_____ Ultimate FOI Guide

Despite the wealth of authoritative insight and data they provide, campaigns that utilise Freedom of Information data - often referred to as FOIs - remain one of the most overlooked tactics by brands and agencies alike for securing media coverage and backlinks. 

This is in part because, despite their valuable payoff, FOI campaigns require a significant investment of time, resources, and data analytical skills to execute effectively.

With over a decade of experience as a digital PR agency, we have created a dedicated, in-house team of FOI specialists who manage these campaigns for our clients from start to finish. 

In this comprehensive guide, we will walk you through what FOIs are and how to maximise the impact of FOI campaigns, from identifying a compelling idea to transforming raw data into engaging headline stories.

What are FOI requests and FOI campaigns?

The Freedom of Information (FOI) Act 2000 was introduced in the UK to give the public the right to access any information recorded by public sector organisations. Over 100 countries, including the UK, USA, Germany, and France, have some form of freedom of information legislation.

Requesting information under Freedom of Information legislation can provide your brand with access to recorded information from public bodies, such as the NHS, the police, or local councils.

FOI campaigns utilise the highly authoritative data secured via Freedom of Information laws and package them into powerful, media-ready stories. These campaigns are irresistible to journalists thanks to the attested nature of the data that comes straight from government sources.

These campaigns are then outreached to the media to secure valuable press coverage, enhance SEO performance by earning high authority backlinks from trusted news outlets, and land brand mentions that power AI visibility.

So why should brands consider FOI campaigns?

The benefits of FOI campaigns for brands

1. Helps you to secure more high-quality media coverage

FOI data often reveals surprising or headline-worthy angles that journalists may not have the time to uncover on their own. 

And with newsrooms under pressure, providing the media with credible, ready-to-use insights can significantly increase your chances of media pickup.

Well-structured FOI campaigns can be pivotal in attracting both national and regional press. The data can be broken down by city, borough or region, which allows you to work up multiple tailored angles from a single dataset.

2. Establishes your brand as an industry thought leader

FOI campaigns can give your brand ownership of the data story. Simply put, you’re driving the news rather than responding to it. 

By uncovering new, newsworthy hooks and insights, your brand becomes the primary source rather than a bystander.

This not only elevates your authority and earns trust from journalists and readers alike, but also helps differentiate you from your competitors as a thought leader. 

3. Maximise campaign ROI with reusable content

Once collected, FOI datasets can be refreshed and updated annually. They can also be repurposed for use in other campaigns or as evergreen assets, whether on-site or from an outreach perspective. 

The data can also be divided into multiple stories, such as a regional or industry-specific breakdown. A single request can power a multi-month or annual campaign with consistent messaging backed by robust, official data.

The dataset can be refreshed year-on-year with a quick request to Transport for London (TFL), supporting future campaigns and commentary.

Campaigns that are proven to perform

FOI campaigns generate nearly 4x the number of links on average compared to campaigns without data. Insights from our data team show that non-data campaigns typically deliver 5.68 links, compared to 21.5 links from FOI campaigns.

However, FOI campaigns offer brands more than simply link numbers. They deliver authority, insight, AI visibility and media cut-through – all anchored in unique data.

Google’s AI overviews pull from top-ranking or high-authority sources, or domains with strong topical and general authority. 

Our analysis shows that FOI campaigns typically deliver higher-quality backlinks - with an average Domain Rating (DR) of 62 - nearly 4% higher than the 59.8 DR achieved by non-data campaigns.

If a brand runs an FOI campaign and lands links from highly authoritative sites such as the BBC, The Times or gov.uk, etc., this strengthens the overall domain reputation.

That reputation boosts the brand’s visibility in traditional rankings and makes it more likely to be cited or summarised by AI overviews.

How to conduct your first Freedom of Information campaign

When submitting your first FOI request, you’ll need to know:

• The right questions to ask

• How to phrase them to get the best responses

• The right contact to provide the answers

We’ve refined this process through years of hands-on experience running hundreds of FOI-led campaigns. With the proper guidance, any brand can tap into this powerful and underused resource to unlock original, media-worthy insights.

