OnSide
“Telling powerful stories about the transformational power of youth work, to give all young people a chance to shine.”
Since 2022, we’ve been proud to work with OnSide and its growing network of state-of-the-art Youth Zones. Our mission: to promote, protect and enhance OnSide’s reputation as the UK’s leading youth work charity and showcase Youth Zones as a gold standard in youth work delivery nationwide.
We developed an integrated PR framework built around proactive campaigns, news generation, storytelling, profile building, and CEO thought leadership. This included an intensive programme of media visits, welcoming high-profile journalists and public figures - from The Observer’s Maya Oppenheim to broadcaster Ashley Jean-Baptiste (The One Show, BBC Morning Live) - resulting in high-quality editorial coverage.
A standout moment came when OnSide’s Youth Advisory Board took over The Big Issue, as part of its Young Team Takeover. Secured through our relationships with the magazine’s editors, Youth Zone members aged 13 to 18 had complete control over the issue’s content - from selecting interviewees to spotlighting topics such as immigration, gender, disability, and youth work.
OnSide CEO Jamie Masraff has become a prominent media voice on youth work, with op-eds in The Times Thunderer, The Big Issue, and Children and Young People Now, plus interviews on BBC Radio 5 Live, LBC, and ITV News - all secured through Cause’s editorial connections.
We lead communications for OnSide’s annual Generation Isolation report - the UK’s largest study into how young people spend their time - last year, achieving a 230% increase on the previous year, with 47 pieces including 16 in national outlets.
In 2024, the Olympics spotlighted Bolton Lads and Girls Club’s boxing star, Cindy Ngamba. Recognising her story early, Cause secured coverage in The i, BBC 5 Live Breakfast, and The New European, highlighting the vital role of youth clubs in her success.
And when the world was talking about Netflix’s Adolescence we invited an Observer journalist to The Way Youth Zone, Wolverhampton, to witness their male empowerment project. The resulting feature was shared by Children’s Laureate Frank Cottrell-Boyce on Radio 4’ influential Broadcasting House show, and so we invited him to The Hive Youth Zone in Merseyside, and an important new relationship was born.
Three years of sustained, strategic and creative PR have transformed OnSide’s media profile. Today, journalists actively seek the charity’s insights, commentary, and access to young voices.
“Sam and Jenna genuinely feel like part of our team – bringing the expertise, creativity, and connections that help us punch well above our weight as a small but growing national youth charity. They know how to tell powerful, creative stories about youth work and why it matters, and they make sure those stories reach the publications and audiences that matter most to us.
Putting young people's voices at the heart of our communications is crucial, and Cause has been instrumental in making that happen. Our collaboration with The Big Issue – where a team of young people took over the magazine and website – is a standout moment, made possible by the best agency/client dream team imaginable.”
— Ochuko Adekoya, Communications Director, OnSide