OnSide Generation Isolation
When our client, youth charity OnSide, conducted a survey of 5,000 young people aged 11-18 in November 2022, we could see a clear story emerging from the results.
Young people were increasingly staying at home, alone and spending their free time on screens. More than 40% said they didn’t have opportunities to make new friends outside of school.
Youth workers at OnSide’s 14 Youth Zones were also observing worrying trends of young people coming in who lacked confidence in meeting new people, teamwork and communication - all essential skills for adulthood.
Working closely with OnSide’s comms team we named the report Generation Isolation, and developed a media plan which would help the results deliver maximum impact.
Following our story-led approach we complemented the data and statistics with two real-life stories of young people, who had seen their friendships and confidence soar after visiting their local Youth Zone.
We then used our excellent network of trusted journalist contacts to deliver national print and broadcast coverage, including news stories in The Times, The Daily Telegraph, The Sun, The Express, Metro, BBC Newsbeat and the BBC News Channel.
This was followed up with a double-page feature in The Times’ Weekend Magazine, as well as reports in The Week and The Week Junior.
We also supported each Youth Zone in the network to secure regional coverage, including Granada Reports in the North West and further regional coverage.
We achieved coverage in all of OnSide’s key media targets, with more than four million total coverage views - and most importantly, we brought home the message that quality youth work really can be life changing for young people.