From ‘no go’ to ‘go to’ in 24 hours: How Tower Hamlets embraced a media storm

‘With every challenge there is an opportunity.’ I remember that being one of the key messages from a corporate management team risk workshop I was at a few years ago.

Like any inner-city local authority, there are plenty of challenges in Tower Hamlets but we have an amazing place and incredible people living within it which make the job of a communicator an exciting one.

In saying that, I did not expect an MP to be referring to ‘no go’ areas in our borough [last month]. Sadly I have experienced this kind of comment several times. When I first started here there was an article in an US newspaper saying our no drinking zones were because of sharia law – when they are of course because of antisocial behaviour like every other council. When we researched our TH_IS place campaign, we found that out that of the most shared stories about Tower Hamlets on social media, 23% were from alt right websites.

Sadly, it comes with the territory. Tower Hamlets is one of the most diverse places in the country with the highest Muslim population. We are proud to be a microcosm of a global city and our recent residents’ survey showed that 87% of people get on well with one another. That is even more remarkable when you add in that Tower Hamlets is the most densely populated place in the country – a 22.1% increase in 10 years.

Communications strategy

Despite this success, it is easy for people to take pot shots. That is why the first objective of our communications strategy is ‘to tell our story – or face others telling it for us’.

We have a solid place narrative which explains our catchline of offering ‘the best of London in one borough’. That catchline is everywhere in our council, from the laptop I am writing this blog on, to our fleet of vehicles.

So, when the ‘no go’ comments were made on LBC, we were ready. Our narrative came into play straight away and was sent wholesale with our response to more than a dozen national media within 45 mins.

The next day national broadcast and print media descended on Tower Hamlets, vox popping residents and organisations about where these ‘no go’ areas were – almost all of whom were bemused and irritated by the comments. It was interesting to see how many journalists reporting the story actually live in Tower Hamlets, so the backlash was immediate. 

We know from our campaign research that many people in London don’t know where Tower Hamlets is, let alone those outside the capital. Misconceptions are easy.

The chances are you have been on a trip to Spitalfields, Stepney, Wapping, St Katharine Docks, Canary Wharf, Bethnal Green, Whitechapel, Bow – and had a great time. I used to go to Lovebox festival in Victoria Park when I was younger and thought I was in Hackney.

The misguided comments, for which the MP subsequently apologised, gave us the ideal opportunity to tell our story and to explain why more people want to live, work and visit here; that we have the third largest economic output in the country with Canary Wharf and famous markets like Brick Lane and Columbia Road; that we have destinations everywhere from the Tower of London to Young V&A and London Docklands Museum, or Victoria Park voted in the top 10 parks in the country for the last decade (unranked); that we have famous venues like The Troxy, Wilton’s Music Hall, Rich Mix or Whitechapel Gallery; events like All Points East festival headlined by Stormzy last year and the London Marathon that goes through Tower Hamlets more than any other borough (9.5 miles); that we are London’s history ­– from the docks to the suffragette movement in Roman Road to the Battle of Cable Street; and that best of all are our people, who once again stood up for our borough.

From challenge to opportunity

It is that energy that we wanted to harness in turning a challenge into an opportunity, so we have launched a ‘go to’ social media campaign where we are asking people to name their go to place in Tower Hamlets and celebrate our borough. Mine is Petticoat Lane with an endless supply of incredible Chinese and Korean restaurants which I am sampling one by one. 

If you want to take part (and please do), find one of our posts on X or Instagram about it and you can say your ‘go to’ place in Tower Hamlets by using #onlyintowerhamlets. 

If you want to know more about our borough – like where fish and chips was invented, or which Lord of the Rings actor reads the questions at the quiz in his pub, why not spend a few minutes taking our Tower Hamlets quiz www.towerhamlets.is/knowledge.

And if you ever wanted an example of the power of having a place narrative to hand, well, you have just read ours. 

Andreas Christophorou is director of communications and marketing at the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. This post was first published on comms2point0, the website owned by Creative Communicators founder Darren Caveney. Read the original post.