Is PR on your marketing Christmas list?

By Jen McIlroy
9 December, 2024
Uncategorized

General elections, an Olympics, Taylor Swift continuing her world domination. It’s fair to say A LOT has happened this year. In a world where AI can create deepfake videos in seconds, PR has never been so important, with media coverage still the number one trusted source for getting our news.

As we say goodbye to 2024, and look to 2025, here are five reflections on why PR should be on the top of your marketing Christmas list, and how to take it to the next level:

If you’re worried about budgets, PR can be far more cost effective than advertising

And yes it can have just as big as an impact, like when we got people queuing for a record-breaking 18.5 hours to be the first to try Popeyes in Scotland, making it the longest queue time of any Popeyes opening: https://mucklemedia.co.uk/Case-Studies/popeyes/

It has the opportunity to go worldwide

Don’t believe us? See how we got the world talking about Loch Ness: https://mucklemedia.co.uk/delivering-press-coverage-on-a-global-scale/

When done strategically, it has the opportunity to show up outside of traditional PR channels

Like when we got pet influencers talking about how they were celebrating Halloween with Bella + Duke, in our influencer-first campaign: https://www.instagram.com/p/DB1Af5Lo9NE/?hl=en&img_index=5

A picture paints a thousand words

You want to take your story to the next level? A creative photo can often say more than any press release. Like when commuters found scarves on dog statues around Edinburgh for the launch of Edinburgh Dog & Cat Home’s Winter Appeal https://www.instagram.com/p/DB8vCsPIJYa/?hl=en&img_index=1

Lockdown is in the past. Events are back

Despite an ever-increasing digital world, people want to experience things IRL. We helped Rio Steakhouse launch their very first VIP Wine Masterclass, combining the restaurant’s Brazilian Churrascso style dining with six selected wines from the world-famous Zuccardi Valle de Eco Winery: https://www.instagram.com/p/DByxfvZskZR/?img_index=1

If you want to hear how we can help elevate your PR in 2025, get in touch.

Muckle Media sponsors Purpose Led Business category at Women’s Enterprise Scotland Awards

By Jen McIlroy
4 October, 2024
Uncategorized

The Women’s Enterprise Scotland Awards, which recognise established and emerging women business leaders from across Scotland, are awards that are close to our hearts here at Muckle Media after the agency took home the ‘Growth Business of the Year’ accolade at last year’s awards.

Last night, we had the honour of attending the 2024 awards at the voco Grand Central Hotel in Glasgow, where we acted as the sponsor for the Purpose Led Business Award. As Scotland’s first PR agency to become a B-Corp, it’s an award category that we’re passionate about.

With a shortlist of outstanding companies that demonstrate a clear purpose and huge impact in their respective sectors, each nominee was truly deserving of the award. We extend our congratulations to all included in the line-up – egg, Fairlie Curved, Flexibility Works, MoneyMatiX Ltd, Stitch the Gap CIC, Studio Lutalica – and are thrilled for the award winner, MoneyMatix, which took home the coveted award!

MoneyMatix offers a unique blend of practical financial tools, immersive educational programs, and engaging multimedia resources to transform your relationship with money.

Last night’s awards were a true testament to the truly talented women-led businesses trailblazing Scotland and beyond. Adding to the glitzy evening which saw ten fantastic businesses receive awards was a keynote speech delivered by President of TechUK Sheila Flavell.

Our MD and Founder of Muckle Media accepted last year’s award and presented this year’s Purpose Led Business Award, Nathalie Agnew, said: “As Scotland’s first PR agency to become a B-Corp we were thrilled to sponsor the Purpose Led Business of the Year Award and the winner was truly deserving, demonstrating a clear purpose and huge impact in their sector. The Women’s Enterprise Scotland Awards is a fantastic opportunity to celebrate the success of female entrepreneurs across Scotland and highlight the continuing gaps in support for the different needs of female business owners. WES does a great job in campaigning for more support, which in turn leads to better economic outcomes.”

Muckle Media’s marketing stars align at The Marketing Society Scotland’s Awards 2024

By Jen McIlroy
8 July, 2024
Uncategorized

We celebrated four award wins at this year’s Marketing Society Scotland’s Star Awards, taking home three gold wins for our work with Popeyes in the Communications Category for PR, Sector Category for Retail & Hospitality and our very own Managing Director Nathalie Agnew FCIPR took home Inspirational Agency Leader of the Year.

