Homelessness charity Shelter is employing a media strategy built around the daily routines of MPs and civil servants, as part of a campaign urging the Government to invest more in social housing.
The ads show hand-written notes from members of the public explaining to the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rachel Reeves, why they want more social housing, and they are being placed where Whitehall types are likely to encounter them as they go about their day.
Yonder Media devised the media strategy. Founder and MD Ed Cox told MediaCat that the agency worked with Shelter’s policy team, which spends a lot of time in Westminster, to figure out the right channels to reach decision makers, from the newsletters they read to the pubs they frequent.
One of the pillars of the campaign is a cover wrap on the Metro newspaper that will (on 19 May) only be distributed at Westminster, St James and Victoria underground stations, which are close to the Houses of Parliament and other government offices. According to Cox, the Metro has offered this targeted ‘lobbying product’ for several years.
The wrap is supported by ads — also featuring the hand-written notes — placed in and around Westminster underground station, as well as on coffee cups in nearby cafés, clean graffiti stencils on pavements, and on beer mats in nearby pubs that are part of TableTalk Media’s network. The beer mats do not extend to Parliament’s Strangers’ Bar, however. Apparently it’s not possible to get campaign material into the drinking holes in the Palace of Westminster by official means.
‘We’re on the morning commute, we’re in the paper you pick up and we’re even on your coffee cups and your pint glass at the end of the day,’ said Cox. ‘It’s a sign that Shelter won’t be quiet and won’t stop campaigning for change.’
While the effectiveness of the campaign will ultimately be judged on the accommodations made for social housing in the UK spending review in June, Cox said Shelter’s policy team also considers government officials talking about the ads, and decision makers being more likely to take their calls, as signs of success.
Of course, politicians are more likely to care about an issue that their voters care about, and Shelter created a campaign with singer Craig David to raise awareness of the issue among the broader population.
A film, devised and created by Shelter’s in-house creative team and posted on YouTube, shows David revisiting the social home he grew up in, and singing songs that he wrote while living there.
Yonder Media also targeted Craig David fans on Spotify with the campaign, as well as people on social media who demonstrate an interest in both David and in social housing issues.
Main image by Jake Darling