1. Topic selection and research

The best place to start is by identifying an issue that ticks the following boxes:

• Relevant to your brand, industry or niche

• Likely to generate compelling data points or trends

• Unique and not already over-saturated in the media 

Our best-performing FOI campaigns not only aligned with the brand but also provided journalists with regional rankings, national comparisons or first-of-its-kind insights.

Top tip

Use tools like Google Trends, various and balanced news sources, and social listening on sites like Reddit to help identify key topics. Speak with your local community or friends and family to identify local pain points, such as complaints about potholes or A&E waiting times, that could spark ideas for an FOI request.

You can also utilise AI tools, such as ChatGPT or Claude, to discover more about which public body might be best to approach to access the data on your chosen subject.

To help foolproof your idea:

• Sense-check it with an editorial mindset: Would a journalist actually cover this? Is there a headline that writes itself? What’s the story?

• Review the media cycle: While the topic might be interesting to your niche, is there existing interest or widespread public frustration about the topic?

• Time it right: Is the topic tied to a specific awareness week, seasonal hook, or policy change? Timeliness increases media appetite.

2. Identifying the relevant public body

When developing a Freedom of Information campaign, avoid the ‘spray and pray’ approach at all costs.

If the request isn’t relevant to the public body you’re sending to, and by default, the data isn’t held, it will be refused by the authority, putting you back at square one.

A good way to research in advance and determine if a public body is likely to hold your data is to search and see if a similar request has been made previously. 

This can be done by searching terms together, like: “Southampton City Council”, “potholes” and “Freedom of Information” or “[TOPIC]”, “[PUBLIC BODY] and “Freedom of Information”

Many public authorities publish previous responses to FOIs on their websites, usually referred to as a disclosure log or publication scheme, which can help you understand the type of data they hold or don’t hold.

Examples here include, but are not limited to:

 

Local councils

 

 

NHS trusts

 

 

Transport bodies (e.g., TFL)

 

 

Emergency services (e.g., the police or fire services)

 

 

Educational institutions & bodies (e.g., OFSTED)

 

Once you’ve identified the best public body to contact, it’s time to find the correct email address to reach out to.

Fortunately, this step is fairly straightforward, as most public bodies will have their Freedom of Information contact readily available online.

The easiest way to find it is by simply searching for terms like “West Midlands Fire and Rescue Service” and “Freedom of Information contact” or “make a Freedom of Information request”, and it should appear immediately.

Top tip

You can also use a Google site command to find a body’s Freedom of Information page. For example: site:barnet.gov.uk "freedom of information"

From here, you’ll usually find that you need to email the body directly via the provided address or use a ready-made contact form.

3. Writing your FOI request

There are a few golden rules we recommend you follow when crafting your FOI request to help ensure you get the information you want in the fastest time possible.

Top tip

Adding the following sentence to your FOI requests can help minimise the risk of refusal:  “If the exact information is not held, please provide any and all recorded information that is relevant to this request.”

Why does this work? Because it encourages the authority to send partial data or similar datasets rather than issuing a flat-out rejection.

Be concise to avoid your request being refused

FOIs that are too broad are more likely to be rejected under cost or time exemptions. To ensure your success, we’d recommend sticking to 1-3 concise, well-scoped questions.

“Please provide the number of noise complaints relating to residential council properties received by the council between January 2023 and December 2023. Please provide this data broken down monthly.”

Be clear on the details you’re requesting

Ensure you define everything, such as the timeframe you want, whether you want the data broken down to a granular level (e.g., monthly), and clearly state your preferred units (e.g., GBP).

Authorities prefer time-bound requests, so work with them and be specific:

“Between 1 January 2023 and 31 December 2023” is better than “in the last year.”

Request a response in a specific format or template

To make things even easier for yourself, we would encourage you to always ask for spreadsheet-friendly formats to make data extraction easier:

“Please supply the information as either Excel (.xlsx) or CSV (.csv). Please avoid Word documents or PDFs wherever possible.”

We also suggest attaching a data template (e.g. a blank Excel table with headers) to help guide the authority on exactly how you'd like the data structured and sent back. 

