Greater London Authority
The Greater London Authority (GLA) is the regional government body for London.
Restricting junk food ads on the transport network
As part of the new London Food Strategy, the Mayor of London announced plans to restrict adverts for high fat, salt and sugar (HFSS) food and drink on the London transport network. This was in response to the rising rates of childhood obesity across London and the impact on public health and the NHS.
I worked closely with the food, health and transport policy teams within the GLA and wider stakeholders including Transport for London.
I also gained external support from cancer charities, children’s charities, obesity campaigners, key figures in the advertising industry, as well as chefs and food campaigners Jamie Oliver and Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall.
I prepared an extensive briefing for the Mayor, drawing on the weight of evidence in support of the plans and the wider impact of rising childhood obesity.
On the day of the launch I managed a breakfast media round - clips from which were used across TV and radio bulletins throughout the day - and dealt with follow-up enquiries from a range of national and international journalists.
After the launch, I also secured follow-up coverage which demonstrated the success of the restrictions.
Bloomberg European HQ launch
I handled PR for the Mayor of London for the launch of Bloomberg’s new European headquarters, a £1 billion development in the heart of the City of London which later won the Stirling Prize for architecture.
I worked closely with the Mayoral team, the communications team at Bloomberg and the architects Foster + Partners throughout the planning and execution.
Working with Bloomberg presented significant challenges in terms of stakeholder management and securing sign-off at various stages in the project, given the involvement of multiple senior figures in London and New York operating on different time zones and offering differing perspectives.
Ultimately, once these challenges were overcome were produced an effective launch comms package, which leaned into the fact the building demonstrated the long-term post-Brexit commitment to London as a global financial centre by one of the world’s leading tech and data companies, as well as the building’s cutting-edge sustainability credentials.
On the day of the launch I managed the dozens of local, national and international media in attendance and facilitated interviews with the Mayor, who drew on the detailed briefing I had delivered.