Education & research
BMet College
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.
A leading further and higher education provider with campuses across Birmingham, offering state-of-the-art facilities alongside partnerships with major employers and universities.
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The brief
BMet commissioned Bridgehead to design and deliver a short-term campaign to better understand attitudes towards adult education among 18–55-year-olds in Birmingham and the wider West Midlands — combining robust insight generation with targeted regional awareness-raising.
What they needed
Quantify barriers preventing adults from enrolling in education.
Raise awareness of available adult learning opportunities.
Address misconceptions around eligibility for further study.
Inform future outreach and marketing activity for BMet.
The approach
A research-led campaign — independent polling, a published report and targeted regional media outreach — giving BMet both an external news story and internal strategic insight from the same project.
Independent polling
We commissioned a survey of 1,000+ adults aged 18–55 across Birmingham and the West Midlands, covering awareness, perceptions and barriers — designed to generate both media-worthy findings and actionable intelligence.
Published report
Key findings were developed into a report — Attitudes towards adult education in the West Midlands and Birmingham — supported by data visualisation for media and stakeholder use.
Regional media outreach
We targeted regional media including Express & Star and Shropshire Star, securing coverage in outlets with an average domain rating of 63 and combined reach of 29,000 readers.
The thought leadership
Attitudes Towards Adult Education in the West Midlands and Birmingham
An independent survey of 1,000+ adults aged 18–55 across Birmingham and the West Midlands, revealing the practical barriers preventing adults from returning to education — and what would change their minds.
of adults would consider returning to education
incorrectly believed they were ineligible for formal education
cited cost and childcare as their primary barriers
The results
pieces of regional coverage
readers reached
average domain rating of outlets
The coverage
DR 63 regional outlet
Education
Cost-of-living crisis holding West Midlands adults back from further education, poll finds
Express & Star · April 2023
DR 63 regional outlet
Education
1 in 4 West Midlands adults don't know they're eligible for further education
Shropshire Star · April 2023
Research
Attitudes Towards Adult Education in the West Midlands and Birmingham
BMet College · 2023
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.
Seen in
The impact
Independent survey of 1,000+ adults providing genuine strategic insight alongside media value.
Published report giving BMet a credible research asset for stakeholder and media use.
Regional coverage in outlets averaging DR 63 reaching 29,000 readers.
Findings directly informing BMet's adult learner outreach and marketing strategy.
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.