This is particularly useful when working on a more complex FOI request, such as one that requires contacting hundreds of public bodies. This helps to reduce messy or inconsistent outputs and can even aid in automating data collection.

Don’t be afraid to ask for a breakdown

If the data is likely to vary by geography, for example, or by time, then it’s perfectly okay to ask them for a more in-depth breakdown:

“If available, please provide the data broken down by month and by borough.”

Not only will this request help save you time when analysing the data, but it also provides multiple hooks for PR angles, regional press, or year-on-year trends.

Avoid asking “why?”

Quite simply, FOI law only covers recorded information, not opinions or justifications.

• Don't ask: “Why did the council spend this money?”
• Do ask: “Please provide the council’s spend on pest control services (i.e. bed bug removal) in GBP from Jan 2023 to Dec 2023. Please provide these figures broken down by month.”

4. Submitting and tracking requests

There are multiple ways to send out an FOI request. 

At Reboot, we avoid doing so via sites such as ‘WhatDoTheyKnow’ as we find this tends to limit our flexibility and doesn’t always provide us with the insight we need.

Instead, we prefer to contact the public body directly, either manually or via their contact form, which is usually provided on the authority's or body’s website. 

When working on more complex FOI requests, such as when sending to all UK councils, you can speed up the process by batch-sending the request. This can be done using mail merge or through outreach tools such as BuzzStream.

To ensure any responses are organised clearly and concisely, we suggest creating a master FOI template that you can also reuse for future campaigns. This will enable you to collate and analyse larger or more complex datasets in a more manageable way.

Keep a record of when and where you submitted each request

As mentioned, making use of a detailed tracker is the best approach here, including prompts on:

 

The name(s) of the public body (or bodies) in your study

 

 

How many days until the data is due back

 

 

The reference number

 

 

Any notes or reminders

 

 

Date of initial request

 

It’s also helpful to set yourself a reminder for when the data is due to be returned (20 working days if sending to a UK public body), as this is the legal response time. This can vary by country, so be sure to check the specific regulations in the area you plan to target

Manage FOI response delays

While UK authorities are legally obligated to respond within 20 working days, some delays can happen. Be prepared to follow up if the deadline passes without a response or if you receive a refusal, as it is always worth considering an appeal or rewording the request.

If you’re unhappy with the delay, you can contact the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO). The ICO is the independent body responsible for upholding information rights and promoting data protection.

The ICO can support and provide advice if a public authority doesn’t respond to your request within the legal timeframe or if you believe your request has been refused unfairly.

5. Monitoring your responses

Whilst FOIs can typically take a while to come back, you should still monitor responses regularly, as you may get the following responses:

• An acknowledgement of your request  

• A request for further clarification

• A refusal

Top tip

If you receive a request for clarification, it is key to respond as soon as possible, as the 20-working-day deadline is paused until you send further clarification.

To help break this down, below are the replies you can expect to receive before the data is released and a jargon-buster to explain what exactly they mean.

The trick to identifying who you should target with your FOI request

It’s essential to note that you cannot send FOI requests to just anyone; any requests for information should be directed towards public bodies and certain publicly funded or regulated institutions. 

We recommend conducting research before submitting any FOI requests, as laws can vary significantly from one country to another.

Below are just some examples of the extensive list of bodies to which FOI (or similar) requests can be sent, both in the UK and on a global level.

United Kingdom: FOI Act 2000 (England, Wales, Northern Ireland) and FOI (Scotland) Act 2002

You can send FOI requests to any "public authority”, including, but not limited to:

Government departments

 

The Home Office

 

 

Department for Work and Pensions

 

 

Ministry of Justice

 

 

HM Treasury

 

 

Department for Education

 

 

Cabinet Office

 

 

Department of Health and Social Care

 

 

Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office

 

Law enforcement and justice

 

Local police forces (e.g., Metropolitan Police, Greater Manchester Police)

 

 

National Crime Agency

 

 

Crown Prosecution Service

 

 

Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC)

 

 

HM Courts & Tribunals Service

 

 

