Organisation type
Public sector
Sector
Cities and communities
Culture, heritage and music
Disability, diversity, equity and inclusion
Education, training and skills
Transport, travel and tourism
Service
Tower Bridge is one of the world’s most recognisable landmarks.
Barley was asked to run a focused London visitor attraction PR programme that would attract new and repeat visitors to explore inside Tower Bridge, engage five priority audiences and bring the Bridge’s engineering, history and visitor experience to life. The work needed to position Tower Bridge as a must-see, family-friendly and accessible attraction, while showcasing the iconic glass walkway and Tower Bridge’s unique role in supporting City Bridge Foundation’s charitable work.
We built a press office model that combined always-on media relations with carefully crafted moments designed to make existing visitor experiences more newsworthy.
We focused on activity that could work hardest against Tower Bridge’s priority audiences: young London families, learning-focused UK adults, learning-focused Londoners, must-see UK adults and must-see international adults.
Our first media moment centred on Tower Bridge’s Behind-the-Scenes Tours. Tickets for the annual tours usually sell out quickly, so we used the launch as an opportunity to strengthen Tower Bridge’s reputation as a defining London landmark and demonstrate the excitement of exploring inside the structure. In 2025, the tours also introduced in-person British Sign Language interpretation for the first time, giving us a strong and authentic accessibility story.
We issued a targeted pre-launch press release and invited a carefully selected group of journalists to experience the BSL-interpreted tour. Attendees included national, London consumer, local, hyperlocal and disability media, helping us secure coverage that explored both the visitor experience and Tower Bridge’s commitment to widening access.
Our second media moment used a milestone we identified through research: 2026 marks 140 years since construction began on Tower Bridge. We used this as a timely hook to spotlight the attraction’s family activities, engineering story and STEAM-led learning offer. Family media and parent content creators were invited to a themed session inspired by Victorian engineering, bridge design and construction, delivered during a Relaxed Opening to reinforce the Bridge’s inclusive family programme.
Alongside these moments, we ran a proactive press office, scanned for opportunities and secured media and influencer visits, including activity around the London Marathon, dog-friendly days out, major London attraction round-ups and travel features.
The campaign helped Tower Bridge maintain visibility as a world-leading visitor attraction that people can explore inside, without relying on a major anniversary year.
Coverage positioned the Bridge as iconic, family-friendly, accessible and distinctive, with highlights across The Times, Secret London, MyLondon, Deaf Chef, The Telegraph, iWeekend, Time Out, Condé Nast Traveller, The Guardian, Yahoo! News and Indy100.
Our targeted media and influencer activity delivered strong message penetration across the campaign, particularly around Tower Bridge as an iconic landmark, a family-friendly attraction and an accessible visitor experience. The press office also created value from moments beyond the core campaign, including photography from the high-level walkways during the London Marathon and inclusion in influential London travel and days-out round-ups.
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