It was time to re-evaluate the agency and its places in a sector facing many challenges.

Transcription

1 CATEGORY 26: Outstanding Small Public Relations Consultancy Entrant Name: Holyrood PR Date of incorporation and number of employees: Holyrood PR was formed in The nine-strong team comprises founders Scott Douglas and Raymond Notarangelo, account director Brian Lewis, senior account executives Ross Stebbing and Chris Fairbairn, account executive Alicia Simpson, digital account executive Sarah Fairley, videographer/photographer Craig Sinclair and office manager, Linsay Robertson. SUBMISSION 1044 WORDS (excluding headings and tables) A brief overview of business / team strategy In 2012 Holyrood PR celebrated its 10 th anniversary, having come through the worst recession in history. It was time to re-evaluate the agency and its places in a sector facing many challenges. We set out to reinvent our business: to make our proposition more compelling, our results more incisive and our people more engaged. We wanted to achieve this while changing from an agency perceived as a traditional media relations specialist into an agency renowned for its web savvy and digital media credentials. Business objectives and analysis of performance against budget over the past three years We took a three pronged approach to deliver these changes, with each element underpinned by clear and measurable objectives. ONE GIVE OUR STAFF AND CLIENTS A CLEAR PICTURE OF EXACTLY WHAT WE DO AND WHY WE DO IT OBJECTIVE - Define a clear vision and purpose to meet the challenges ahead OUTCOME Our team worked with a respected business coach and agreed a vison shaped and owned by all of us. - To run our business by transforming the every day into what makes us proud. We also defined our purpose, establishing why we do what we do and what we believe. - We believe that stories are at the heart of every business and when they are welltold to the right audiences, they help businesses to become more profitable while making better, happier workplaces. These guiding statements shape and inform everything we do. It means every task and project is more clearly defined, every problem is more easily resolved and every new business pitch has more clarity.

2 OBJECTIVE - Demonstrate our beliefs and services on a daily basis OUTCOME In July 2013 we launched a new Holyrood PR website which is updated daily with multiple items of content, including media releases, coverage, photo galleries and videos. Each client has a customised media hub, making it the only site of its kind in Scottish PR. Our bespoke YouTube channel, supported by our weekly Holyrood PR TV broadcast, has recorded 75,000 views and we produce a visual, fortnightly newsletter for 2500 business subscribers Our website, videos and newsletter are a showcase of our services and our results and show exactly what we believe: that stories are at the heart of successful businesses. OBJECTIVE Win at least two Gold awards per year to recognise our work OUTCOME - The transformation of our business has yielded success, particularly in the CIPR PRide Awards. PR AWARDS Won 1 Gold 2 Golds, 1 Silver 3 Golds, 2 Silver, 1 Bronze TWO GROW OUR BUSINESS BY ATTRACTING BIGGER CLIENTS AND BY CROSS SELLING MORE SERVICES TO EXISTING CLIENTS OBJECTIVE - Increase profits by 5% while focusing on fewer-but-bigger clients OUTCOME The tables below show our financial performance and client numbers over the period. Financials Profit 9.4% 9.9% 18% (est) Clients Retained Project OBJECTIVE - Achieve at least 10% of turnover through cross-selling social media/digital services including video and photography - to existing clients OUTCOME Information withheld

3 THREE ESTABLISH AN ENGAGING AND SEARCH ENGINE FRIENDLY WEBSITE TO DELIVER A STEADY STREAM OF BUSINESS LEADS OBJECTIVE - Build a website which ranks on page one of Google for multiple search terms OUTCOME Our website is the main driver of new business. So, it is vital it ranks well on search engines. We identified 40 target search terms where we want to rank on page one of Google results, including PR agency in Edinburgh, public relations in Scotland and Scottish PR. Our entire team produces content to build our online authority. Google Rankings Core Search terms with P1 rankings 11 of of of 40 OBJECTIVE - Achieve measurable ROI in terms of generating new business enquiries via our website OUTCOME We have seen a year-on-year increase in new business leads generated directly from our website ranking well in search: Website Business Leads Business leads generated via website (to Jun 1) A summary of commitment to CPD and professionalism We pay for all staff to join the CIPR and encourage them to participate in the CPD programme. Each team member receives an 800 annual allowance for training and professional development. We share PR best practice, PR guides for business and examples of recent, evaluation-led case studies from our own client base (two per month) on the blog section of our website. That blogging schedule has been embraced by the team, who see multiple benefits from it in their professional development: Relentless focus on ROI for clients builds understanding of business metrics Improves writing and storytelling Encourages understanding of CIPR best practices, notably measurement and evaluation Builds knowledge and understanding of search engine optimisation (SEO) and web analytics sought after but rare skills in the PR sector. A summary of recent outstanding achievements, including client list growth / retention During we landed household name clients on long-term contracts, including Bupa, Sodexo and CALA Homes.

4 We secured contracts with other major businesses including, Banks Renewables while undertaking large projects with S1 Jobs and Healthcare Improvement Scotland. When we lost the Care Inspectorate as our biggest client, we reacted by promptly winning three care-related clients - Bield, Blackwood and Bupa. We believe it is outstanding for an agency of our size to have a digital team, including a dedicated video service and to have created a beautiful, content-led website which delivers value to clients, vital skills to staff and valuable business leads to the agency. A summary of a campaign you are particularly proud of, including details of the brief, objectives, strategy and tactics, outputs, outcomes, and budget We carried out the following campaign on behalf of Banks Renewables, which won two Gold awards at the CIPR Pride Awards 2013 for Best Corporate and Business Communications and also for Best Use of Planning, Research, Measurement and Evaluation. Brief and strategy Tactics included Objectives and Outcomes After the Quixwood Moor windfarm was recommended for rejection by planners, we launched a 10 month PR campaign to help reverse that decision. 1. Identifying local companies to champion business benefits of the project 2. Highlighting a series of ecological enhancements 3. Securing positive quotes from independent and influential third parties 4. A phased release of positive stories, with greatest intensity immediately before the crucial planning meeting 5. Developing a basic matrix to apply a sentiment score to all media coverage 6. Producing a video FAQ to be shared online and issued to stakeholders Achieve 10 items of positive local coverage in the run up to final planning decision. The campaign achieved 28 items of coverage in local media. Ensure key messages appeared in 75% of coverage. 100% of the coverage used at least one KM. Twenty items of coverage (71%) carried three or more KMs. Maintain overall coverage sentiment score above zero (neutral), despite likely hostile media activity from anti wind farm campaigners. A net positive score of 50 was achieved from

5 the coverage and Banks Renewables dominated share of voice on the issue. Include positive comments from independent, local supporters in at least 35% of coverage. 17 items of coverage (60%) included supportive third party quotes. Help deliver planning approval. The Quixwood Moor proposal was approved by Scottish Borders Council the only one of six wind farm proposals in the area. Return on Investment The campaign budget was 4500 over 10 months. Coverage created 729,744 opportunities to see (OTS) in a rural area with just 22,000 people 33 OTS per head of population, or 162 OTS per 1 spent. The approved wind farm represents a 35m investment for Banks Renewables. What makes us special? Quite simply, we are the embodiment of what we believe. We spend every working hour fulfilling our vision - transforming the every day into what makes us proud - while always measuring the results of those endeavours. Our clarity of purpose to tell the stories of our clients to make them more profitable, happier workplaces shines through whether people engage with us via our website, our videos, or face-to-face. This alignment of what we say, what we do and what we believe, means our results are stellar and our clients reap the rewards. ENDS