Prison services (HMPPS)

 

Health sector

 

NHS England

 

 

National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE)

 

 

Local NHS Trusts and Health Boards

 

 

Care Quality Commission (CQC)

 

 

Public Health England / UKHSA

 

 

General Medical Council (GMC)

 

Education

 

Ofsted

 

 

Universities (e.g., University of Oxford, University College London)

 

 

Local authority schools

 

 

Student Loans Company

 

 

Academies (some are subject to FOI under contractual obligations)

 

Local government

 

County and City Councils (e.g., Manchester City Council, Cornwall Council)

 

 

Local planning departments

 

 

Combined authorities (e.g., Greater London Authority)

 

 

Transport authorities (e.g., Transport for London)

 

Public bodies and regulatory agencies

 

BBC (limited to administrative matters)

 

 

Environment Agency

 

 

Ofcom (media & telecoms regulator)

 

 

Information Commissioner's Office (ICO)

 

 

Ofgem (energy regulator)

 

 

Financial Conduct Authority (FCA)

 

 

Ofsted (education standards)

 

 

Electoral Commission

 

Global examples: Countries with FOI or access to information laws

Within the UK, access is governed by the Freedom of Information Act 2000. However, similar laws exist in more than 125 countries worldwide, indicating a wealth of untapped resources in global FOIs.

Not all countries have the same laws and obligations as the UK, and in other countries, Freedom of Information requests might be referred to as:

• Access to Information Act - Canada

• Official Information Act - New Zealand

• Right to Information Act - India

• Promotion of Access to Information Act - South Africa

Each may also have a different set of rules and guidelines to follow, such as non-residents not being allowed to request information; therefore, it’s essential to do your research before reaching out.

United States: Freedom of Information Act (FOIA)

 

Federal agencies (FBI, CIA, Department of Defense, EPA, IRS, NASA, FDA, Department of State)

 

 

Local/state agencies (subject to state-specific public records laws)

 

Canada: Access to Information Act

 

Government departments and agencies

 

 

Canadian Food Inspection Agency

 

 

Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP)

 

 

Provincial governments (through separate laws, e.g., Ontario’s FIPPA)

 

 

Health Canada

 

Australia: Freedom of Information Act 1982

 

Commonwealth Government departments

 

 

Department of Health

 

 

Department of Home Affairs

 

 

State-level agencies (under respective state FOI laws)

 

 

Australian Federal Police

 

New Zealand: Official Information Act 1982

 

All government ministries

 

 

Police

 

 

Local councils

 

 

Health New Zealand

 

Ireland: Freedom of Information Act 2014

 

Government departments

 

 

Garda Síochána (limited access)

 

 

Health Service Executive (HSE)

 

 

Universities

 

 

Local authorities

 

South Africa: Promotion of Access to Information Act (PAIA)

 

All public bodies

 

 

Some private bodies (if information is needed for the exercise of rights)

 

India: Right to Information Act (RTI) 2005

 

Central and state government departments

 

 

Public sector units

 

 

Police

 

 

Universities and schools receiving government funding

 

Sweden: Principle of Public Access (since 1766)

 

All government documents are public by default

 

 

Applies broadly to national and local government

 

Countries with limited or no FOI laws

Some countries either lack FOI laws, have very restricted access, or have poor implementation:

• China

• Russia (some access but tightly controlled)

• UAE

• Saudi Arabia

International organisations (limited or special procedures)

• United Nations (some access to documents, not full FOI)

• European Union (EU Regulation 1049/2001 - right of access to documents)

• World Bank (Access to Information Policy)

• International Monetary Fund (IMF) (voluntary transparency)

• OECD (open data but no FOI law per se)

Understanding FOI refusals: When and how to push back

Sometimes, you will come up against a refusal for information, which can sometimes be a little confusing, especially if you’ve never run an FOI-led campaign before. 

To help break this down, below are some of the most common reasons we’ve come up against and a jargon-buster to explain what exactly they mean.

Authorities are legally obligated to be helpful

Something you may not know about FOIs is that under Section 16 of the UK Freedom of Information Act 2000, public bodies have a legal duty to provide advice and assistance to applicants.

