Aubergine grows team following hat-trick of new business wins

We are thrilled to announce our first full time employee following a record-breaking hat-trick of new business wins!

Since January, we’ve secured £50,000 in new contracts with sustainability-focused clients Round Our Way, Be The Future and Foodsteps, helping us further to carve a niche in this space. 

We hired University of Sheffield graduate Isobel King on a permanent basis to help with account support, journalist liaison, social media and copywriting. Isobel joins our roster of 10 freelancers who support us with media relations, content, events and social media services.

Isobel, who received distinction in her Masters for International Public and Political Communication, has previous experience of digital PR, working as a Digital Communications Assistant for the Campaigns and Alumni Relations department at the University of Sheffield. 

Isobel said: “I’m so excited to join the dynamic team at Aubergine - it’s clear to see the agency is really going places and I’m really thrilled to be a part of their growth journey.”

Aubergine director and co-founder Emma Gardner said: “Our projected turnover is now set to triple in 2023, we couldn’t be more thrilled to add Isobel to our team. 

“Despite challenging economic times, it’s crucial brands and businesses use their communications to educate the public on their offering - so there’s never been a more important time to invest in PR.”

We’ve been working on a data-driven project for a new not for profit Round Our Way, to highlight the impact climate change is having on British families.

We’ve also been appointed to deliver a clever community stunt and press office for Be The Future, who are unleashing the power of families and educators to rewrite our climate story.

Foodsteps instantly produces data insights from across the entire life cycle of a food product. We’re launching the company’s latest industry report accompanied by thought leadership and press office.

Our PR and social media credentials in the sustainability space include successful campaigns for Filippo Berio, Hope For the Future, Organic September, WWF and London Food Tech Week.

Aubergine strengthens FemTech PR credentials

We are over the moon to be appointed by two FemTech businesses that produce sustainable feminine health care products!

Aubergine is responsible for generating media coverage for eco pregnancy test brand Hoopsy and &SISTERS, which makes plastic-free period products.

12.5 million home pregnancy tests are completed in the UK each year, causing a shocking amount of plastic waste to be sent to landfill. This, coupled with her struggle to conceive age 45 and single, inspired Lara Solomon to create Hoopsy - which manufactures pregnancy tests made from 99% paper. 

Founder Lara said: “I was inspired by the journalistic approach Aubergine took for amplifying my product, and I’ve already been delighted with the results so far. The brand has already been featured in several national news titles such as Grazia, Women’s Health, Daily Mail, Daily Mirror, Daily Express and Trendhunter.”

&SISTERS was created by mother and daughter duo, Lucy and Claire Lettice, who have worked to create conscious period products that are safer for women’s bodies and for the environment. 

Aubergine is working on &SISTERS’ newsjacking press office and thought leadership, focusing on key issues such as period poverty and women’s health.

Over a woman’s lifetime, over 11,000 mainstream disposable period products end up in landfill, taking between 500 to 800 years to biodegrade. The &SISTERS organic period products compost in just 18 months, so making the switch to a more sustainable option has a hugely positive impact.

Director and co-founder of Aubergine, Verity Clarke, said: “With Food Tech already firmly under our belts as a specialty, we’ve always wanted to carve out a niche in the FemTech space too. We’re delighted and proud to be working with both Hoopsy and &SISTERS as they’re both pioneering the way for sustainable feminine health care products.”

Aubergine serves up tasty Filippo Berio win

We’re excited to reveal we’ve been appointed as the PR and social media agency for world-leading olive oil brand Filippo Berio.

Aubergine has been tasked with the full gamut of PR for the brand; launching the brand’s latest sustainability report to the media, as well as managing its busy press office, organising press and influencer trips and delivering support to their in-house social media team.

Emma Gardner and Verity Clark, co-founders of Aubergine, at a Filippo Berio charity event in Otley.

Verity Clarke, one of our co-founders and directors, went on a full immersion tour of the Filippo Berio Villa and olive oil factory in Tuscany in May. Co-founder Emma Gardner also joined Verity at a recent charity event hosted by Filippo Berio at Buon Apps restaurant in Otley (pictured), which raised nearly £2,000 for a community defibrillator.

