We are living in unprecedented times. There can be no dispute about that. An ongoing lockdown which could last for months and everyone told to stay at home unless you are a key worker.
Businesses are worried about the present never mind the unknown of what the future will hold. But, despite all of that, positive PR remains important, perhaps even more so, in a time of crisis.
Ignite PR and Engagement has now been working with Chailey Heritage Foundation for seven months. It's a charity based in Mid Sussex providing education, care and transition services to children and young adults with complex physical disabilities and health. They came to Ignite because they were looking for 'a freshening up' of their PR activities.
So far, we've had a Royal visit, a national campaign to raise funds through The Big Give as well as some heartwarming stories about families who have been supported by CHF.
We are now living in different times.
On Monday we had a Microsoft Teams app meeting with three key people at the charity.
The hour long conversation was about keeping CHF in the public eye, but in a positive way. One of its biggest fundraisers is the annual Focus 10k race, due to have been held in May at Borde Hill Gardens near Haywards Heath. It's obviously been postponed so they wanted to launch Focus 10 Stay, a new online campaign. It was an invitation to the public to do TEN of anything. It may be ten press ups, ten runs around the garden... absolutely anything. This was all about keeping CHF in the public eye.
Bev and Pete spent two weeks working on this project and the results are high impact with a large reach.
Some of our successes:
Coverage on regional TV
Pre recorded interview on national radio
Live interview on BBC Radio
Online and print coverage in The Argus daily newspaper
Online coverage in the local press
Coverage on local hospital radio.
The last one may sound a bit strange but engaging with the most local media can be just as effective in reaching out to national radio. Bev and Pete are both thrilled with the results and want to say a huge thank you to the journalists who have been so receptive at a time when they are under great pressure. There's still more to come because we want to gain CHF as much exposure as possible in days when reach and engagement are so important.