Put simply, this means they should:

• Suggest ways to refine a rejected request so it can be answered

• Help clarify ambiguous wording

• Offer alternative formats or similar data that they do hold

If they refuse your request without offering additional help or guidance, you can and should push back and politely remind them of this legal obligation.

Push back (politely and professionally)

Here is the approach our team of FOI experts suggests:

1. Request an internal review

“Thank you for your response. I’d like to request an internal review, as I believe the information could be provided if the scope were refined.

[INCLUDE REFINED SCOPE HERE]

I would also like to remind you of your obligation under Section 16 of the FOI Act to assist applicants, e.g. suggesting ways to refine a rejected request so it can be answered or offering alternative formats or similar data that is held.”

2. Refine and re-submit

Sometimes, your request may be refused, particularly if it’s complex or asking for a lot of detail. 

In that case, we suggest considering refining it slightly, perhaps by narrowing the scope, reducing the timeframe, or breaking the request down into more manageable parts.

From here, you can resubmit your request.

3. Escalate to the ICO

Finally, if you’ve had an internal review but still feel the refusal was unfair, you should consider escalating your request to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) for review.

Insider tips on collating and organising your FOI data correctly

Once FOI responses start coming in, it’s on to the next step: organising, cleaning, and analysing the data to find your hooks and prepare your campaign.

Here is our guide on how we would recommend making the most of the released data:

1. Set up a central spreadsheet

Using Excel or Google Sheets, start by creating a master tracker or spreadsheet. This is where you will hold all information sent back via your FOI responses.

Use consistent headers, such as:

• Authority name

• Region (if applicable)

• Year / timeframe

• Metric (e.g., number of fines, complaints, etc.)

• Notes / clarifications

• Source / FOI reference
   

Why? This will make things easier when it comes to analysing and sorting the data when you’re ready to do so. This is especially true if you’re combining responses from multiple councils, police forces, or trusts, for example.

2. Clean the data

The next step is to clean the data to ensure consistency throughout the process. Here you should: 

• Standardise formatting (e.g. date ranges, currency, units)

• Watch for inconsistencies (e.g. “0”, “n/a”, “not recorded”)

• Flag ambiguous or unusual entries for follow-up

Top tip

Use conditional formatting to highlight gaps, anomalies, or standout results quickly.

3. Always record non-responses and refusals

Even though you may not think it useful or usable, you should always make a log of all authorities that:

• Didn’t respond

• Refused

• Supplied partial data

Why? This info can be helpful to your campaign narrative (e.g. “Only 32 out of 50 councils responded”) and if journalists query why some authorities are not included in the dataset.

4. Keep source evidence

Ensure you download and save each FOI response in the format that works best for you (PDF, email, spreadsheet), and file them away clearly. 

Why? If a journalist questions part of your data, you can easily refer back to the original response released directly by the public body.

Top tip

We save all email responses as PDFs, which means they are readily available if journalists want to spot-check and verify the data we have provided.

5. Start spotting trends

As your data comes in, continue to review the results to start identifying any early trends, stories, or deadlines (even before you have the complete data set available).

• Big outliers: For example, in our recent FOI for Alan Boswell, we uncovered that there is currently a 67-year wait for a 4-bedroom council house in Barking and Dagenham. Prominent or surprising figures of this nature are likely to resonate strongly with local media. 

• Surprising trends: A trend or stat you perhaps didn’t expect to see becomes apparent in your data set and throws up a strong, more shocking headline.

• Year-on-year increases: Comparisons are always a useful insight to include in your press release.

• Regional differences: These allow you to hone in on North-South divides or even compare the data more granularly on a borough-level.

Common FOI challenges and how best to overcome them

As is common in the world of Digital PR, producing and promoting campaigns can be unpredictable and, as such, is not always as straightforward a process as you’d hope it to be - and the same can ring true for FOIs.

Thankfully, there are very few instances where we’re unable to overcome this challenge. However, choosing to work with FOI experts can help simplify the process and mitigate the risk factor (or at least enable you to lean on someone else to solve the problem for you!).

