The Challenge
LSBUD is the UK’s leading safe digging portal. The platform allows its Users (ranging from construction workers and utility contractors through to energy operators, farmers and the public) to check for underground pipes and cables before a digger bucket or spade ever hits the ground…and it does so for free.
Its main challenges are two-fold:
- To encourage more energy companies and utility providers to register their underground assets on the LSBUD portal
- To educate those digging – be they construction companies, farmers or homeowners – to use the platform and stay safe onsite.
So we’ve been tasked by LSBUD to help build its brand and engage its target audiences, and we’ve been doing so since 2018.
How We Helped
We’ve delivered an integrated mix of PR, social media and content marketing activity, designed to target LSBUD’s key audiences with interesting, educational content in the places we know they consume their news. Our work has covered creative campaigns and awareness weeks, through to targeted thought-leadership and brand partnerships, and all media relations activity in between.
Below are a few standout programmes that we have (and still do) run for LSBUD – and some of the results we’ve achieved:
Industry Report
Our flagship project is Digging Up Britain, an annual report we created which uses LSBUD’s own data to look at the state of the UK’s safe digging community, and the scale of excavation work taking place each year. With more than 600 million interactions each year, and 3.9 million individual enquiries, we’ve created a trusted, yearly barometer that the construction, highways, agricultural, energy and utilities industries use to gauge progress.
We launch it to the media, and extend the longevity of the campaign with a raft of creative social media activity and in-depth features in key media.
Every part of the activity has a call to action that urges utility companies to make their asset information available on the LSBUD portal and encourages people to do a thorough search before every dig.
For LSBUD, the report is a way of reaffirming its position as the industry’s leading authority on safe digging. Further to this, it’s used as a way of initiating new business conversations and opening up discussions with Prospects, that allows LSBUD to talk confidently about industry challenges. Finally, it forces competitors and governing bodies to use LSBUD data in their own content, as it’s the most accurate and up-to-date information available, further strengthening the brand’s position.
In terms of results, the Digging up Britain Report has been downloaded or read more than 4,000 times, accumulated more than 100 pieces of coverage, received 150 brand mentions in key media, and secured high quality 80 thought-leadership features.
National Safe Digging Week
To drive home the importance of searching before you dig, we came up with (and launched) a UK-wide awareness week – National Safe Digging Week. Our activity was targeted at getting energy, water and telecoms companies, plus major construction firms, involved our programme, whilst also educating UK consumers on the need for safe digging on every project.
To do this each year we create unique creative campaigns to broaden the initiative’s reach, speak directly to a different audience, and offer the media a reason to link back to LSBUD’s website.
To date we have:
- Created a one-off, humorous film designed to educate particularly vulnerable groups, such as smaller building firms, farmers and the general public, about the dangers of hitting a pipe or cable that’s buried under the ground.
- Identified the number of avoidable incidents taking place across UK homes each year
- Explored the number of Brits ‘digging blind’
- Highlighted the major names supporting the initiative each year
…and many more!
For LSBUD, this is initiative’s prime objective is to raise awareness surrounding safe digging, helping ensure even more people each year stay safe on site. Safety has, and always will be the brand’s number one priority.
The awareness week is also a way of galvanising the industry, and associating LSBUD with some of the biggest brands in the UK.
It also offers a perfect time to talk about its Digging up Britain Report, or launch new findings to the media, at a time where there is real purpose and intent.
When it comes to results, #nationalsafediggingweek has been used 500 times across social media. It has been referenced 200 times in media, some of which are being spearheaded by other businesses now too, showing the programme has embedded and is now seen as an important date in the safe digging industry’s calendar.
Targeted PR campaigns – Being a Farmer’s Guardian
We often run short, sharp PR campaigns that focus on one particular audience, allowing LSBUD’s messaging to be very direct and land 100 percent accurately. One example of this was a project with did in partnership with the Countryside Alliance, aimed at farmers – a notoriously challenging group to get in front of.
We drafted a short survey that the Countryside Alliance issued to its members, with the sole purpose of understanding what farmers think about ‘safe digging’ as a concept. The results were illuminating.
- Two thirds of UK farmers know someone that has hit a pipe or cable whilst digging – 3% know someone who has died because of it
- 79 percent don’t feel like they need to search for pipes and cables as they already know the location of every one under their land
- There are 28k farmers putting themselves at unnecessary risk by ‘digging blind’
We launched the findings to the agri media, with clear messaging about the importance of searching before you dig. We also issued to health and safety media too.
For LSBUD, this activity allowed us to speak right to the heart of the UK farming industry, highlighting systemic issues with a ‘I know this land like the back of my hand’ approach. Things change, cables and pipes move, and it is always better to be safe than sorry.
The programme was a big success, firstly being well-received by the Countryside Alliance members, as well as the farming media. In total, we secured 8 pieces of coverage, with 15k total views. All amongst a niche, by quality audience.
