Byte Digital delivered rapid-response Meta public-information campaigns for South East London Integrated Care System during cold weather and resident doctors' industrial action in 2026. Facebook and Instagram advertising helped the NHS communications team get timely service messages in front of adults across South East London.
The brief
The purpose was to inform residents about expected delays and busy NHS services during specific periods. Broad local coverage mattered: the information needed to reach people across the area, including those who were not actively searching for an NHS update.
The cold-weather activity ran from 6–10 January 2026. The industrial-action advertising ran from 6–13 April 2026, beginning ahead of the action on 7 April.
Rapid response at short notice
Byte can take a brief just a few days before planned industrial action and quickly develop the advertising copy and artwork, set up the campaigns and schedule delivery. Working directly with the NHS communications team keeps creative development, review and campaign preparation coordinated.
This gives NHS teams responsive paid-social support when public information needs to be prepared and delivered quickly, with the approved messaging scheduled around the relevant dates.
An audience strategy built for public information
Byte used a reach objective across Facebook and Instagram, with geographic delivery focused on South East London and an adult audience aged 18 and over. This matched the public-information brief: communicate the approved message widely during the period when residents needed it.
The advert itself carried the information. The campaigns were designed around people seeing a timely NHS message in their social feeds, with delivery scheduled to match the relevant dates.
Creative and campaign management
Byte handled strategy, audience targeting, campaign setup, optimisation and reporting. Copy and artwork were developed with the NHS communications team: Byte proposed the creative, the NHS team reviewed the wording, and both teams fine-tuned the final assets.
The creative task was to make the service update clear at a glance. Message, location and timing worked together so that residents could recognise information relevant to their local NHS services.
This approach gave the communications team managed paid-social delivery for a defined public-information brief, supported by approved creative and reporting on local audience coverage.
Reported reach
| Campaign | Advertising period | Meta-reported reach |
|---|---|---|
| Cold-weather service pressures | 6–10 January 2026 | 763,517 |
| Resident doctors' industrial action | 6–13 April 2026 | 975,506 |
These are separate campaign reach figures recorded by Meta. Each describes delivery during its own advertising period.
Relevance for NHS communications teams
The work shows Byte's experience with geographically targeted NHS information where timing and audience coverage are central to the brief. It is relevant to ICB and NHS provider communications teams planning industrial-action information, winter-pressure messaging and other service updates.
For seasonal prevention campaigns, see the winter vaccination case studies. For explaining local service options, see the Lewisham NHS navigation guide campaign.
References
- South East London ICS, Cold Weather Action Campaign Report, pages 2–4: January 2026 campaign dates, objective, delivery and results.
- South East London ICS, Meta Industrial Action Campaign Report, April 2026, pages 2–4.
- Founder-confirmed rapid-response delivery capability, 20 October 2026.
- Byte Digital: NHS marketing agency.
- NHS marketing in the Byte knowledge base.