“
Thank you so much for everything you did for us in helping A Rubbish Reality reach far and wide. We are so happy with the outcome of the report and how well received it has been.
Melissa James
Senior Researcher, Keep Britain Tidy
Organisation type
Charity/third sector
Sector
Cities and communities
Environment and sustainability
Service
Litter is more than just an eyesore – it damages ecosystems, affects public health and disproportionately impacts deprived communities.
Keep Britain Tidy tasked Barley with amplifying its landmark report ‘A Rubbish Reality’, which highlighted the worsening litter crisis in England. The report aimed to raise awareness of the scale of the litter problem – and call on government, industry and individuals to take action. Barley’s brief was to craft a compelling narrative – shaping the story to drive national media interest – and position Keep Britain Tidy as a leading voice on environmental policy and behaviour change campaigning.
To maximise impact, we advised on and identified the strongest, most newsworthy findings from the report, in addition to refining the consumer polling angles and developing key messaging to ensure clear, compelling headlines and talking points.
We developed a robust media strategy, built around three core themes:
Scale of the crisis – 90% of surveyed areas in England were found to be littered over the past decade
Social inequality – the prevalence of litter was nearly three times higher in deprived communities than affluent areas
Policy solutions – urging action on preventative measures like the Deposit Return Scheme (DRS).
A highly targeted media sell-in ensured widespread coverage. We crafted a compelling press release, developed detailed media Q&As and offered one-to-one interviews with our key spokesperson to discuss the report in more detail, ensuring depth of messaging in resulting articles and features.
Through tailored engagement with top tier social affairs and environmental correspondents, we positioned Keep Britain Tidy as the go-to voice on Britain’s litter problem and a driving force in environmental policy and behaviour change campaigns.
The campaign exceeded all expectations, achieving hundreds of pieces of media coverage across national and regional broadcast, print and online titles which led to increased awareness of Keep Britain Tidy’s role as a thought leader and environmental campaigner as well as driving discussion and debate about tackling England’s litter crisis.
Over 350 pieces of media coverage were achieved, including pieces in The Guardian, Daily Mail, Good Morning Britain, The Independent, and a 15-minute feature on BBC Radio 4 You and Yours.
The campaign achieved a total reach of over 390 million opportunities to see and hear and resulted in engagement and commentary from key stakeholders.
Want to chat?
Feel free to contact our team.