Below are some examples of some of the more commonly faced issues when working your way through the FOI campaign process:

1. Human error with data collection

When you’re dealing with dozens (or even hundreds) of responses, mistakes naturally can creep in.  This can range from wrong totals, mislabelled cells, or even inconsistent units.

How to overcome it:

• Always save the raw responses - this includes emails, spreadsheets, and PDFs in a well-organised folder.

• Cross-reference your final spreadsheet against the originals once the collation is complete. And triple-check for good measure!

• Consider working with a second pair of eyes to spot errors before you launch your campaign.

Top tip

Save emails as PDFs for easy sharing and long-term storage.

2. Public bodies not meeting their legal requirements

In the UK, it is a legal obligation for public bodies to respond to FOI requests within 20 working days. Despite this, delays can still occur, especially during busy periods for different authorities.

As such, it’s sensible to factor this likelihood into your response times when planning your campaign timeline.

How to overcome it:

• Keep a simple tracker of submission dates and keep on top of those follow-up deadlines.

• If no response arrives by day 21, send a polite chaser (see above for our guidance on how to do so)

• If they still don’t respond after repeated follow-ups, you can then escalate to the ICO with details of your original request and correspondence

Reminder: Under Section 16 of the FOI Act, they also have a legal duty to assist you, not just respond.

3. The data doesn’t match the story you had in mind

Despite all your best planning, the data that you are presented with simply doesn’t match up to the story you were hoping to put out there. 

Sometimes, no matter how hard you try, the numbers you get just aren’t “newsworthy” enough - like discovering a “big rise” in potholes is just 30 extra reports over three years. 

How to overcome it:

• Use percentage changes or year-on-year trends instead of flat totals to find more compelling angles. E.g., “Council X saw a 675% rise in pothole complaints since 2020.”

• Dig into regional contrasts or outliers: These are often gold mines for journalists.

• Pivot your angle: If the volume isn’t huge, maybe the cost, slow response times, or lack of enforcement is the real story. 

• Extrapolate the numbers: Perhaps 7% of the nation doesn’t look exciting on paper, but what does that equate to in terms of actual people?

Other FOI campaign pitfalls to watch for:

Tips and tricks for making your FOI campaign stand out

With a media landscape that’s becoming increasingly complex to navigate, it’s never been more crucial to present journalists with data and campaigns that are fresh, distinctive, and genuinely useful to them.

Having invested time and resources in creating a strong FOI strategy as part of our wider Digital PR offering, we know a thing or two about how to make our clients’ FOI campaigns genuinely stand out, so here are some of our top tips for doing so:

1. Visualise the data

Don’t just dump numbers into a press release. Make them digestible and bring them to life by complementing them with clean, eye-catching visuals.

• Work with in-house data and design teams (if you have them) and ask them to create visuals like heatmaps, infographics, interactive charts, and region-by-region breakdowns

• No design team? No problem. Make use of accessible tools like:

 

Canva - for infographics, quote cards, and visuals

 

 

Flourish - for animated data storytelling

 

 

DataWrapper - for interactive bar charts, maps, and timelines

 

Simple additions such as well-designed visuals can make complex data easier to follow, as well as boost your chances of media pick-up.

2. Source quotes from public bodies

Adding a quote from the data source or a relevant expert gives your story more weight, balance, and legitimacy.

Reach out to relevant spokespeople before publishing with a short, polite message like:

“We’re planning to publish the findings from our recent Freedom of Information request. If possible, would you be happy to provide us with a short comment or quote on [XX topic]?”

Even if just one or two bodies reply, their input can:

• Add credibility

• Help to add balance to your story

• Serve as a built-in rebuttal if the data is controversial

Alternatively, you can collaborate with external sources, such as an industry expert or commentator, to provide further insight on the findings. 

Journalists are also keen to receive case studies from members of the public impacted by a variety of issues, so this can be a great additional resource to provide alongside the FOI data.

3. Try to think like a journalist

Even the most well-researched campaigns can fall flat if they don’t immediately resonate with a journalist’s needs. When crafting your story or press release, it’s worth pausing to consider:

• What makes this data newsworthy? - Is there a shocking increase? A regional hook? A lack of action?

