3 PR case studies of 2016 to inspire your small business

When it comes to launching a new business, product or campaign, standing out from the crowd is a very important element in PR. Every year businesses go the extra mile to get themselves heard and 2016 was certainly no exception. Think about Stay Puft Marshmallow Man smashing through the floor at Waterloo station to promote the new Ghostbuster film, leading #ghostbusterswaterloo to trend on Twitter. Or Cadbury’s Loch Ness Monster Easter Egg campaign promoting its ongoing partnership with the National Trust. Although these campaigns may exceed a small business budget, inspiration can be taken from those PR case studies, when it comes to small businesses.

Aldi and its Pop Up shop

In May Aldi opened its first wine pop up in Shoreditch. The idea was to launch its new e-commerce platform, which would offer Aldi’s wide range of wine to consumers who don’t necessarily live near a store.

In conjunction with London Wine Week they promoted a try before you buy experience. Experts were available to help make sure customers made the right decision before they used Aldi’s platform to order their choice.

Pop-up shops are a great way to promote products which are predominantly sold online. It gives the consumers a chance to see and test the products before purchase, as well as having someone there to answer any questions they may have.

Two main aspects to consider when launching a pop up is location and design. For example, Aldi picked London as this is where people spend the most on their online wine range. Secondly, they let customers order the wine on tablets in store to tie in with the e-commerce platform launch. 

BETC and its social media campaigns  ‘Like My Addiction’

In August a popular Instagram account was launched. Louise Delage filled our Instagram feeds with glamorous photos at parties, fancy restaurants and on holiday. However, more importantly each photo showed Louise with a drink in her hand or a bottle in her bag.

It was later revealed as a campaign to raise awareness of alcoholism in young people from agency BETC for Addict Aide. The ‘Like My Addiction’ campaign illustrated how easily alcoholism can go unnoticed and even be ‘liked’ on social media.

With over 50,000 likes and 65,000 followers, BETC said they post two to three times a day during high traffic periods - morning, lunchtime and late at night. Each post included between 20 – 30 popular hashtags. They even set up a bot to follow and like relevant Instagram posts to boost the profile.

Social media is a powerful tool when promoting a brand. With interesting content, consistency and engagement BETC was able to create a big following and awareness for their campaign. Since the campaign many publications have written about ‘Like My Addiction’, as well as trending on Twitter. Click here to view the campaign video.

Read also how to effectively use social media to boost your PR.

Ella's Kitchen partnering with Save the Children

In December Ella’s Kitchen created a Christmas film to celebrate their partnership with Save the Children. ‘Down Town Babby’ promoted their limited edition ‘Jingle Belly’ Christmas Dinner pouch, 30p of which was donated to Save the Children. The film played on the idea of Downtown Abby’s Christmas special, piggybacking on a subject which is popular during the festive season.

By partnering with a charity Ella’s Kitchen were able to promote Save the Children and their cause in a fun and exciting way, leading to Save the Children being mentioned in all coverage and ‘Jingle Belly’ being sold out across the UK. Click here to see Down Town Babby.

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Written By: Camilla Holroyd, Media Relations Executive

Camilla is the all-important portal between JournoLink's businesses and journalists; connecting them on a daily basis through press releases, Twitter engagements and editorial requests.