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The brief

Each year, Barley supports the European Association for Cardio-Thoracic Surgery (EACTS) to promote its flagship Annual Meeting — one of the most significant gatherings in the cardiothoracic calendar.

EACTS tasked Barley with creating attractive branding – developing a fresh, distinctive brand identity for each year’s event — one that captures the character of the host city while maintaining strong visual continuity and recognition among its global professional audience.

Insights and approach

Our creative process begins with in-depth research into the cultural, historical and scientific character of each location — uncovering insights that shape the design, colour palette, typography and strapline.

For example, Vienna’s 2023 identity, “Raising the bar”, reflected the city’s musical heritage, weaving subtle treble and bass motifs into the event logo. In 2022, Milan’s “Learning together” branding drew inspiration from Leonardo da Vinci’s Vitruvian Man, symbolising precision and shared learning. The previous year’s “Reconnecting” in Barcelona echoed the spirit of renewal after COVID-19, using Gaudí-inspired mosaic textures.Barley’s designs are applied across every touchpoint — from the EACTS website and social media to venue signage, flags, exhibition materials and delegate lanyards — creating a seamless experience that unites online and in-person engagement.

Results

Over three consecutive years, EACTS’ Annual Meeting branding has become instantly recognisable for its creativity and relevance to each city’s story. Each visual identity has strengthened audience recognition, enhanced event visibility, and reinforced EACTS’s reputation for excellence and innovation in global cardiac and thoracic surgery.The upcoming 2024 branding for Lisbon continues this legacy with the theme “Navigating new horizons”, symbolising progress and exploration in the field.

The brief

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.

Insights and approach

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.

Results

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.

  • 66

    journalists accredited

  • 224

    pieces of media coverage

  • 2.1bn+

    opportunities to see/hear

  • 33+

    national and international TV items

  • 100+

    global online articles

“

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

The brief

Each year, the European Association for Cardio-Thoracic Surgery (EACTS) hosts the leading global event for the cardiothoracic community — the EACTS Annual Meeting.

Following a successful 2021 campaign, EACTS once again turned to Barley to promote its 2022 Annual Meeting, held in Milan. The goal: to attract world-class surgeons, allied health professionals and industry partners to share ideas, showcase innovation and shape the future of cardio-thoracic surgery.

Insights and approach

With many high-profile conferences competing for attention, Barley needed to ensure EACTS stood out. We focused on strategic, creative and content-led engagement to boost registrations and excitement ahead of the event.

We developed a suite of refreshed branded assets and a social media campaign combining organic and paid activity. A targeted email programme highlighted the scientific excellence of the agenda, while our team produced EACTS News and Daily News during the event to capture the best sessions and stories.

Working closely with Go Forth, we created a suite of dynamic videos for the EACTS website, app and social channels — bringing the energy of the Annual Meeting to life.

Results

Our integrated approach delivered significant reach and engagement across all channels. The campaign hashtag #EACTS2022 achieved more than 10.9 million impressions, contributing to a successful event that brought together nearly 5,000 delegates from 99 countries.Barley continues to work with EACTS to promote future meetings — including the 2023 event in Vienna.

“

With Barley’s fantastic support we were able to attract large numbers of delegates to the Aortic Forum in 2023. Barley led on messaging, social media, video and direct marketing, helping us deliver what has been described as a legendary event. Thank you to everyone at Barley.

Kirsty Clarke

Education programme manager , EACTS

The brief

Physics is still widely perceived as difficult and dominated by white males – a view backed by data and lived experience. This lack of diversity means the physics community misses out on talented young people who do not see themselves reflected in the subject.
To shift perceptions and encourage more young people to continue with physics post-16, the Institute of Physics asked Barley to promote Limit Less – its diversity communication campaign championing girls, students from disadvantaged backgrounds, young people of Black Caribbean descent, disabled students and LGBT+ young people.

Insights and approach

We wanted to show that physics can be creative, collaborative, practical and fun.
We set out to reframe physics as creative, collaborative and relevant to everyday life. Early interviews with IOP members and students revealed that many young people felt more confident in subjects such as art, design, sport, humanities or languages. This insight shaped our central idea: meet young people where they already feel strong.
We proposed launching The Eurekas – a UK- and Ireland-wide competition for 11–16-year-olds answering one question: what’s the point of physics? To widen participation, entries could take any form, from videos and performances to poetry, artwork or baking. Cash and voucher prizes were included to motivate students, teachers and parents or carers.
To bring the campaign to life, we:
Created The Eurekas sub-brand and a dedicated website
Recruited science communicator Shivani Dave as an accessible and inspiring ambassador
Engaged amplifier audiences – teachers, parents and carers – to reach young people appropriately
Ran paid and organic social campaigns
Activated IOP’s database via newsletters
Delivered national and local media outreach
Convened a judging panel including Shivani Dave, physicist and author Femi Fadugba, and IOP Deputy Chief Executive Rachel Youngman

Results

Students across the UK and Ireland embraced the challenge, exploring physics in unexpected and imaginative ways. As a pilot year, The Eurekas exceeded expectations, attracting more than 100 submissions from almost 200 young people – with most shortlisted entrants coming from the underrepresented groups at the heart of the campaign.The entries demonstrated powerful creativity and a growing confidence in the subject. Several winners shared how taking part reshaped how they see physics and what they believe they can achieve. The competition has laid strong foundations for future engagement, giving young people new permission to see physics as something that belongs to them.