• Is it clear why your data is relevant to a journalist or their readers? Can you create multiple regional variations for local press if your data is broken down in that way?

4. Package it for press

Once you’re confident in the above, the next step is to package it up so it includes everything your intended media targets will need to put their own stamp on it: 

• Include a press-friendly data table or map

• Provide embeddable visuals and a clean, scannable press release.

Create a branded campaign page or blog post that incorporates all the necessary data and visuals. We do this to encourage journalists to link back to a client’s website.

Bonus tip: Share your methodology

A solid FOI campaign isn’t simply about the story; it’s also about building trust. 

Journalists, readers, and even public bodies are open to scrutinising your findings, so having a clear and transparent methodology is vital.

Your methodology should include:

• What you asked (the exact questions submitted in your FOI requests)

• Who you asked (the public bodies contacted, e.g., 100 councils, all UK police forces)

• When you asked (include submission dates and cut-off points for responses)

• The time frames covered (e.g., “Data requested from Jan 2020 to Dec 2023”)

• How you handled non-responses or partial data (openly explain how you treated gaps or refusals)

Why do all of these steps matter?

It may seem like a lot of steps to consider, but it’s worth the effort when you reap the rewards. 

FOI campaigns can offer unmatched value compared to other Digital PR campaign types, not only by securing more coverage on average but also landing placements in more authoritative publications overall.

And whilst gaining links and coverage for your brand is nice to have, a well-executed FOI campaign that gives the media all the information they need to craft a strong, authoritative article can also:

• Give you and your brand a boost in your credibility with journalists

• Make your story bulletproof if challenged

• Show you’ve followed a consistent, ethical, and transparent data-gathering process 

How Reboot can help with FOI-led campaigns

FOIs are often misunderstood and mismanaged, but when appropriately executed, they can unlock a powerful trifecta for brands: original data, high-authority media coverage, and long-term credibility.

Reboot is an award-winning digital PR agency, and we have successfully delivered FOI campaigns for our clients and continue to invest efforts in this area.

These campaigns have resulted in notably strong links, powerful brand mentions and coverage from key media titles for our clients, including:

 

TES

 

 

The Times

 

 

Metro

 

 

BBC News

 

 

Local Government Association (.GOV.UK)

 

 

Daily Record

 

 

Sky News

 

 

The Telegraph

 

 

Time Out

 

 

Huffington Post

So, why choose to partner with Reboot?

• Reboot has an industry-first team dedicated solely to FOI campaigns. No other Digital PR agency is as dedicated to FOI campaigns as we are. 

• In fact, many agencies are moving away from FOIs as a campaign type, as they often lack the time and resources necessary to invest in making them successful.

• Our FOI specialist, Courtney Cole, has spent the past 12 months refining our FOI process and conducting a thorough review of how to enhance and advance our offering as an agency.

• Reboot is also home to a talented team of data scientists dedicated to analysing and collating unique datasets designed to grab media attention.

• We have also invested a significant amount of time in legal research behind the scenes, learning how to navigate the “red tape” successfully.

• As such, we are hugely committed to the FOI process and are persistent in securing excellent results for our clients.

• We have developed a unique, proprietary process that enables us to conduct FOI campaigns entirely in-house, from start to finish.

• We are also in the process of developing a bespoke set of automation tools designed to help save hours of manual collation. 

• The time saved here will then be utilised where it matters - in the creative space (i.e. developing campaigns, researching unique topics, etc).

• Unlike many agencies or brands, we don’t use tools like “WhatDoTheyKnow?” for our FOI campaigns. Instead, we opt to do things manually to ensure accuracy and flexibility in our datasets.

But don’t just take our word for it:

Example FOI campaigns and their results

Universities with the most students using artificial intelligence to cheat

Results:

Areas with the most vape-related fire callouts since 2020

Results:

The Transport for London (TfL) tube lines with the highest temperatures

Results:

Regions with the most vacant council homes and longest social housing waitlists

Results: