Innovative design competition organised by housing and care specialist enjoyed multiple bites of the media cherry

Is your business interested in getting at least three times more postive media coverage than a basic PR campaign would deliver? This case study is part of our ‘Multiple Bites Of the Cherry’ series, showing how businesses like yours get more by working with our PR agency.

NOBODY wants to be greedy. But when it comes to positive media coverage for a business, it makes sense to get as much as you can.

More so when the business involved is Scotland’s leading housing and care provider which helps people with disabilities, impairments and age-related conditions to live independent and fulfilling lives.

So the team at Holyrood PR in Scotland were delighted when our ‘multiple bites of the cherry’ approach helped  our client Blackwood to hit the media coverage jackpot.

Blackwood was organising a Dragons’ Den style event and we dazzled them with a smart triple play to rework the story in a variety of different ways for maximum results – with a pre-release, a follow up release and a video push.

BITE ONE OF THE CHERRY – THE PRE RELEASE

Successfully digging out positive stories on behalf of our public relations clients, then sharing them with the widest possible audience is the most fundamental aspect of the work at our Edinburgh PR agency.
That takes a great deal of care and thought, to makes sure each story is told in the right way – but also to the right audience and at the best possible time.
That timing was all important for our Blackwood, the Edinburgh-based housing and care specialist, when it arranged the Dragons’ Den style panel for entrants in its annual student design competition.
We sent out an advance media release explaining how the event would discover and champion innovative ideas to improve standards of living for those with physical or mental disabilities. The winner not only gets a £500 prize but backing to see their design make it to the big time.
With such a strong story line our team of PR experts secured key coverage in the Edinburgh Evening News, Scottish Business News Network and care titles such as the SFHA, Scotland Housing News and Care Home News.

BITE TWO OF THE CHERRY – ANNOUNCING THE WINNER

The competition took place at Blackwood’s brand new tech-care inspired office at Dundee Street, Edinburgh and saw entries come in from all over the globe with competitors located as far away as America pitching via Skype to land the top prize.
However, the top honour went to Oxford University Biomedical Engineering student, Kirubin Pillay with his remarkable design for a smart electric wheelchair guided by eye movements.
He will now receive invaluable backing from Blackwood’s partners in a bid to turn his design into a working reality that could offer a life changing transport for people with the most severe physical disabilities.
His innovation is based on a typical electric wheelchair. However, it includes an additional electric module added to the frame, which communicates with the existing wheelchair electronics while also connecting to a commercial eye-tracker and laptop mounted on the back of the chair.
The laptop uses a smart algorithm to interpret eye positions, allowing the user to intuitively direct its movements.
After the Dragons’ Den style team made their decision to recognise Kirubin’s innovative use of technology, we were on standby with full and thorough information to share the win with the world.
Targeting all the right media saw us earn coverage for the story in a range of important and influential titles, including the Evening Times, Economic Voice, The Carer UK, and Care Industry News – with more expected to follow

BITE THREE OF THE CHERRY – PR VIDEO STORY TELLING

To deliver even greater value to Blackwood, we also made sure the entire event was captured on video.
Video content is a sure fire way to boost a PR campaign, as it is shareable across multiple platforms, including websites, Facebook and other social media.
It is also a high impact way to boost SEO, making websites more findable on Google and other search engines.
Potential clients and customers also love video, as one of the fastest-growing and easiest ways to access and absorb important information.
With YouTube achieving four billion views per day globally, positioning it as the world’s second biggest search engine, being present is less of a desirable option – it is a business necessity.
Here at Holyrood PR in Edinburgh we have offered professional video as part of our PR services for more than five years, working with clients including giant utilities, global catering and hospitality experts, care providers, luxury hotels and windfarm developers, to name just a few.
So, we are on hand to capture the Dragons’ Den event and you can watch the results, below:

That video wasn’t just shared with Blackwood’s network of customers, partners and stakeholder, it was shared with the student design community and will be available to view on line – at any time – for anyone else who is interested.

Check out other examples of how businesses like yours in a range of different sectors have enjoyed more bites of the cherry, thanks to incisive and inventive PR campaigns  by our award-winning public relations agency. You can see other examples of real businesses benefitting from real results in our ‘Multiple Bites Of The Cherry’ guide.

Smart businesses deserve more – and smart businesses get more when they partner with our Scottish PR Agency

We’d love the chance to demonstrate how effective and creative public relations could deliver real, tangible business benefits to your organisation – and it costs nothing for an initial consultation.

Why not get in touch with as straigth away? We’re a friendly and chatty bunch and can be contacted on 0131 561 2244. Or take a few seconds to fill out the simple form, below, and we’ll get straight back to you: