British Entertainment and Discotheque Association (BEDA)

The Challenge

In 1780 George III showed his first signs of madness: banning dancing on a Sunday! In the mid-1990s it was still illegal to charge for public dancing in England and Wales. BEDA, the nightclub trade association, recognized that, although the restriction was a big issue for the industry, in the grand scheme of things it was a minor concern for the government. BEDA asked APCO to devise a campaign to persuade the government to remove these restrictions.

The Solution

APCO devised an integrated media and public affairs campaign to raise the profile of the issue and persuade the incoming Labour administration that reform would be a sign of their commitment to "modernisation". Tactics included face-to-face meetings, publicity stunts, mass-mailings from clubbers, and intense third-party liaison with industry and tourism bodies across the country. The government committed itself to act, but, just as reform looked imminent, a handful of Lords attempted to block the proposals. Key Government players could easily have dropped the process, delaying reform for another five years with a cost to industry of c. £650 million. In response, APCO refocused the campaign to demonstrate that the issue had far-reaching, symbolic importance to the wider business world. Reform effectively became a weather vane for the government's approach to red-tape and deregulation.

The Result

Key government players stepped in to force reform through the House of Lords and the law was successfully changed. Economic research suggests that our campaign, a finalist in PR Week's Best Public Affairs Campaign, boosted industry revenues by £130 million per year and led to the creation of 3,000 new jobs.

Services Provided

• Creative services
• Government relations
• Media relations
• Online communication
• Positioning

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