Putting the ‘aye’ in Popeyes, the Taste team – our specialist hospitality division, stopped traffic and broke global brand sales records when launching the brand’s first Scottish restaurant in Barrhead.

People queued for a record-breaking 18.5 hours, with influencer posts reaching over 1.3 million views across Instagram and TikTok and 82 pieces of press coverage.

Taking home silver in the Communications Category for PR was our client, the Loch Ness Centre for its legendary PR campaign, Nessie or Nonsense which saw us launch the largest ever search for Nessie, The Quest. Our Inverness-based team know that Nessie is more relevant to an international audience than a local one, so our campaign strategy had to focus on dialling up the Loch Ness Monster story for wider UK and international audiences.

Over a four-week period, we generated over 2,300 pieces of coverage for The Quest with media secured across the globe.

Our Loch Ness Centre client team were also honoured with the Chairman’s Award for Small to Medium Enterprise.

Nathalie Agnew, founder and Managing Director of Muckle Media, said: “We love creating campaigns that help our clients achieve their goals, and it’s wonderful to have our hard work recognised by industry peers. Working with Popeyes and the Loch Ness Centre achieved mass brand awareness and showcased the impact of PR on business growth. I’m immensely proud of the Muckle team for their creativity and hard work. Winning four awards at the Marketing Society Scotland Star Awards is a huge honor, and I thank the judges, our clients, and the Muckle team for making it possible.”

Read more about our award-winning work here.

Muckle Media acquires Spey

By Jen McIlroy
4 July, 2024
Uncategorized

Scotland’s first two PR agencies to certify as B-Corps are coming together, after Muckle Media acquired 100% of Spey’s shares, making it a fully owned subsidiary.

The deal, which grows the collective team at the two agencies to over 35 people, is a further step in Muckle Media’s ambitious growth plans, following the successful acquisition and integration of food, drink and hospitality communications brand, Taste Communications, in 2022, and award-winning PR agency Platform PR in 2015.

At the recent PRCA DARE Scotland Awards, Muckle Media was named best large agency and Spey was named best medium agency, so it is fitting that the two brands are coming together. Spey was set up in Speyside to deliver PR balancing profit with purpose, contributing in particular to the local community by creating jobs where there were not before. In March, Spey launched the first ever tracking tool to measure the climate impact of PR activity.

Muckle and Spey will both continue to operate separately, with client teams across consumer, corporate, spirits, hospitality and tourism continuing to serve existing clients and win new business.

Jennifer Robertson, owner and founding partner of Spey, said: “After almost a decade growing Spey, I think it is a good time for a new chapter in my career and life. It has been a privilege to build the agency working with the very best colleagues and to serve clients from every corner of the globe, with whom I have had the honour of a lifetime to work with.

“I have been thinking for some time about what I want to do with the next stage of my career, while juggling the joy and challenges of being a mother to young children and continuing to contribute to the organisations and industries that I am passionate about.

“In Nathalie, who hails from the Highlands and whose company is also a member of the B-Corp community, there is clear shared values and purpose, running a successful agency with a presence across rural and urban Scotland.

“I leave the company in great health with a highly talented team across our offices in Speyside and Edinburgh, working with the finest group of clients. I wish Nathalie and the now much bigger team the very best in this next exciting step of their journey.”

Nathalie Agnew, managing director and founder of Muckle Media, said: “Jennifer has done a fantastic job at growing a values-led, strategic communications agency, very closely aligned to the values at Muckle Media. From Muckle Media’s first office in the Highlands of Scotland, to our now Edinburgh based HQ, we have been on similar journeys, and both focused on delivering the best strategic and creative work for brands that we love, with consideration for more than just shareholder profit.

“I’m excited to continue to build upon Spey’s success, working closely with the skilled team to deliver long term results that deliver business impact. We look forward to investing further in the team and brand and building upon successes to date.”

Spey doubled its client base in 2023, with new clients including the world’s most awarded single malt, Glenfiddich; Scotland’s number one food brand, Graham’s Family Dairy; engineering company Briggs of Burton; the UK’s oldest wine and spirits merchant, Berry Bros and Rudd Spirits; and Europe’s longest established solar company, AES Solar.

Robertson will exit the business following a brief handover. Muckle Media was advised by Mark Probert at Cactus and Hybrid Legal and Spey Media was advised by AAB and Ennova Law.

Iain Valentine Appointed as Non-Executive Chair of Muckle Media

By Jen McIlroy
28 May, 2024
Uncategorized

Iain Valentine Appointed as Non-Executive Chair of Muckle Media

Muckle Media, the creative communications agency, has appointed Iain Valentine as its first Non-Executive Chair. With a wealth of experience in leading award-winning digital, creative, and brand agencies, Iain brings over 25 years of strategic leadership and agency growth to Muckle Media, the first Scottish PR Agency to achieve B-Corp certification. Iain’s appointment follows the recent promotion of Muckle Media’s former creative lead, Jacquelyn Whyte, to director responsible for creative thinking and business development.

Iain spent 17 years as Creative Director, co-owner and Managing Partner of Edinburgh creative digital agency Whitespace (now Dentsu Creative). Iain has a proven track record of growth, leading an MBO followed by external acquisition and integration into global network Dentsu. In 2020, Iain took the position of CEO at Isobar UK– Dentsu’s global digital experience and transformation agency, responsible for over 400 people and £24m in revenue. Most recently, Valentine held a leadership and transformation role as Group Managing Director of Dentsu Creative before stepping down in 2022 to pursue a portfolio career.

Commenting on his appointment, Iain said: “I am incredibly excited to take on this new role as part of the progressive and dynamic leadership at Muckle Media. The team’s alignment to B-Corp certification and depth of commitment to its people and culture align with my own beliefs and are key to success in a modern agency.”

As Non-Executive Chair, Iain will play a pivotal role in guiding Muckle Media’s leadership team’s strategic direction, leveraging his extensive experience and industry insights to support the agency’s ambitious growth plans.

Founder and Managing Director of Muckle Media, Nathalie Agnew, welcomed Iain’s appointment, stating, “We are really looking forward to working with Iain as we continue to grow an exciting, impactful and creative agency that helps leave the world in a better place. Iain’s impressive track record leading the growth of Whitespace means he has overcome many of the challenges facing agencies and also identified and worked through many of the opportunities for growth, so his insights will be invaluable. Iain’s approach to agency advisory services is well aligned against our values and I look forward to working with him as we continue to sustainably grow the business.”

Iain’s appointment as Non-Executive Chair signifies an exciting new chapter for Muckle Media, as the agency continues to solidify its position as a leading force in the creative communications industry in Scotland and beyond.

Muckle Media’s leadership team, who will work closely with Iain, is made up of Nathalie Agnew, founder and managing director; Chris Batchelor, director (client service); Linsay Brown, director (people and culture) and Jacquelyn Whyte, director (creativity and business development).

With a strong focus on employer brand and ongoing development into its “Bright Ideas. Realised.” strategic planning framework, Muckle Media is firmly earning its position as one of Scotland’s top creative communications agencies with a specialism in earned media and influencer relations. It works with brands including the Scottish Government, The National Trust for Scotland and Bella & Duke pet food.

Muckle Media celebrates 10th birthday with seven new staff members, continued growth and award wins

By Jen McIlroy
7 November, 2022
Uncategorized

Muckle Media celebrates 10th birthday with seven new staff members, continued growth and award wins

Muckle Media is celebrating a decade of award-winning work, including recent wins at the CIPR Awards, and being named Scotland’s Large Consultancy of the year 2022 at the PRCA DARE Award.

Following sustained growth, the team is excited to welcome four new staff members.

Kirsty Anderson has joined the Edinburgh team as an Account Director. Kirsty has a passion for retail and specialises in consumer and corporate relations, having previously led on the Scottish PR for national retailer, M&S, for six years.

Vicky Tibbitt has joined the Glasgow team as an Account Manager, working across the agency’s B2B accounts. Vicky has a large range of experience across the public and third sectors, including social enterprise.

Olivia Messina, from New York, has joined the team as a Senior Account Executive. Olivia’s passion for food will make her a fantastic asset to the agency’s food and drink clients. Claire Blair also joins the Muckle Media team as PA and Event Manager, her years of experience working in London and Glasgow as a top agency PA and internationally as an event manager have given her the integral skills to assist with any project.

Furthermore, we are also delighted to welcome three new trainees to the team, as the agency continues to commit in developing the future talent in the industry. Amy Anthoney, Ellen Carter and Kirsten McKenna have all joined as trainee PR account executives.

Several of the existing agency team have also been promoted, in line with the agency’s focus on offering a rewarding career path and promoting within. Toni Dowling becomes Account Manager, Bobby Thomson is promoted to Senior Account Executive and Maddie Cairnduff moves up to Account Executive. The agency has also continued to invest in Taste Communications, following its acquisition in April 2022.

Our Managing Director and Muckle Media Founder, Nathalie Agnew was working in London advising top global consumer brands on impactful communications strategy, before moving back to Scotland to start her own business. Muckle Media started in Dingwall and over 10 years Nathalie has grown the agency to have offices in Edinburgh, Glasgow, Inverness, and Aberdeen as well as team members working remotely across the country.

Nathalie Agnew, Managing Director at Muckle Media said: “This month has been particularly exciting for Muckle, as we celebrate a decade full of award-winning work, we are now welcoming seven new staff members to join our growing team. It’s been an amazing journey and as the agency continues to grow we are looking forward to seeing what the next decade has in store for us, as we deliver the best work possible for our clients.”

Muckle Media has continued to grow throughout the year with a number of new client wins including the UK’s number one travel agent, Barrhead Travel, worldwide distributor of office supplies and workplace services, Lyreco, and business support group, UMi.

For more information on Muckle Media and the services we offer please get in touch at [email protected]

Muckle Media flies high with Barrhead Travel appointment

By Jen McIlroy
9 June, 2022
Uncategorized

Muckle Media flies high with Barrhead Travel appointment

We are delighted to have been appointed by the UK’s number one travelagent Barrhead Travel, an Internova Travel Group company, to support with its PR on a retained basis.

Following a competitive pitch process, Muckle Media was appointed to support BarrheadTravel on a number of campaign activations and announcements throughout 2022 and beyond, including continued support of the brand’s “Book Human, Book Barrhead Travel” campaign that launched at the start of the year.

Muckle Media Director, Chris Batchelor, said: “As the travel sector gets back up and running again, we’re delighted to be working alongside the UK’s number one travel agent and promote all the fantastic work they’re doing. We have loved getting to know the team at Barrhead Travel and looking forward to working with, and becoming an extension of, the team over the course of 2022 to make sure it is a success.”

Jacqueline Dobson, President of Barrhead Travel, said: “Travel is, finally, on the minds of consumers across the country after two long years of lockdown and we have plenty of news to share as travellers return to their high street agencies.

“We’re really pleased to be working with Muckle Media who demonstrated excellent knowledge of retail PR activity and creative solutions to some of our most complex messaging challenges.”

This latest win for Muckle Media forms part of the creative agencies continued growth over the last 12 months following the acquisition with food and drink agency Taste Communications.

Muckle Media scores with sponsorship of Ratho United 2016s

By Jen McIlroy
28 March, 2022
Uncategorized

Muckle Media scores with sponsorship of Ratho United 2016s

We are delighted to be sponsoring local youth football club Ratho United, with its logo appearing on the 2016 teams’ kit.

Established in 2020, Ratho United Youth Football Club is passionate about creating an inclusive and accessible environment for youngsters to train and play football with their friends.

The community football club which welcomes girls and boys aged between 5 and 11 will don the Muckle Media logo across their newest team – 2016s – strips which are worn to the weekly training sessions, friendly matches and tournaments.

The club is dedicated to promoting and developing health and fitness in children, aligned with our commitment to giving back to the communities it works in.

Putting inclusivity at the forefront of their mission, Ratho United is passionate about creating a space which fosters friendships, community spirit, respect and sportsmanship.

Nathalie Agnew, Managing Director at Muckle Media said; “The positive and inclusive ethos of Ratho United Football Club is something that resonates strongly with the team at Muckle Media. We are very passionate about finding ways in which we can positively contribute to communities and provide help and funding where possible. Sponsoring Ratho United 2016s is something which we are very excited about and thrilled to be a part of.”

Mikey Stewart, Volunteer Coach and Committee Member at Ratho United said; “We are delighted that Muckle Media has joined us as a sponsor, helping support the formation of our latest year group of 2016s. Community spirit is one of Ratho United’s core values, so we are pleased to partner with local businesses that work in our communities.”

Muckle Media is First Scottish PR agency to achieve B-Corp status

By Jen McIlroy
20 January, 2022
Uncategorized

Muckle Media is First Scottish PR agency to achieve B-Corp status

Commitment to Fair Work and Community Engagement Supports Certification

Due to its commitment to goals beyond profit, Muckle Media is now officially a B Corporation organisation. The creative Scottish PR agency joins big name brands such as Beauty Kitchen, STV, Patagonia and The Body Shop in certifying and pledging to deliver impact through its business model.

Programmes including Muckle Media’s Returners to Communications Programme and Kickstart trainee scheme supported the application, along with Living Wage employer status. Transparency within agency operations and a commitment to continued professional development were also important.

B Corp Certification expects high standard, verified performance in a huge range of social and environmental issues from evaluating your organisation’s mission to reviewing employee benefits and evaluating waste disposal. Complete transparency and accountability are required throughout the process, which involves working with an assessor and evidencing a broad selection of ethical business processes.

Maintaining certification is just as rigorous as achieving the status in the first place and requires involvement and dedication from the whole team. By becoming a B-Corp, Muckle Media has committed to continuing to measure, manage, and improve on the positive impact it has on the environment, employees, clients, the PR community, and all those around us.

Muckle Media MD, Nathalie Agnew said, “Becoming fully B-Corp certified is a fantastic achievement that the entire team is incredibly proud of. We also appreciate that with this comes a responsibility to fulfil our ongoing commitment and dedication to continuously improve our social and environmental standards. Our pledges to environmental, social and corporate governance issues are at the heart of our business and underpin our strategy for significant growth this year.”

“It has been a lengthy process to get to this point and we recognise that this is only the start of our B-Corp journey. We have a long way to go to achieve our impact ambitions, but we are delighted to become part of this prestigious group of leading organisations that have also reached B-Corp status and are paving the way in the global movement for an inclusive, equitable, and regenerative economy.”

The initial assessment requires a minimum verified score of 80 points to continue with the process, thereafter any gaps are considered to be a work in progress and areas to focus on going forward.

As listed on www.bcorporation.net, in order to achieve certification, a company must:

Demonstrate high social and environmental performance by achieving a B Impact Assessment score of 80 or above and passing a risk review.
Make a legal commitment by changing their corporate governance structure to be accountable to all stakeholders, not just shareholders, and achieve benefit corporation status if available in their jurisdiction.
Exhibit transparency by allowing information about their performance measured against B Lab’s standards to be publicly available on their B Corp profile on B Lab’s website.

If you are thinking about becoming B-Corp certified and have any questions, please get in touch. We would love to share our experience and tips with you or support you with the process in any way we can.

Cutting through the noise on Super Thursday

By Jen McIlroy
14 January, 2022
Uncategorized

Super Thursday, as its known within the publishing industry, is the busiest day in the publishing calendar – the day that more books come out than on any other. With only around 300 published on October 14 2021, Super Thursday was the lightest in years. But while fewer titles were released, last year’s line-up was extremely strong, with the likes of Billy Connolly’s first full memoir, John le Carre’s final novel, a raft of cookery titles from household names such as Jamie Oliver, Nigel Slater (and not forgetting Peter Sawkins and The Hebridean Baker, which we at Muckle Media successfully launched) competing for best seller status.

With so many high-profile books jostling for position at the top of the charts, it is the job of the publishing PR to create clever, creative campaigns to cut through the noise and ensure that the book and author receive as much publicity as possible, in turn creating all important sales.

PR has always had a large role to play in the promotion of books. Once, publishers used to pay for space in bookshops (such as 3 for 2 offers), but there are fewer opportunities like these nowadays. And as books tend to have a small target audience compared to a mass public audience which some brands enjoy, advertising isn’t an option which many publishers invest in. Authors need a competitive edge which gets them in front of their target audience, so PR is an extremely effective tool for increasing awareness and therefore sales.

An average of 180,000 books a year are published in the UK making the competition for review space in newspapers and magazines fierce. The publicist therefore has to look for effective and imaginative ways in which to promote the book and the author and ensure that the correct audience is being targeted. Interviews, podcasts, events, competitions, opinion pieces, Q&As, social media… the ways in which a PR can promote an author and their new book are vast.

TV and Radio are hugely important when it comes to increasing book sales. We at Muckle Media experienced this first-hand when we were promoting Great British Bake Off 2020 winner, Peter Sawkins’ new book, Peter Bakes, this summer. After securing Peter an interview on the much-coveted BBC Radio 2 Zoe Ball show, Peter Bakes jumped from number 44 to number 3 in Amazon’s Baking Best seller list and whizzed down to number 49 on Amazon’s overall best selling book chart. And after securing The Hebridean Baker a baking demonstration spot on This Morning, we were thrilled to see his book leap from number 27 to number 4 on Amazon’s best selling charts, demonstrating again that the proof is certainly in the pudding that PR is an extremely powerful tool when it comes to book sales.

Here are our essentials for a successful book campaign:

1. Ensure you have the right collateral ready before you reach out to media – an AI (advance information) sheet, images of the author and the book cover, advance copies (digital versions are fine), and importantly – have you read the book?!
2. Know who your target audience is and identify the best media to reach that audience. Be creative and think outside the box!
3. Be available for interviews and events – even the most successful authors go on book tours. In the year before his death, Charles Dickens gave a series of readings around Britain.
4. Be active on social media and connect with relevant followers

Best of 2021

By Jen McIlroy
10 January, 2022
Uncategorized

2021 is finally over. Phew. As we look ahead to 2022, we wanted to appreciate some of the amazing work we saw over the last 12 months in the industry we love. Below is a pick of some of our favourite campaigns (that weren’t delivered by us!), what was your favourite work of 2021?

Nathalie – The Bounty Return Scheme

I love this campaign by creative PR heavyweights Taylor Herring. Based on a clear insight (consumer research that showed the Bounty is the least loved Celebration chocolate) – they devised a creative campaign aligning Bountys with another unloved Christmas food – the humble Brussels Sprout. The campaign itself is brave for Mars – it’s putting down a popular chocolate bar from their range. But the advert and subsequent PR generated significant media interest and cut through, which I’m sure sold lots of chocolate treats and sparked debate on favourite Christmas food. The simplicity and creativity shines through, making it my favourite campaign of the year, it’s a great example of PR driving ‘through the line’ success. Image credit: Taylor Herring / Mars Wrigley’s

Jen – Irn Bru “A phenomenal panto”

Nothing says a Scottish Christmas like a panto and a can of Irn Bru to wave away those festive blues. I loved seeing the pairing between Irn-Bru and one of my favourite drag queen’s Lawrence Chaney as “The Fairy Godmaw”.

A vision in orange and blue, Lawrence delivered on Irn Bru’s tongue and cheek humour aswell as gaining widespread coverage and driving online conversation.

Despite production worries, it was a great way for Irn-Bru to end the year after Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez grabbed headlines when sampling the much loved drink at this year’s COP26.

Well done, hen.Image credit: agbarr / Leith Agency / John Doe

Chris – Aldi launches its own clothing range

Aldi are the masters of not taking themselves too seriously. We all still talk about #FreeCuthbert (and round 2 with the Christmas gin), but I really loved the launch of the Aldi Mania clothing range as part of its Specialbuy range.

The range of men’s, women’s and unisex clothes was launched with a genius advert that took a cheeky swipe at a well-known sports brand, and media loved it. That, paired with tonnes of coverage, and influencers like Tommy Fury showcasing the range, meant it sold out instantly (another PR story itself). All resulting in the release of a winter collection range, launched with an online catwalk show with models sporting the full range strutting down Aldi’s celebrated middle aisle, which was available to watch on its Facebook and Twitter pages.

As LADbible put it: ‘Fair play to Aldi, the company certainly seems to understand how this whole marketing thing works.’Image credit: Aldi UK

Jess – Caramilk Just Ask An Aussie

We all have those holiday favourites that you stock up on when away and wish were sold locally. Cadbury Caramilk played on this, and that Aussie sense of humour, with their latest creative campaign.

Previously only available to buy Down Under, who better to extoll the virtues of one of their favourite treats for the UK launch than the passionate Aussies themselves. I loved the playfulness of this campaign from Mondelez and global creative agency, VCCP London, which featured real life quotes from Aussies on the chocolate wrappers, like “You’re rather have it than financial stability”.

If that wasn’t enough, Brits were also given the option to ask an Aussie themselves to find out exactly why the product was such a favourite, with billboards offering up an actual Aussie for people to quiz all things Caramilk. Targeted at UK millennials this bold campaign and great photo opp certainly captured the imagination and let fans themselves do the talking.Image credit: Cadbury / VCCP London

Lynsay – Specsavers ‘It’s Coming Home’

The phrase ‘it’s coming home’ was practically the sound of British summer last year as the long-awaited 2020 Euros finally took place. Naturally, PR agencies across the country also tried to ‘bring it home’ by using the Euros in their creative campaigns, but no one did it quite as well as Specsavers.

Partnering with Tangerine Communications, Specsavers created a billboard which copied the form of a traditional eye chart, but with one important twist. Instead of a selection of random letters decreasing in size, the chart humorously spelled out the drunken chant that we’ve all come to know and love, ‘it’s coming home’.

Not only was their billboard an incredibly creative way to jump on a current trend, but it also did a great job of connecting British people during a trying time with something universal and relatable.

Image credit: Specsavers / Tangerine

Following COP26 the spotlight is firmly on sustainability, so how should consumer brands be behaving?

By Jen McIlroy
30 November, 2021
Uncategorized

Scotland played host to the 26th UN Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26) in Glasgow earlier this month and there was no way you could miss it as it took over news agendas, social channels and general conversation.

Designed to bring parties together to accelerate action towards the goals of the Paris Agreement and the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, the need for change was made clear but what is the desire for these changes and what does this mean for consumer brands?

While brands measure success in various ways, a common theme is always going to be profit. Sustainability, along with ethics, are values we now see running through the culture of some consumer brands but others are still almost exclusively focused on the bottom line and the numbers.

The pandemic is thought to have already shifted consumer behaviours as people realise they need less stuff and instead want more experiences and according to YouGov, who surveyed 2,000+ UK adults earlier this year, sustainability came out as a key consideration for consumers today, with 32% claiming to be highly engaged with adopting a more sustainable lifestyle.
As many as 28% of those surveyed went as far as to say that they have actively stopped buying products due to ethical or environmental concerns. If you focus in on generation Z alone (24-year-olds and under), that number jumps from 28% to a massive 45%. Gen Z are the future and as wealth transfers to this younger generation, sustainability and ethics need to become standard practice and brands will need to exhibit transparency to appeal to this newer consumer.

With every generation, sustainability will only become more and more ingrained in purchasing decisions. Most brands have started the conversation and taken some action regarding their sustainability credentials (and they’d be mad not to) but it is clear they must take meaningful action now to make their products more sustainable and build accountability into their values. If they don’t, their survival time is likely limited (which is a better outcome than the planet’s survival being limited).

We saw some brands make commitments at COP26 and only time will tell what legacy comes from the conference but it’s clear that consumers are now watching and they have never been so conscious of their spending decisions so brands need to take notice.

EasyJet’s attendance at COP26 saw them announce their desire to be the first to fly passengers in hydrogen-powered Airbus aircrafts from 2035 and British fashion brands including Burberry, Stella McCartney and Mulberry took part in a fashion show at the global event, pledging their commitment to making changes for the good of the environment.
While organisations look at ways to meet their consumers increasingly environmentally conscious needs, and promote these credentials to their existing and potential customers, it’s important that ‘greenwashing’ is not a part of the communications process.

‘Greenwashing’ is essentially a tactic we have seen adopted by some organisations who understand the importance of the sustainability message but instead of taking real action they are using their marketing and PR to trick consumers into thinking their products are more environmentally friendly.
This is not a smart move and as we’ve seen with brands who have done this before, it will come back to bite them and ultimately showcase them as a brand that is not trustworthy. It is therefore vital that organisations actually commit to greener values and carefully consider how they communicate their efforts to avoid backlash. Transparency is now too important for any brand to ignore.