Case study · Blue Monday 2023

FoodCycle

Relations Group ran a broadcast PR campaign for FoodCycle around Blue Monday 2023. A radio day of interviews, plus TV, put their spokesperson on air, securing 18 items of radio and TV coverage with a combined audience of 3.3 million. Highlights included London Live, BBC Radio Solent and BBC Radio WM.

Part of Blue Monday on air →

18Items of coverage

3.3 millionCombined reach

1h 36mTime on air

Coverage highlights

London LiveTV
BBC Radio SolentBBC radio
BBC Radio WMBBC radio
BBC Radio NewcastleBBC radio
BBC Radio LeedsBBC radio
Radio EssexCommercial radio
BBC Radio CambridgeshireBBC radio
Greatest Hits Radio Coventry and WarwickshireCommercial radio

Listen

London Live · 5m 04s

BBC Radio Solent · 1m 16s

0:00 / 1m 16s

BBC Radio WM · 3m 42s

0:00 / 3m 42s

BBC Radio Newcastle · 4m 23s

0:00 / 4m 23s

The story

FoodCycle, Blue Monday 2023

The aim: FoodCycle wanted to highlight the benefits of community dining and encourage people to volunteer with or donate to the charity.
The message: Community dining brings people together over a free, nutritious meal, tackling loneliness and food waste during the cost-of-living crisis, and eating together benefits mental health.
The angle: A FoodCycle survey found 3 in 5 Britons think councils do too little to support community dining during the cost-of-living crisis, a quarter eat alone seven times a week, and 96% have never heard of community dining, yet nearly 1 in 2 would go if one ran locally.
On air: FoodCycle's chief executive
The result: 18 items of coverage reaching 3.3 million, including London Live, BBC Radio Solent, BBC Radio WM, BBC Radio Newcastle.

Budget £10,000Delivered £10,800Above budget 8%On air 1h 36m

What the budget bought

Campaign budget

£10,000

Coverage delivered

£10,800

Advertising value equivalent (AVE)

£38,684

PR value

£116,051

12:1return on investment: PR value is 12 times the campaign budget

Coverage delivered is the value of the items at the Relations Group rate card. AVE is what the same airtime would cost as advertising. PR value is three times the AVE. ROI is PR value divided by the campaign budget.

About Blue Monday

Blue Monday is the name given to the third Monday in January, promoted as the most depressing day of the year. It began in 2005 as a press release for the travel company Sky Travel and has no scientific basis, but charities now use it to start conversations about mental health. Stations plan their coverage of it in advance, which makes it a strong hook for a broadcast PR campaign.

Planning Blue Monday for 2027?

Blue Monday next falls on Monday 18 January 2027. Talk to the team about a broadcast PR campaign that gets your spokesperson on radio and TV.

Book a call with the team