Blog

Media Placement to Celebrate 2021 Client Successes and Sharing New Year Ambitions

We love nothing more than ending a year on a high, with lots of well-placed media coverage, promoting clients end of year successes and sharing their New Year visions for an even bigger and better following year as we enter 2022.

What a great way to celebrate the year gone by and whet appetites for what’s to come!

As a hard working and initiuitive PR agency, we relish compiling these media round ups across a whole host of sectors, hitting the press in a timely fashion to secure for our clients best in class digital and print press coverage in their target categories, whether this be inclusion in hard copy magazines and newspapers or on online media channels - in general business titles or in the vertical sector tech, healthcare, retail and other niche sector publications.

Examples include media releases produced for a tech company client – the software automation specialist Endpoint Automation Limited (EAS), who we were thrilled to announce that they doubled their turnover to £1.8m, and are now targeting £2.2 in 2022.  The business has a lot to be optimistic about – it has laid firm foundations for future growth, as well as unveiling their latest initiative ‘EASy Way’ offering clients who use automation technology, a fully managed delivery and support service.

For our client, the innovative and award winning sustainable fabrics manufacturer Meryl Medical, we enjoyed the sharing some positive news for the global environment, as the firm sets to increase their 2022 mask production output by potentially 50% in response to the substantial consumer and industry calls for a sustainable alternative. The company is seeing a heightened demand for sustainable alternatives in light of an increasingly familiar sight of discarded disposable masks, causing irreversible harm to the environment, with an estimated 55 million single-use face masks used daily in the UK taking an average of 450 years to decompose.

We also manage similar business press placement campaigns for many of our consumer brand clients – we were particularly thrilled to share their year end achievements, and plans for 2022 growth, informing the business community and the fmcg sectors that they operate within. To illustrate, our home fragrance-led client Fabulosa, enjoyed another mammoth trading year in 2021 with £39m sales to 31^st August 2021, and we worked with our media contact network to share their future ambitious growth plans by successfully announcing the opening of their landmark new site containing almost 60,000 sq ft of production, warehousing and operational office space.

And for another consumer client - Sollution Fires the new generation highly efficient, authentic and stylish electric fires brand, we were able to generate media exposure on yet another trading high for the manufacturer as they celebrate their massive acheivement of a substantial sales uplift of 58% in 2021, and now targetting a further 30% hike in turnover over the course of this coming year.

For the vast majority of our clients we run annual media placement campaigns, working with them throughout the year to share their news, supporting brand visibility and cementing industry positioning, as well as enhancing their SEO rankings with lots of valuable high domain authority organic media links pointing to their website.

If you think we can benefit your business, and would like an informal discussion on how we can support you across 2022 and beyond, please get in touch with Anthea Fosti on anthea@zeuspr.co.uk

by Zeus PR

Making a Lasting Impressive with your PR Event

Zeus PR agency is a company that majors in success when hosting exclusive events. And with the pandemic’s gradual decline allowing for clients to re-open their doors, we have made it our priority to ensure that the businesses we support continue to generate an abundance of exposure.

In order to re-capture consumer attention following an uncertain year, we have supported our clients by hosting a number of events that have been well attended by relevant news and luxury lifestyle publications, local dignitaries, and VIP clients.

We are now delighted to share our top tips on how to make sure your event is the hottest ticket in town!

Spark the senses and allure your audience -

Our involvement in promoting client exposure follows a process that begins with pre-prompting to raise awareness of upcoming plans. Achieving pre-event exposure involves a course of tasks that will ensure every touchpoint reflects your brand and creates desire to attend - simultaneously maximizing press interest.

… Inviting the press

In order to secure media coverage, creating an eye-catching initial press release is imperative as it creates a first impression for journalists that may consider attending.

Press releases may also contain a formal invitation and inclusion of notable participants that will be attending. This provides a legitimate feel to the upcoming occasion. They also may contain a ‘photocall notice’ with details of notable moments that may be captured for their pages.

