We’re feeling rather festive here at Aubergine as we’ve been appointed to run the press office for Harewood House Trust throughout 2026 after a successful campaign for Christmas.
We’ve so far secured 75 pieces of coverage in regional and national media outlets for the event, including BBC, The Sun and The Telegraph in less than three months.
Harewood’s brief was to drum up head-turning coverage for Harewood’s 2025 Christmas event, A Glittering Invitation: Harewood’s Grand Christmas Ball. It features opulent decor and “amped up” Regency aesthetic evocative of the smash hit Netflix series Bridgerton - and includes a stunning 18ft Christmas tree made of 700 second hand ballerina tutus in the Entrance Hall.
The 18th century country house worked with BBC Interior Design Masters finalist, Siobhan Murphy over 18 months to source thousands of exquisite objects from Vinted, car boot sales and charity shops to create what she calls “a feast for the senses”.
We developed a series of press releases; including one in September to “tease” what the event would look like, which saw BBC Look North filming Siobhan and the Harewood volunteers hard at work creating Christmas tree decorations from scratch. Then once Siobhan had fully dressed the House, we worked with Harewood to stage a very special media preview event which saw 14 journalists and celebrities attending.
The success of the campaign led Harewood’s marketing department to appoint us to oversee their busy press office throughout 2026.
Commenting on Aubergine’s appointment, Harewood House Trust Marketing Manager April Skipp said: “Aubergine was top of my list when I was looking for an agency to help launch our 2026 Christmas event and we haven’t been disappointed. Their journalistic backgrounds have really shone through as it’s very clear they know what makes a story and a news headline.
“We’re thrilled to have them running our press office for next year - not only will they be the main contact for all journalist enquiries, but they’ll also launch the various exhibitions we will have on throughout the year. They’ll also help launch our Christmas experience for 2026.”
Emma Gardner, former BBC and Channel 4 News journalist and co-founder of Aubergine, said: “It goes without saying that working with Harewood is nothing short of a career highlight not just for myself but for the whole Aubergine team. I studied history at university and I’m passionate about travel - so being appointed not only to oversee the PR for Harewood at Christmas but also lead their press office for 2026, has literally been a dream come true.”
Tickets are on sale for Harewood’s Christmas experience A Glittering Invitation: Harewood's Grand Christmas Ball from Saturday 8 November 2025 to Sunday 4 January 2026. To book, head to http://harewood.org/christmas
For the full spectrum of Christmas events on at Harewood this year including the chance to meet Father Christmas, see this document.
The trio of wins comes off the back of a strong year for Aubergine which specialises in food, tech, health and sustainability PR. The team work as a remote agency across the UK and as former journalists, they are known for blending sharp media instincts with creative campaigns that drive real results.
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