Broadcast campaign for L&Q Barking Riverside

We created buzz for L&Q’s newest housing development by unearthing a story that generated two days of ITV News coverage.

Property

The brief

Find a unique ‘newsworthy’ angle to raise awareness for L&Q’s Barking Riverside development.

The Barking Riverside development site is part of a massive development by L&Q and Greater London Authority to create 10,000 badly needed homes in East London.

With the area developing a poor reputation as a place to live, and the first phase of the L&Q Barking Riverside development receiving some bad press for being too remote, our brief was to generate some positive PR for L&Q.

The solution

Create a ‘buzz’ and legacy content for the local community.

During a visit to the development, our team discovered a locked vault in the Switch Building – closed since 1981 with no record of its contents. The concept for a positive L&Q-owned story emerged that would show the housing development in a positive new light, by engaging with the past, the community and the future.

To develop the narrative, with a special focus on the mysterious locked safe, we developed a beautifully shot artistic/documentary led film that captured the reopening of the safe by a master locksmith.

Telling the story with gravitas, we interviewed a historian from Footprints of London, a Barking resident and two representatives from Barking Riverside; while subtly highlighting the development of the area for future generations. The film and footage was also earmarked for the existing library of content and landmark L&Q scheme.

Results

500,000+ views on ITV’s Facebook page (300% above average), plus 578 shares and 258 comments

2 days of coverage by ITV London News, including a 6 minute segment on the first night

Print and online reach of 1.4 million people, with an AVE of £56,731