's own method exactly; a title that carries several pieces is counted once for reach (its highest reported figure) but every piece counts toward readers. Every other figure is counted from the coverage book piece by piece.

Publication dates, 2023-04

13 Apr 2023

2 pieces

Express & StarShropshire Star

17 Apr 2023

2 pieces

The Business DeskBdaily

All 4 pieces ran in the period above, so the dates are listed instead of a chart of one or two bars.

Research

The research

Original research built for the client

Attitudes Towards Adult Education in the West Midlands and Birmingham cover

Live web edition

Cover and pages 4 and 10

Attitudes Towards Adult Education in the West Midlands and Birmingham

February 2023 · 13 pages · 1,033 adults aged 18-55 in the West Midlands

Survation polling commissioned for BMet on what adults across the West Midlands believe about going back to education, what stops them, and how far the government's Lifelong Loan Entitlement had reached them.

One finding. 70 per cent of West Midlands respondents, and 60 per cent in Birmingham, had not heard of the government's Lifelong Loan Entitlement offer at all.

Read the polling

Status: Fieldwork 20 to 26 January 2023, conducted by Survation on behalf of BMet.

The deliverable

Data that drove both editorial coverage and an internal strategy reset.

The survey's headline finding, that 1 in 4 adults incorrectly believed they were ineligible to return to education, gave BMet a concrete communications problem to solve and a compelling news hook for regional media. The same data informed both the press release and BMet's future marketing priorities.

The outcome

A short-term campaign that delivered both a media story and a strategic roadmap: 57% of adults willing to return, but 1 in 4 not knowing they could.

The impact

  • 01Independent survey of 1,000+ adults providing genuine strategic insight alongside media value.
  • 02Published report giving BMet a credible research asset for stakeholder and media use.
  • 03Regional coverage in outlets averaging DR 63 reaching 29,000 readers.
  • 04Findings directly informing BMet's adult learner outreach and marketing strategy.
BMet College
See the live coverage book

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