554k

teachers and parents reached

42

schools involved

189

students

107

submissions

“

We were all incredibly impressed by the quality of entries submitted for this first year of The Eurekas. It was amazing to see how the young people tapped into their passions and produced such thoughtful work. We wanted this competition to be a celebration of creativity, culture, collaboration, diversity and activity – all underpinned by physics themes – and it has certainly achieved this.

Rachel Youngman

Deputy Chief Executive, Institute of Physics

The brief

The European Association for Cardio-Thoracic Surgery (EACTS) hosts the world’s largest gathering for the cardiothoracic community — bringing together thousands of surgeons, health professionals and industry experts to share knowledge, research and innovation.In 2021, EACTS planned to host its Annual Meeting in Barcelona and appointed Barley to drive attendance and engagement for the event.

Insights and approach

Although the Annual Meeting was already well established, competing events and the global challenges of 2021 meant EACTS needed to re-energise its communications.

Barley developed a clear, multi-channel strategy to promote the event and highlight the value of attending. Our approach included:

  • Designing distinctive branded assets to strengthen the event’s visual identity
  • Delivering a targeted social media campaign combining organic and paid content
  • Running a focused email marketing programme to reach members and prospects
  • Producing EACTS News in the run-up to the event and three editions of Daily News during the conference
  • Partnering with Go Forth to create compelling video content for online promotion

Targeting key regions with high potential attendance based on membership data

Results

Barley’s integrated approach delivered significant reach and engagement across digital platforms. More than 3,000 participants from 87 countries attended the 2021 Annual Meeting in Barcelona — a remarkable achievement in a challenging year for international events.Following this success, EACTS reappointed Barley to promote the 2022 Annual Meeting in Milan.

3,000

participants from 87 countries

2,500

social posts and 7000+ engagements with #EACTS2021

3

issues of Daily News

The brief

Since 2018, Barley has supported The Scar Free Foundation, a medical research charity funding pioneering work into scarring caused by burns, cleft and conflict wounds. After helping launch their Centre for Conflict Wound Research, the charity asked us to use case study storytelling to share the experiences of their Ambassadors — supporters with lived experience of scarring — and highlight why investment in research matters.

Insights and approach

We knew the most powerful way to engage audiences was to centre the voices of people living with scarring. Our approach focused on thoughtful, human-led content that showed the breadth of experiences — from children recovering from burns to veterans injured in conflict.

As a content production agency experienced in sensitive topics, we produced a suite of written case studies, photography and short films that gave Ambassadors space to speak in their own words. Each piece brought depth, emotion and insight while clearly connecting individual stories to the charity’s research mission.To balance the seriousness of the subject, we ended each film with a single, hopeful question: their reflections on a world without scarring. We also advised on, planned and scripted a surprise virtual meeting between the Ambassadors and the charity’s patron, HRH The Countess of Wessex. Filming from three angles — including inside the Countess’s study — enabled us to craft a compelling reel capturing genuine reactions and warm, personal moments.

Results

Sharing Ambassador stories helped strengthen The Scar Free Foundation’s voice, broaden reach and deepen engagement across their channels. The launch of the charity’s burns research programme, supported by Ambassador Elizabeth’s story, secured widespread national coverage including BBC Breakfast, Radio 5 Live, the Daily Mail and The Metro.The film of HRH The Countess of Wessex meeting Ambassadors attracted over 21k views on Twitter and was featured by Hello! magazine and the Daily Mail. The content series increased the charity’s social following, raised awareness of the lifelong impact of scarring, and equipped the fundraising team with powerful assets to share with donors and stakeholders.

“

At every turn, I have been deeply impressed with the way Barley operate. The team worked hard and smart to generate well targeted national media coverage for the opening of The Scar Free Foundation Centre for Conflict Wound Research, resulting in the best UK-wide profile we have ever achieved. The quality of their work and the support we receive is excellent. I have now commissioned Barley to prepare a communications strategy for the Foundation and anticipate they will continue to be a key partner, supporting our work for years to come.

Brendan Eley

CEO, Scar Free Foundation

The brief

Barley was appointed by the World Energy Council to provide website development support that would help increase global membership sign-ups. As a long-established membership organisation, the Council needed a modern, intuitive site that clearly communicated its purpose and encouraged energy leaders to join a worldwide community committed to a sustainable future for energy.

Insights and approach

With only six weeks to deliver a fully rebuilt site, we focused on a clear strategy and agile delivery to shape our website development support.

Our discovery phase brought together insight from across the organisation and its network. We conducted stakeholder interviews, ran an interactive workshop with the senior team, and issued a global online survey that drew 112 responses from members in multiple countries. We also carried out a detailed competitor review, benchmarking the Council’s online presence against five comparable organisations specialising in energy and sustainability.

These insights helped us define the website’s communications goals, from strengthening the brand and improving user experience to enhancing SEO performance and building clear, compelling calls to action.Guided by these principles, we developed the site architecture, including a new sitemap and wireframes, before writing all website copy and sourcing relevant media. We oversaw the full website design, build and migration, ensuring every element supported the Council’s ambition to communicate its mission and grow its membership.

Results

Within six days of launch, the World Energy Council received 58 new membership applications—many from their primary target audience. Early feedback highlighted the improved clarity of messaging, more intuitive navigation and a stronger articulation of the Council’s role in supporting an equitable global energy transition. The new site now provides a clearer pathway for prospective members and a more engaging experience for existing ones, supporting ongoing growth and community engagement.

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