Yorkshire Water

Delivering Measurable Impact for
Yorkshire Water – Smart Meter Awareness

  • Client:

    Yorkshire Water

  • Industry:

    Utilities

  • Channels:

    TV, Digital Audio, Ad Pause, Billboards, Paid Social, Google Search, YouTube

THE CHALLENGE

Yorkshire Water needed to shift behaviour around water usage, increase awareness of its environmental initiatives, and connect meaningfully with households across the region. Our brief was to create an engaging, wide-reaching awareness campaign for the smart meter rollout across Sheffield.

OUR STRATEGY

Yorkshire Water partnered with Forward & Thinking to deliver a powerful regional campaign focused on education, inspiration, and behavioural change. Using a fully integrated cross-channel approach, we combined data-driven targeting with compelling storytelling:

  • TV and Video – We delivered the campaign via Sky VOD, ITVX, and Channel 4 Streaming, with a focus on the festive period to maximise reach. Content was tailored for both big screens and mobile devices to meet viewers where they were most engaged.
  • Paid Social, Search and YouTube – A cohesive digital strategy brought the message to life across Meta, Google Search, and YouTube. This helped deliver cost-efficient reach, complementing and reinforcing the campaign’s core video creative.
  • Out-of-Home (OOH) – Large-format roadside digital billboards built mass awareness, while 6-sheet posters placed in key neighbourhoods drove visibility and engagement at a local level.
  • Digital Audio – Spotify and DAX audio placements reached adult audiences within Sheffield postcodes, enhancing message recall through repetition in high-attention listening environments.

All campaign elements were designed to work cohesively—amplifying each other across channels. Performance was tracked in real time through our collaborative dashboard, allowing continuous optimisation throughout the campaign.

THE RESULTS

  • TV delivered over 260,000 impressions in the Sheffield area, with Channel 4 Streaming achieving a 98.64% video completion rate (well above the 67.4% MOAT benchmark).
  • The large-format digital billboard overdelivered by 219%, generating more than 15,000 bonus impressions at no extra cost.
  • PPC and paid social produced a combined 1.1 million+ impressions and over 13,000 clicks, demonstrating strong online engagement.

With Sheffield’s population around 746,000, this campaign achieved deep saturation, delivering over 1.9 million impressions and significantly enhancing visibility.

This campaign became a benchmark for effective public sector communication—raising awareness, inspiring behaviour change, and strengthening Yorkshire Water’s position as a trusted voice.