Verity commented: “Filippo Berio olive oil is a household name, so to win this as a boutique agency is big news for us. I absolutely loved getting under the skin of the brand in beautiful Tuscany - it was a delight to get to know the wonderful marketing team and learn about how their products are made. It was also very insightful to get a behind the scenes look of their incredible sustainability drive. We’ll be revealing more about this to the media about this very soon.”

Lisa Mullins, marketing manager, Filippo Berio said: “What attracted us to Aubergine was the experience of its founders and the fact that, being a boutique agency, they will work directly on our brand. Verity and Emma both come from a journalism background which means that their approach is very journalist-led. Its already clear to us how much they value the brand and how hard they will work to get us results - we’re very excited to see what the future holds.”

Aubergine is a virtual agency founded by former BBC and Channel 4 News journalist Emma Gardner and experienced PR practitioner, Verity Clarke.

We work with a crack team of specialist freelancers to deliver work for its raft of food, drink, health and tech clients. Aubergine has substantial PR and social media credentials in the food and drink space including successful campaigns for Glorious Soups, Chuckling Goat, Fitbakes, Amity Brew Co, Hilltop, The Duppy Share, One Year No Beer and Vitamin Angels UK.

We have also launched successful PR campaigns in the sustainability space for WWF, Hope for the Future and London Food Tech Week.

Launching a brewery during lockdown

Our task: To launch a Leeds-based craft brewery online shop during the pandemic

Our strategy: To have a drumbeat of news coverage using business, lifestyle and trade angles to maximum effect.

Our tactics: We created multiple versions of the same press release supported by striking photography fit for the relevant press

Results: Coverage secured in Yorkshire Post, Morning Advertiser, the Metro and several pieces in the Telegraph. The coverage has also led to collaborations with larger breweries such as Vocation, Kirkstall and Beavertown.  The coverage also served as social content and was shared online and trended within the craft beer community leading to on-trade listings, online purchases and wholesaler listings.

Standing Up For British Standards with WWF

Our task: To work with non-profit specialists Glimpse on behalf of their client WWF to support the hyper local campaign to Stand Up For British Food Standards in the wake of Brexit and target three key towns in the north of England.

Our strategy: To create a formidable news package, local artists were commissioned to build a scarecrow which give a nod to local history and personality. The scarecrows bring a serious message to the town that British food standards are under threat, while calling on MPs, food producers, businesses and shoppers to get involved in the campaign.

Our tactics: Supported with a far reaching YouGov survey, colourful press photography and thought leadership in a short, sharp 5-week campaign

Results: An audience of 4.8 million was reached with a £1.70 return on the investment (per £1 spent). Coverage secured on BBC Radio, Yorkshire Post, Dewsbury Reporter, Stoke Sentential and Bishop Auckland News

A product placement campaign with "buzz"

Our task: To work with honey brand Hilltop to create buzz for their NPD and current range to make honey more than an occasional store cupboard purchase.

Our strategy: This was the first time the brand had engaged a PR agency so we simply started with product placement, CEO profiling and added value through recipes and newsjacking

Our tactics: A steady drum beat of news releases, feature submissions and high-quality images and sampling. 

Results: An audience of 17 million was reached with a £31 return on the investment for every £1 spent.  Coverage secured on LadBible, Daily Express, The Sun, The Mirror, BBC, The Times and Olive

Maximising Tesco listing for healthy ketchup brand Dr. Will's

Our task: To maximise a new listing in Tesco for condiment brand Dr Will’s and increase brand awareness

Our strategy: Everyone has ketchup in the cupboard and associates it with big brands so we wanted to lead the conversation and become associated with a more modern way to enjoy condiments

Our tactics: To create a far reaching survey and compelling thought leadership content package alongside product placement and reviews. We backed up the credibility of our survey by using a food psychiatrist to analyse our answers

Results: Coverage secured in EVERY tabloid and broadsheet newspaper on the news stands. Campaign returned £45 for every £1 spent on PR

Organic September's shop in a tree

Our task: To maximise the publicity for Organic September (Aubergine appointed 10 days before 1 Sep 2020)

Our strategy: To create a media stunt, survey and compelling thought leadership content package to target every last minute opportunity possible in a short timeline

Our tactics: Held a pop up organic shop in a tree in central London for journalists, influencers and members of the public learn more about the benefits of shopping organic

Results: Coverage secured in Telegraph, Guardian, The Sun plus trade and regional titles

Creating the world's first 'Wellness Shed'

Our task: To create a head-turning PR and social media campaign to launch GLORIOUS! Soups’ new range of superfood soups, appealing to a health conscious consumer.

