Campaign Statistics:
- Items of Coverage: 13
- Air Time: 91 Minutes
- Audience Reach: 2.11 Million
4media group were commissioned by national charity, Allergy UK, to look at the effect of air pollution on people’s lives, with a focus on children, and allergies via broadcast PR campaign. The campaign consisted of research of 2,000 UK adults, conducted by our in-house research division, Atomik Research, which supplemented a broadcast day and a news generation project. The broadcast day was fronted by Holly Shaw from Allergy UK who was able to discuss these research results, and the link between air pollution, hay fever and asthma.
54% of Brits believe the air where they live is heavily polluted. According to experts, air pollution is now the biggest environmental risk to early death. In the UK, the biggest causes of toxic air are emissions from vehicles including cars and busses.
There is a proven link between the quality of the air we breathe and the health of people living with allergic disease. Pollutants in the air can trigger issues such as coughing, breathing difficulties and wheezing in those people who are susceptible to irritants. Exposure to pollutants can also impact how well sufferers control their existing allergies including hay fever and asthma. We are not just exposed to the pollutants when outside, as these can easily get into indoor spaces such as our homes, workplaces and schools.
Hay fever is much more than just a runny nose and itchy eyes. New research from Allergy UK has found that 72% of parents believe hay fever negatively affects their child’s quality of life. This is because symptoms can get so bad that sufferers are forced to miss out on events and take time off school. Due to being distracted by their hay fever and having to take time off school, three quarters (75%) of parents are confident their child’s hay fever impacts their performance at school.
As their bodies are still developing, children are at risk of their allergies developing into much more serious health problems including asthma. Despite this, however, almost half (46%) of parents are unaware of the link between hay fever and asthma.
The campaign secured extensive media coverage including interviews on BBC Radio Scotland, BBC Radio Kent, BBC Radio Norfolk, BBC Radio Tees, TalkRadio & more.