Never a dull moment in public relations

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From chocolate brussel sprouts to dare devil grannies – there is never a dull moment working in PR


Holidays!
WORKING in public relations has given us a number of opportunities to attend glamourous parties, mix with A-list celebs and jet set off around the world.

If you’d like to get a job in PR for all of these reasons then you are going to be pretty disappointed, as none of the words above are true.

Although George Clooney did recently have lunch at our client Tigerlily’s restaurant  and while we didn’t get to meet him,  our director Raymond did manage to acquire the star’s table place card with George’s name on it.

A lot of people have a grand vision about the PR industry, and while we can definitely say that PR is an enjoyable and fulfilling career worth pursuing it is vital that you have an honest view of what the job actually involves (hint you won’t be partying with the likes of Rhianna – unless you have a friend named so).

But there is a lot to love in the PR game and one thing is for sure – there is never a dull moment. That is proven by the variety of weird and wonderful stories we have covered over the years. So, to show exactly how fun PR can be here’s a recap of some of our recent favourites:


CHOCOLATE BRUSSELS SPROUTS

 

Chocolate coated sprouts proved a public relations hitWe came up with a plan to help frustrated parents find a solution to convince their kids to eat brussel sprouts – with a little help from some expert chocolatiers.

The much-maligned vegetable is a festive staple, yet regularly tops polls as one of the nation’s least
favourite greens.

So along with the organisers of the popular City of Perth Winter Festival we dreamt up the ideal way to reinvent the humble brussel sprout by coating them in rich minty chocolate.

This year the City of Perth Winter Festival will see a host of seasonal events taking place in the heart of Scotland, including a two-day Perth Festival of Chocolate, and this inspired organisers to prove that virtually anything can be improved with a sweet and creamy cocoa coating, even the nation’s most divisive Christmas vegetable.

And the PR results for this chocolatey concoction were fantastic, receiving a front page spread in the Perth Courier and a feature in the Daily Star as well as securing fantastic online coverage thanks to Deadline News.


A COMBINATION OF SAUSAGE MEAT AND CHOCOLATE EGGS

Public relations stunt involving Scotch Creme eggsBut it is not only Christmas related confectionary at Holyrood PR. Back in April we were introduced to eggs created especially for Easter, but these were not the kind you would normally associate with this much loved holiday.

Foston’s Fine Meats, a butcher in the Scottish Borders wanted to combine meat and chocolate to celebrate Easter and as a result they came up with a sweet which puts the battered mars bar to shame – namely a Scotch Crème Egg – which surprisingly sold out pretty quickly.

We wanted to see what all the fuss was about and decided to put them to the test. However as you will see from the video below the sweet and savoury snack didn’t go down to well with our team. But the thing to remember is all publicity is good publicity.

 


DAREDEVIL GOLDEN GIRLS GO BALLOONING AND GLIDING

Chrissy Millers first ever hot air balloon ride. While making ourselves sick tasting these ‘unusual foods’ is fun, I think our favourite work involves dare devil grannies, as they highlight just how surprising PR can be.
Two thrill seeking ladies proved the sky’s the limit when Betty Lyons flew across Loch Leven in a glider- at the tender age of 90 – and Chrissy Miller took to the skies in a hot air balloon to celebrate her 100th birthday.
We had the pleasure of speaking with these inspiring women, who are service users of our client – leading care and housing provider Bield – and unsurprisingly their stories achieved fantastic coverage in national and regional papers as well as leading care publications.

Plucky pensionr Betty Lyons took a surprise birthday trip in a gliderThe Sun, The Daily Express, The Daily Star, The Daily Record, The Herald Scotland, The Times, The West Lothian Courier and Edinburgh Evening News were amongst those who featured these stories as were industry specific titles including Scottish Housing News, Care Industry News and Housing Scotland today.

You might say due to the nature of these stories that it will have been much easier to achieve great coverage, however you would be surprised how hard we dig to get hold of these nuggets, with many people believing these types of stories won’t be of interest to the media.


POWERFUL PR POTION MADE WITH TALE OF NEWTS

Holyrood PR in Edinburgh love celebrating client successesIf sweet old grannies aren’t your thing and slimy little amphibians are more likely to float your boat, how’s about this classic?

Would you believe us if we said that we were able to get newts in to the Sun, The Scotsman, BBC Online and Radio as well as a host of local papers?

Well we did, the public imagination was well and truly captured when we revealed how our client, Hamilton based developer Banks Property, went the extra mile to help the rare and protected creatures thrive.


Banks Property worked with environmental experts to create a special newt underpasses and the above mentioned titles were quick to pick up on this quirky angle.


Property client banks are making the headlines after protecting a rare speciesWho could have predicted the fascination and affection this nation has for an oversized, crested and rather ugly amphibian? Actually, we did and the media loved it!  



These are only a few example of all the great stories we have had the opportunity to work on but it’s safe to say there is never a dull moment when it comes to working at Holyrood PR.

You may think your business has no stories to tell, but believe us if you dig deep enough, you will find an endless list of interesting things you can turn into great stories to promote your business.

Find out how our PR agency can help tell your business stories to the world

Your business deserves a better public profile and better exposure in the media that matter. Fortunately our award-winning public relations is on hand to help – telling your stories in words, in picture and in video.

To find out how we could come  up with quirky and interesting ideas to help boost your business, get in contact with us now by calling 0131 561 2244 or fill in the contact form below and we will get straight back to you.

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