Waltham Forest Council – Award-winning Community Engagement Campaign
LET’S TALK:
Inspiring a community to shape their own future.
- Audience Insight
- Design Concepts
- Design Consistency
- Digital Content
- Digital Marketing
- Video Animation
The objective
Waltham Forest is one of London’s most diverse and progressive boroughs.
Bigkid was invited to help spark open, meaningful conversations with residents about the improvements they wanted to see in their neighbourhoods. The result was a three-month awareness campaign designed to drive borough-wide engagement, encourage ideas, and shape a more inclusive, accessible Waltham Forest for everyone.
The strategy
Research showed residents connected more with their neighbourhoods than the wider borough. To reflect this, the campaign was designed with a hyper-local focus.
Mass channels like web, social, and newsletters launched the campaign, supported by trusted local voices – from faith leaders to ‘mum-fluencers’ – with messaging tailored to each audience.
The transformation
Early engagement data showed an overrepresentation of white British respondents (48%), with lower participation from Black British and Asian British communities.
To address the imbalance, the approach was refined with targeted communications and partnerships – including faith groups, community organisations, and youth advisors. Youth-led videos were produced and shared via TikTok, youth hubs, and local colleges, helping drive peer-to-peer engagement.
This shift led to a 4% increase in Black British engagement and a 5.8% increase among Asian British residents.
5.8%
increase in
Asian British
engagement
The outcomes
Let’s Talk: Waltham Forest became the borough’s largest engagement campaign in recent years, exceeding participation targets by over 260%. It gave residents a clear, accessible way to share what matters most in their local 15-minute neighbourhoods, helping shape future improvements across the borough.
The campaign gathered nearly 3,000 responses, engaged over 1,000 residents face-to-face at 40 events, and reached around 48,000 hard-to-reach residents through transcreated content. Branded maps, postboxes, and TikTok videos (with 23,000 views) further boosted visibility and participation.
Its impact was recognised with the Granicus Award for Best Community Engagement and a shortlisting for Local Government Chronicle’s Campaign of the Year.