Organisation type
Charity/third sector
Membership organisation
Sector
Science, technology and innovation
Service
ICRA is the world’s largest gathering of robotics and automation experts. In 2023, the conference came to the UK for the first time, held at ExCeL London.Barley was appointed to promote a global conference of this scale by raising ICRA’s profile in the UK, driving registrations, and managing media accreditation. With conference media relations taking place amid a surge in negative AI headlines, we also set out to communicate innovation in a positive, human-centred way — reframing robotics and automation as technologies that can benefit society rather than fuel concern.
We began with a strategic workshop to understand ICRA’s ambitions, audiences and concerns. From this we developed a set of clear, consistent messages used across all media engagement. These emphasised the real-world value of robotics across sectors and showcased the breadth of innovation from more than 100 exhibitors.
To ensure global visibility, we prioritised London-based international wires — including AP, Reuters, PA Media and Getty — alongside national, science and technology titles. We coordinated two targeted media tours, giving outlets such as AP, The Times, Metro and New Scientist direct access to key spokespeople.On-site at ExCeL London, we arranged interviews with BBC Click, BBC World Service and AP, and secured a dedicated ITV London package featuring ICRA’s schools outreach programme. This combination of proactive story development, structured access and responsive handling ensured strong media uptake in the UK and internationally.
ICRA 2023 welcomed more than 6,000 delegates to London, supported by extensive global media coverage that aligned with the conference’s core messages.
Content from AP, PA Media, Reuters and Getty generated widespread international pick-up. AP’s feature on a poetry-writing humanoid robot alone was broadcast by more than 30 TV channels worldwide, with a social version reaching almost 26 million people. BBC Click produced an in-depth segment from the exhibition floor, while ITV London shone a spotlight on ICRA’s engagement with local schools.High-value print and online coverage included The Times, The Independent, The i, Daily Star, MSN, Yahoo News UK & Ireland, AOL, Daily Mail, Metro, London Evening Standard, Herald Scotland and New Scientist — which ran a first-person feature, complete with video, on controlling a robotic avatar.
“
It was a great pleasure working with Barley Communications. They ensured to get an excellent, international media coverage for the flagship robotics conference, ICRA 2023, held in London. I highly recommend them to anyone organising a large-scale conference.
Kaspar Althoefer
Professor of Robotics Engineering, Head of Centre for Advanced Robotics at Queen Mary University of London; General Chair of ICRA 2023
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