The Best PR Campaigns of 2016
Citizens advertising take-over service (CATS)
A kick-starter campaign to get brands and agencies to think differently about the power of their influence.
Why does this campaign deserve a place on the best PR campaigns of 2016 list?
It’s visual. It’s creative. It’s unexpected.
Get fit with Kwik Fit
A new tyre based fitness program designed to engage female audiences with the brand.
Why does this campaign deserve a place on the best PR campaigns of 2016 list?
More than just a publicity stunt – actually delivered exercise classes. Made people laugh and was therefore highly shareable. It went against expectations by focusing on the health and well-being of the fitters rather than the fitting of the tyres.
Pulling Power – The Institute of Advanced Driving
A campaign to get young men to drive more safely – and to sell advanced driving courses.
Why does this campaign deserve a place on the best PR campaigns of 2016 list?
It understood the key emotional motivator for its audience and used a biological experiment to provide statistics to back it up.
The NHS missing type campaign
As Steph wrote about the campaign earlier this year, we couldn’t forget to include the NHS missing type in this list.
This was a campaign for the NHS to get more people to donate blood – especially types where they were experiencing a shortage.
Why does this campaign deserve a place on the best PR campaigns of 2016 list?
It was eye catching. It got people talking about it. It delivered results.
Like my addition – Addict Aide
An Instagram stealth campaign to raise awareness of alcoholism in young people and our inadvertent encouragement.
Why does this campaign deserve a place on the best PR campaigns of 2016 list?
It used shareable content that tapped into their target audience – with a surprise twist revealed. Increased traffic to their website by five times.
Brexit – Vote Leave
The campaign to leave the EU.
Why does this campaign deserve a place on the best PR campaigns of 2016 list?
Like the result or not, it convinced 52% of people in the UK. It’s key to success was simplicity and repetition of the same three points. It used strong personalities with strong opinions. It understood that positive campaigns are more appealing to the public than negative campaigns.
Trump – Make America great again
Donald Trump’s campaign to become President of the United States.
Why does this campaign deserve a place on the best PR campaigns of 2016 list?
Again, whether you are happy about the result or not – Trump won. It was a classic campaign for change that was delivered at the right time. Trump used social media rather than the press, to show he can communicate with the masses and deliver his point in 140 characters or less.
PR challenges predicted for 2017
- Continued uncertainty in politics and business
- Takeovers from overseas businesses while the pound is weak
- Difficultly finding good PR talent
- Struggle for print media to adapt to stay relevant
- Shorter reader attention spans
What does the new PR agency skillset look like?
- A mix of traditional and digital
- Cultural awareness
- Focus on share-ability of content
- Ability to distinguish a great idea
- Multiple discipline experience
- Dynamic
Source: Gorkana webinar: 2016: A Year in PR – lessons from a tumultuous 2016 and top PR trends for the year ahead delivered by Mandy Sharp, founder of Tin Man, and Paul Charles, former comms director for Richard Branson and founder of The PC Agency.
Get in touch now to discuss your PR plans for 2017.
Author: Jennifer Wright
