From celebrating the birth of 500 babies to growing social networks, building event promotion packages and profiling unique business investments, here’s a peek behind our PR week at Holdsworth Associates.
![All in a day’s PR work #1 Wymondham IVF clinic Yvie Chase and dad Ryan](https://www.holdsworth-associates.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/Yvie-Chase-and-Dad-Ryan-blow-candles-100x100.jpg)
From celebrating the birth of 500 babies to growing social networks, building event promotion packages and profiling unique business investments, here’s a peek behind our PR week at Holdsworth Associates.
This week the Science and Media Centre gathered journalists, doctors and scientists – as well as a few media officers and communicators – in a room to try and improve understanding of each other’s roles…
Fashions in websites change, and it can seem like you need a new website more regularly than you need a new wardrobe. But it’s not just the nature of the internet that’s changing, it’s the nature of your business.
Devise and implement a communications campaign for the NSPCC that would help change parent child-shaking behaviour, helping to prevent the serious injury or child death that can occur as a result.
Many child protection awareness-raising campaigns rely on shock to get the message across. It was felt that in this campaign, while important to stress the severity of the problem, should engage with the target audience and empower them to take the next step.
The relative size different between an adult and a child is the major reason why babies are so vulnerable. In considering the size difference, we approached the Saints rugby team to work with us on the campaign. An image of them with a child would explain visually and with impact the campaign key message.
The Saints rugby team modelled for the poster campaign and participated in a press event to launch the campaign. A package of media-content including research, case studies and spokesperson comment was developed to ensure sustain media coverage.
In addition, a multi-agency conference was held to promote understanding of the signs and symptoms.
Cambridge Innovation Capital (CIC) was to announce a £1million investment in the start-up company Congenica, a spinout from the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute. Congenica, has developed a diagnostic engine for Whole Genome Analysis, which provides new insights into rare genetic disorders. Although not a treatment, it would allow patients and their families to be better informed about their conditions and pave the way for development for improved therapies.
Both CIC and Congenica required coverage of the announcement to support their respective aims.
The technology being developed by Congenica was complex and the funding amount, although substantial for Cambridge, was not significant for City papers. Our media strategy therefore focused on the human impact of the investment, and what it would mean to families to gain a diagnosis and hence a prognosis.
Holdsworth Associates sourced patient case-studies, and quotes from patient support groups and experts to build a compelling PR story.
This approach gained coverage in wide range of media and enabled journalists from different disciplines to understand the potential of the technology.
Close working with key journalists ensured that the story was covered sensitively and all key messages were communicated effectively.
Some of the publications in which coverage was achieved included:
HSBC had been involved in a number of important deals, but had received little public recognition for its involvement. Holdsworth Associates was asked to create a PR campaign which would support HSBC’s position as a good partner for mergers and acquisitions within the mid market.
Financial announcements are usually dry and of little interest to the regional media, so we decided to look at the people behind the deals and the long term benefit of selecting HSBC to the growth and stability of the company.
To create coverage within the Midlands regional and with business trade media, a series of case studies who had benefited from the deals were created to show the success of businesses – using the news hook of one year on. These were first person accounts based on interviews we conducted with with mid market directors.
Telling a good story is the secret of effective communication.
Original content is the life blood of online marketing, and generating good content with PR will keep a strong consistent message.
When you have a good story there are lots of options available for getting the word out but for press releases to be picked up by the media they have to reach the right people.