We often get asked which business sectors we specialise in – the answer’s always the same.
In our view, great PR agents can work across industries – based on two key elements of the mix: firstly, that they need to be capable enough to understand their clients’ expertise and translate it into stories which are suitable for their target audiences; secondly, that they’ve enough experience working with journalists (having been one, ideally) to know what editors are looking for – good words, good photos, knowledgeable experts on hand to comment, etc etc.
We know from many years of experience that editors are generally grateful to be contacted by ‘one of the good ones’ – PR pros who recognise that they’re more than just marketing mouthpieces; rather the intermediary between the press and the client. As such, as with any negotiation, both sides need to get something beneficial from the arrangement. For editors – it’s stories their readers will find interesting. For the clients, it’s the coverage which communicates their brand values (whilst not being overly promotional – there’s an advertorial route for that). Bear that in the mind, explain your reasoned thinking to the client, and the results will invariably come.
An example – let me hark back to the excellent work we did with James Burton, Darren Taylor and the team at ethical travel firm Pure Breaks.
It was our first work in the travel sector – an industry dominated by large agencies commanding stupendous fees. We’re at the other end of the spectrum but we made a stunning success of the brand awareness brief, taking a team of previously-unknown industry journalists out to Mauritius in the first media trip to the island since the Covid lockdown.
Accompanying us were writer Josh Payne and photographer Ben Birchall from PA Media, Lyn Hughes from Wanderlust Travel Media, sustainability expert Francesca Brooking and Melanie Kruger from LLM – Luxury Lifestyle Magazine.
The results? From a totally standing start, we generated 30 pieces of UK national and regional coverage while the trip was ongoing, in publications from BBC and Sky News to the Mail, Times and City AM.
On return, 14 pages in Wanderlust (thanks Lyn), twelve travel features in leading industry online and regional publications, a handful of luxury hotel reviews and social media posts generating more than a million impressions.
Oh and we also arranged, at a moment’s notice, a press conference with the Mauritian tourist board, including high level national government officials.
An intense experience, and tiring, but all in a day’s work for a PR agency who embodies the values we mentioned at the top of this post..
See more about how we did it, alongside our other case studies, here gold standard travel PR with Pure Breaks | Turn The Tables.
