Think Tanks saw launch day figures skyrocket, thanks to social media and digital PR experts

HOW DOES a new Think Tank make a Big Bang?

It might sound like the feed line for particularly esoteric joke, but we’re perfectly serious here.

When the new think tank, Scotianomics launched in 2020 it faced the same dilemma as any new venture: how to cut through and catch public attention?

Happily, bosses at Scotianomics had already done the heavy thinking and decided to call in the expert team here at Holyrood PR. We were only too happy to add digital PR rocket fuel to their tank – and helped their website go from 0-40,000 in no time.

Our mini launch campaign introducing Scotianomics to the world delivered these stunning results:

• More than 41,000 website visitors
• Almost 15,000 web visitors on launch day alone
• Generated almost 79,000 website page views
• More than 23,000 web referrals from related media coverage
• Almost 8000 referrals from social media mentions
• Hundreds of visits to pages where downloadable reports were available

All this in the space of just two weeks. Yowser.

Any self-respecting social media influencer would be kicking their height (probably on Tik-Tok or Instagram) if they’d delivered results like that.

Any SEO specialist would be gleefully grinding out a Google-friendly case study to seed the internet with their success.

Any digital strategists would be preparing a presentation PowerPoint deck for their next Web 3.0 disruption masterclass.

What none of them could possibly match is the fact that these incredible digital PR outcomes were not the objective. They were a happy side-effect. That’s right, these stellar takeaways were an added extra; not quite an afterthought, but a pleasant part of the afterburn.

But how is that possible? You might well ask.

Here’s a sultry little secret that virtually no-one will tell you. D’you know that old-fashioned, untrendy and inky-fingered entity known as the media? Unfashionable and unloved it might be – but it still delivers like a postman on steroids when it comes to creating reach and cut through.

Yup, our main objective for Scotianomics was to deliver good, old-fashioned media relations. To get the organisation coverage in print newspapers, online news sites, business titles and broadcast outlets. The kind of thing that is beyond most social media influencers, SEO specialists and digital strategists.

We took two reports from the big brains behind Scotianmoics and parcelled them up for a media audience. One was about Scotland’s most likely Coronavirus hotspots, based on multiple data points (and including an interactive map). The second was a survey of Scottish businesses and how they expected to weather the pandemic.

Between them those stories helped Scotianomics splashdown with huge impact – ensuring it announced its arrival on the Think Tank scene in a big way. How big? This big:

• 105 items of media coverage – reaching a total audience of 2.4m
• The first project generated at least 56 significant items of media coverage
• That created an audience reach of 1.2m
• The value of that coverage was almost £580,000
• It included 24 print articles – and another 32 items of online coverage
• In all, 16 of the articles were in major, national publications.
• The second project yielded 49 significant items of media coverage
• That project achieving a total reach of at least 1.2m – worth more than £60,000
• Coverage from the second project included 40 online articles, eight print articles – and one major broadcast item

This immense media coverage left the client blown away – far exceeding expectations in terms of reach, quality and SEO value. But best of all, it also drove the massive spike in website traffic, delivering additional value and smashing all targets.

Find out how unrivalled media relations can unlock huge PR gains for your business

 We’re well-known for being among the best in the business when it come to media relatons. But digital PR and social media are our secret superpowers – and we’d love to help your business benefit.

Getting in touch with us for a friendly, hassle-free consultation couldn’t be easier. Call us on 0131 561 2244 or take a few seconds to fill and submit the simple form below and we’ll get straight back to you.