PatSnap's quick turnaround project

Our task: We were appointed just two days before tech firm PatSnap were due to appear at a House of Commons summit on intellectual property – they wanted to get coverage, quickly and broadly, on the event

Our strategy: To not only target PatSnap’s peers but also its customers by creating four press releases, each of which was targeted to a different key media sector

Our tactics: We carried out an hour-long interview with one of the company’s key thought leaders which helped us inform the press releases. We issued the press releases the day before the event then created a new version integrating comments from the summit on the day of the event itself

Results: Despite the quick turnaround on the project we managed to secure 13 pieces of coverage across all four of the company’s target media sectors. The total circulation for the media coverage was 400,000 and PatSnap used the coverage as a sales tool in the coming weeks for its products

Aubergine shortlisted for major tech accolade

Aubergine has been shortlisted as Technology Agency of the Year in the 2019 PRmoment Awards for the North.

Since establishing less than 12 months ago, Aubergine, like its clients, are disrupting the food and tech space.

Carving a niche within tech and food, the pet passion of its two directors, Aubergine has created head-turning campaigns which consistently smash KPIs.

The team of two, which works with a network of highly experienced consultants across the UK, has secured over £100k of new business in eight months, working with Flyt, London Food Tech Week, Evapolar, Slingsby Gin, Carthy & Black, Glorious Soups and Surfaceskins. Their creative campaigns have also led them to work alongside NASA, Jamie Oliver Group, Deliveroo and UberEats.

Aubergine’s co-director, Emma Gardner, commented: “From winning a nine-way pitch against established London agencies to work with tech company Flyt, to launching the world’s first Food Tech Village in London, Team Aubergine prides itself on bringing passion and enthusiasm to all client briefs. We’re a team of experienced former journalists who all have unique behind-the-scenes experience of the media and I’m thrilled this has been recognised in being nominated for this prestigious award – especially as we’re such a young company.”

Launching Evapolar

Our task

To launch a smart technology device that enables the user to create a microclimate at home, work or at the gym

Our strategy

To replicate the feeling of temperature control by launching the product at a London Spa and inviting UK’s leading consumer titles to try out a “Heat and Ice” experience

Our tactics

We sent out beautiful invitations to select journalists and planned a luxury day of heat and ice treatments with an opportunity to try out the device personally and take it home

Results

Attendees included Red, Good Housekeeping, Prima, Telegraph, Daily Mail, ES Magazine, Stylist and Top Sante

Launching Surfaceskins

Our task

To promote the fact that Surfaceskins has just launched (the pads are placed on doors and are proven to reduce infection rates by 90%)

Our strategy

To profile the new CEO of the business, Brian Waligora, whose father used to be a doctor and fought against infection himself

Our tactics

We offered briefings between the CEO and journalists and sold in a series of press releases

Results

We secured 25 pieces of coverage mainly in the trade press – but also in the Daily Express online and print, profiling Brian to a national audience for the first time

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. 

How we create effective PR survey stories that journalists love

Creating PR survey stories that journalists love and want to cover in their editorial content, can be a very tough nut to crack. However, if an agency can get it right they can generate media coverage that gets clients seen in high profile national, trade and regional press.

As a team of former journalists, Aubergine has a unique ‘journalist first’ approach when it comes to creating survey stories and as a result, we have a brilliant track record for securing insight-led media coverage. Having worked behind the scenes in print, television and digital newsrooms for so many years, we’ve been ‘sold’ stories by countless PR types ourselves, so we know what works and what doesn’t.

Here’s how we make survey stories work, time and again, for our clients:

1. Nail the brief. We begin by working with our clients to find out exactly what sort of key messages they want to convey

2. Journalist interviews. We then spend a great deal of time talking to our extensive network of journalist contacts to find out what sorts of headlines, angles and stories are of interest to them, which fit in with the client’s key messages

3. Work on the questions. Once we have an idea of the angles and headlines that will work for both the client and the media, we work with the chosen market research agency to develop the questions for the survey. We never take it as a given that these questions are right first time, we work on them to hone them and ensure we know they are going to give us strong results

4. Analyse, analyse, analyse. Once the survey has been into field and we get the results, we analyse them to find out the best angles that have been uncovered. We are unique in the PR world in that we work with an independent market research consultant specialising in quantitative research, who takes a deeper dive into results and finds angles we perhaps didn’t spot initially

5. Develop the story. Armed with our brilliant statistics, headlines and angles, we develop a press release for the client to approve. We ALWAYS create several versions of the same release to ensure we’re tailoring it to the various target media. If we think it’s relevant, we also develop infographics or even an in-depth report, to accompany the story

6. Selling in. When the press releases are approved, we hit the phones, speaking one-on-one to our huge journalist contact database, or we meet them for face-to-face briefings. We think speaking to journalists first then following up by email is the best approach as it’s the best way to get feedback and insight into their interest in the story. Blanket emails are a no-go for Team Aubergine

This formula has seen us secure some amazing results for our clients, for example:

• Flyt – We worked with YouGov to launch a survey to establish why the dining industry has been struggling of late. We integrated the results in a bespoke thought leadership report, which we wrote in-house using our journalistic writing skills, accompanied with infographics and a press release to sell-in. This resulted in widespread national coverage including standout pieces in The Times and the Telegraph. See the full case study here

• The Ice Co – Europe’s largest manufacturer of ice came to us with a brief that they wanted to create buzz around their brand during the World Cup 2018, coinciding with the hottest summer on record. Our survey found Millennials were shunning the pub to watch the World Cup at home and were drinking less than ever before, which peaked several journalist’s interest. We saw widespread consumer coverage including in the Daily Express, Sunday Express Daily Mirror and Women’s Health. See the full case study here

• Glorious Soups – The brand wanted to establish itself as a thought leader in health and lifestyle, taking a new approach away from product-focused PR. Our survey uncovered unique headlines around how people were ditching ‘fad’ diets and instead opting for a more balanced approach to being fit and healthy. We backed this up with a report from a food futurologist and infographics, securing coverage in Telegraph online, Huffington Post, Daily Mail and Waitrose Weekend amongst several other pieces. See the full case study here

In a nutshell, we love working on survey stories for our clients because we get such a buzz when we see all the lovely coverage filtering through once the hard work has been put in.

If you’re considering launching a PR survey campaign why not get in touch for a chat? Alternatively, if you work in PR and have been working on a survey story that doesn’t seem to have gone anywhere, we can help with that too.

Aubergine takes Flyt

Aubergine has been awarded the PR contract for disruptive London-based tech company, Flyt.

The Leeds-based consultancy, specialising in the food, tech and health industries, secured the contract after a nine-way pitch and has started its trade and consumer media campaigns programme immediately.

Flyt enables hospitality operators to integrate new and existing technologies within one innovative streamlined platform, increasing efficiency through ordering and payment and boosting customer satisfaction.

Flyt powers technology in over 2,500 locations in the UK and clients include JustEat, Pizza Express, Wahaca, Nandos and KFC.

Trade Marketing Director, Dominic Atkinson, said: “Aubergine really stood out during the pitch because of their creative, journalist-led approach and their clear passion for what they do. As former journalists themselves, it was clear they know the media industry inside out and have delivered incredible ROI for previous clients. I’m confident they’re the best agency to help us grow and reach new markets.”

Former BBC and Channel 4 News journalist and Aubergine founder, Emma Gardner, said: “We were delighted to join the “Flyt crew” and look forward to growing awareness of this innovative technology which is disrupting the hospitality industry. The team here at Aubergine is passionate about food and technology – so it’s such a thrill to be appointed to work with a company that fuses both of these sectors together.”