Our strategy: We then decided to create a pop-up “Wellness Shed” in Shoreditch, London which would be a world first. We worked with partners to create a virtual reality (VR) mindfulness game which people could experience inside the shed. This involved wearing a headset and being challenged to stir soup as slowly as possible on a cooker, to remind people of the benefits of mindful cooking and eating.

Our tactics: The pop up space was beautifully decorated and we made sure it was as “Instagrammable” as possible. We gave out vouchers to anyone using the hashtag #WellnessShed for free soups. We also invited the founders of Mindful Chef to be the first to try out the experience, which was broadcast live on Instagram Stories. For the media materials, we worked with a mindfulness expert to ascertain the health benefits of mindful eating and cooking.

Results: The hashtag #WellnessShed trended on the launch day across multiple social media platforms and was seen by over two million users. GLORIOUS! Soups’ Instagram followers doubled and the product sold out in Shoreditch. The story of the Wellness Shed and products were covered in 17 different media titles including Sunday Mirror (Notebook), Now magazine and PlantBased magazine.

Aubergine is buzzing thanks to Hilltop win

We’re ‘buzzing’ after being chosen to manage the consumer PR for FMCG brand Hilltop.

The Welsh company that produces honey just expanded its range to include 100% pure Canadian maple syrups, now has supermarket listings in all the major supermarkets and has just completed a full rebrand including a new logo.

Our food specialist agency has been tasked with managing Hilltop’s busy press office and creating a proactive and engaging consumer campaign.

2021 marks exactly 10 years since Hilltop founder Scott Davies got his first hive as a birthday gift and became fascinated with bees. Following a back injury which saw him out of work, he started selling honey to friends and to local shops, then after two years he started supplying farm shops and delis across the country.

In 2014, Hilltop secured listings in Sainsbury’s, Holland & Barrett, Selfridges and on Amazon and Ocado. The company quickly expanded its range to include speciality and Manuka honey. In 2015, after receiving the Soil Association seal of approval, Hilltop launched a new range of organic honey.

Lowri Jones, marketing co-ordinator for Hilltop, said: “Since 2011, when Scott got his first bee hive, Hilltop has been making its mark on the food industry. We wanted to choose a PR agency that we knew could bring the passion Scott has to life and amplify messages about the increasing product range to as wide an audience as possible. It was clear as soon as we spoke to Aubergine that they were the right fit for Hilltop.”

It goes without saying we are huge fans of Hilltop - it’s a sweet addition to our list to our growing list of food clients. This is a really exciting time for the brand as they have a new look and logo, are expanding their range and gaining more national retail listings.

We are delighted to have been chosen to shout about them at such a pivotal time for them.

Tried and Supplied appoints Aubergine as a trusted agency

We’re excited to have been awarded the PR contract for the new innovative online foodservice platform Tried and Supplied, following a three-way pitch.

Tried and Supplied is designed to help food buyers and restaurateurs find the very best British suppliers, who are sustainable, local and recommended by their peers.

Domini Hogg, founder of Tried and Supplied, commented: “The Aubergine team really stood out as they were able to see the potential in Tried and Supplied and how its USPs would resonate with the media. They recommended an exciting PR strategy which targeted my potential customers, suppliers and key stakeholders all in one project. We have just relaunched our website and refined our services so it’s the right time to work with an effective PR team who can amplify our messages.”

Specialising in food and tech, Aubergine works with a network of highly experienced consultants across the UK to produce creative PR and content campaigns. We scooped the accolade for New Agency of the Year at the PRmoment Awards in March.

Our co-founder, Verity Clarke, said: “We love working with innovative, game-changing businesses. We could see Tried and Supplied is genuinely working to solve a problem within the foodservice industry; that it can be tricky to source local, sustainable suppliers in a quick and easy way. We’re excited to be working on this PR campaign, which will help position them as a thought leader in their field.

“Global brands are looking for better, sustainable technology solutions to stay ahead of the competition and start-ups, such as Tried and Supplied, are disrupting the space by solving real problems. The Food Tech industry is booming and Aubergine is excited to be carving a real niche within this area, by working with businesses like Tried and Supplied.”

Our other clients in the Food Tech space have included hospitality tech platform Flyt, POS provider Andromeda and the world’s biggest festival for Food Tech, London Food Tech Week.

How to choose a PR agency in 5 easy steps

Choosing a PR agency can seem rather daunting. With thousands of large, small and freelance outfits across the UK, the choice can seem overwhelming; should you stay local or go for a London based agency? Base your decision purely on price? Awards won? Current clients? The list and options are endless.

Appointing a boutique PR and communications agency is an option to consider if you’re looking to amplify your business or products to the media.

We have considered the reasons clients have come to us in the past, to help you think about what you should be looking for in your next agency…

Emma and Verity, Directors of Aubergine

1. Senior expertise in PR and the media

One of the first things to consider is who will be delivering the work once you commission a PR agency. Generally, boutique communications agencies are smaller and led by senior PR professionals who not only win the business but are also, crucially, heavily involved in actually delivering your brief. Rather than junior team members managing day-to-day activity, media relations and copywriting, in boutique agencies the work is delivered by a team of experts in their field.

Aubergine, for example is led by former journalist Emma Gardner and PR pro Verity Clarke, who know the media industry inside out. With experience working at outlets such as BBC, Channel 4 News and ITV News, their knowledge of media relations and insight into how to secure high profile national news coverage is second to none. Furthermore, their ability to write head-turning press releases, features and thought leadership content is the standard you’d expect from a national journalist.

2. Targeted specialisms in different sectors

“All round” agencies exist which can take on clients in any sector; but these agencies tend to have a steep learning curve which is paid for by you, the client. When initially researching potential agencies, be sure to also find out if there is one which specialises in your sector. A specialist agency has much more insight, contacts and experience for that specific sector, understanding from the word go, how the sector operates and what sort of content resonates with the most relevant journalists.

Aubergine specialises in food, tech, lifestyle and health PR and we have secured some outstanding results for our clients in these areas. To demonstrate our food tech PR expertise, a recent media relations campaign for London Food Tech Week saw us smash the KPIs by 182%, securing coverage in 60 national titles including Mashable, Huffington Post, Daily Mirror, The Sun, New Statesman, Evening Standard and City AM. We also launched health tech brand Surfaceskins to the media, securing 25 pieces of coverage mainly in the trade press but also in the business section of the Daily Express, both print and online.

Brian Waligora, CEO of Surfaceskins

3. Modern ways of working

The PR industry has always been quick to adapt to new working practices and has embraced remote working, flexible hours and ‘hot-desking’. Large city centre offices with PR staff chained to their desk for 12 hour days are fast becoming a thing of the past. The industry is putting staff wellbeing and mental health first, meaning that happy PR staff are productive, loyal and work productively. Ensure you check with your agency that these practices are adopted in-house as it’s much more likely you’ll be working with a happy and more productive team.

We operate a ‘virtual office’ set-up which not only gives us immense flexibility, it also means our day rates are much lower than you’d expect from a big agency. In this day and age, it’s all about value for money, right?

4. The right person for the right job

Ensure you look into the bio of every team member who could be assigned to your account, it is imperative that you are working with the right skill set for you.

Not all boutique agencies operate in this way but here at Aubergine we pride ourselves in working with a network of highly specialised freelance PR consultants across the UK to help us deliver high quality PR campaigns for our clients. Working in this way means we can pick and choose the right consultant to match the project, meaning the level of expertise the client gets is unparalleled. Aubergine’s directors always stay heavily involved in managing and delivering all projects, but the consultants bring an additional ‘edge’, and some brilliant additional creativity.

