Coverage in the Times, Daily Mail and others for our client, Box Power, and their FOI energy campaign

Back in late 2023, we met with our not-for-profit energy consultancy client, Box Power CIC. They had an idea to investigate the energy costs of those in the public sector as they would be available using freedom of information laws.

Our client pinned down exactly what would be asked, including the overall cost and pence per kwh. 

Once responses started coming in, and it took more than 6 weeks to gather them. Box Power CIC began putting them in a table so it would be easier to understand. We then created the press release and began thinking about media we would target, including news lines.

A Daily Mail exclusive

Initially, we approached the Daily Mail and one of their MailOnline reporters wanted to run the story with a focus on local authorities. As there were lots of angles and interesting nuggets of information, there were plenty of ways to run with the data.

Just before Christmas, the piece was published. And the discussion around council expenditure on electricity and gas began. 

Lead on The Times website for energy costs

After Christmas, we decided to go out with the story again. We emphasised some of the lesser publicised elements. This included the expenditure of the Government, BBC and some renowned public institutions.

We approached The Times who ran with the story as the lead on their website with a separate piece in their Saturday newspaper. A national conversation started – with over 180  comments on the online story!

Some local and regional newspapers such as the Yorkshire Post and the Bolton News also picked up the story, as well as the Scottish national newspaper, the Herald. Trade press such as the Municipal Journal were also interested in the disparities between local authorities.

What did we learn?

FOI stories can work fantastically well – especially if you have experts like Corin and Tricia Dalby at Box Power CIC to do the fact checking and make sure you are comparing like with like. We worked collaboratively and closely with our client and it paid off.

Whether it’s getting print, online, broadcast, sector or other coverage, our trusted team of experts at High-Rise Communications can help. Get in touch today.