We worked on a media relations campaign for The Ice Co in the summer of 2018 as a collaboration with other food PR specialists which saw this creativity at play. To create original news, we hooked onto the World Cup (and the hot weather!) as a key time to be buying ice. In order to achieve these news angles and headlines, we developed a news-driven survey which found Millennials were shunning the pub and drinking beer during the World Cup and instead hosting parties at home. Through this campaign we secured 24 pieces of coverage in the consumer media including hits in the Daily Mirror, Daily Express, Sunday Express and Women’s Health, reaching an audience of 3 million people.

Shann Nix Jones, Founder of Chuckling Goat

5. Staying nimble

Last, but certainly not least, look for an agency who will stick to a plan but can also adapt. If you are a fast moving business, the last thing you want is for your agency to lag behind because there was already pre-planned activity in place.

Aubergine has been able to deliver projects extremely quickly and effectively for our clients. We’d always recommend a long-term retained service, where possible, to guarantee more of a drip-feed of news, but if you’re looking for a quick-win PR project, this is where we come in.

We were commissioned by kefir brand Chuckling Goat to amplify the news that the company had been recognised by the Parliamentary Review as an example of best business practice in the UK. Our strategy was to highlight business owner Shann Jones’ expertise and the business' turnover for national press, whilst emphasising the 'success despite Brexit' angle for regional press in Wales. We developed a series of press releases tailored to different media audiences; national business press and regional newspapers/online. We also offered one-on-one interviews with Shann to national press and broadcast media.

In the space of just 6 weeks from being commissioned we secured 13 pieces of coverage for the story across national, regional and trade media, including pieces in The Telegraph print and online, Daily Express print and online and BBC Radio Wales. The campaign reached an audience of over one million people. As a result of this successful campaign, Aubergine was appointed as Chuckling Goat’s retained agency.

If you’d like to find out more about how our boutique PR and communications agency can help your business get in touch.

Launching Glorious Soups’ Super Soups

Our task

To launch a range of superfood-inspired soups to the consumer media

Our strategy

To own the winter season by placing Glorious Soups as the thought leader on the season’s health and lifestyle

Our tactics

Conducted a survey of 2,000 people to uncover how Britain will approach food and lifestyle in winter 2016. We backed up the findings with an in-depth report written by a leading food futurologist and an infographic

Results

Coverage secured in 13 national news and lifestyle titles including The Telegraph, The Huffington Post, Daily Mail, Waitrose Weekend and Your Fitness magazine

London Food Tech Week 2017

Our brief

To create headlines for London Food Tech Week – an industry event

Our strategy

To create news beyond the trade pages and focus on consumer focused mass media

Our tactics

Matched key events and speakers to relevant press, wrote long form opinion editorial along with a striking launch press shot and consumer event at Borough Market

Results

KPI’s were beaten by 182%. Coverage secured in 60 national news and lifestyle titles including Mashable, The Huffington Post, Daily Mirror, The Sun, New Statesman,  Evening Standard and City AM

Dining Out Isn’t Dead

Our task

London tech disruptor Flyt tasked Aubergine with supporting investor relations by profiling Flyt outside of just in the ‘easy win’ hospitality press.

Our strategy

To develop a news generation campaign that would secure news headlines in the tech, business and national consumer media, driving awareness of Flyt’s innovative platform to streamline restaurant operations.

Our tactics

We created the ‘Dining Out Isn’t Dead’ campaign in which we commissioned a YouGov survey which delivered the strong headlines and stats we needed. Using our journalistic research and writing skills we then wrote a bespoke 14-page 4,500 word thought leadership report weaving in these insights, as well as commissioned three infographics. We launched all of the materials via a press tour in London.

Results

KPI’s were beaten by 200%, securing 30 pieces of coverage in the target press, including The Times newspaper, The Times online, Yahoo! News, the Daily Star and The Telegraph online. The CEO Tom Weaver (above) was invited to speak at high-profile industry events and a government roundtable. Web hits increased by 22%, Flyt was included in 100 fastest growing companies 2019 list and £3 million was raised in funding.