TIP: don’t just target the press - consider inviting local bloggers that will provide a wider audience and create a large social impact thanks to their relevant influence e.g., a local art and entertainment influencer would be perfect for your client’s exclusive art exhibition preview.

… Inviting key customers and dignitaries

A private invitation received by notable guests, key customers, and local dignitaries must excite the potential attendee so it lodges firmly in their mind as a ‘must-attend’ for their diary – however if time scales are involved, an e-invitation serves as a budget-friendly way to present your event. It may sound a little obvious, but there is little point in distributing a swish invite which involves a time-consuming and costly process of designing and printing when your event is running for a long weekend.

Build Anticipation -

Capturing the attention of your target audience is vital when hosting a successful event. Social media plays an immense role in building anticipation for upcoming occasions as engaging with your target audience is vital when aiming to increase attendance. Posting a formal invitation to your client’s public event via social media handles creates awareness and provides a concise source of information that can easily be dispersed amongst groups for further audience reach.

Creating a series of ‘build-up’ posts (teasers) aids in enticing the public and maintaining their interest so the target audience will essentially be counting down the dates in anticipation of the company’s event.

Preview events are often attended by a chosen few, including businesses and brands to generate key exposure and attention in the lead of the public event. Successful pre-empting engages a relevant audience and ensures client doors gain a significant footfall over the coming months and years.

Alternatively, another one of our clients chose to pre-prompt their event in a different manner - by showcasing the exclusive preview launch to the public only a night before the public event began. Revealing an event to the public one night before its commencement proves effective when the exhibition is running for an extended period – in this case, the event ran for a month.

The Perfect Preview Event -

Attention to detail is a vital element that plays in hosting a seamless preview event. High-status guests and attending reporters expect to be greeted with a certain ‘wow factor' upon arrival to emphasize the importance of your exhibition and showcase the time which you have devoted to providing guests with a flawless presentation.

Hiring a catering company to provide aesthetically pleasing light snacks that look delicious and can be easily grazed upon shows a personal touch and creates a hospitable feel – don’t be afraid to guide guests to the catering space or help out in carrying platters as this breaks the ice and helps build a friendly reputation!

A manned stand providing a selection of alcoholic and soft drinks provides a social gathering spot and allows guests to remain refreshed – however, you may require extra bottles if your event falls on a Friday!

Adequate lighting and staging of your client’s showroom are vital elements for creating an accommodating space suitable for photography. This may require hiring event stagers to aid in the process of creating a clean, uncluttered space in order to professionally showcase clients’ products.

A notable guest speaker will spark press interest and provide an enticing reason for the press to attend your client’s event. If your event is debuting a specific collection or product, make sure the creator is there to provide guests with a face to the name. Inviting local dignitaries also maximizes press interest and provides a relevant reason to attend.

Post-event engagement -

Make sure you capture images that can be used on both social media and within post-event press releases and as part of any follow-up editorial that you have secured.

If budgets permit, you may want to consider booking a freelance press photographer, however, these days you can curate high-quality images from your iPhone. When images have been successfully staged, there is no reason why they can’t feature within national newspapers!

Success isn’t solely based on the event itself, as the actions that follow post-event create a lasting impact and ultimately boost the engagement with both key and potential customers.

Maintaining Momentum -

It’s all well and good to generate buzz but little point if you then drop off the cliff! Maintaining engagement with the target audience is vital for longer-running events, and regular updates via social media platforms act as an essential way to document progress in order to hold lasting interest. Throughout the duration of an event, we ensure that regular posts flow through our client’s social media feeds and continue to push for press coverage in both local and national publications, providing the public with a range of glossy images and informative captions that will entice footfall.

As you may have targeted your preview evening to a select few, once the event is open to the public it is vital that as many potential customers have eyes on your social media content and secured coverage as possible. Causing a lasting effect is imperative and that is why we stress the importance of capturing vibrant, clear shots of the evening to make it look interesting!

To support keeping you front of mind you need to regulate your media schedule with editorial placement in key digital and print titles as well as an engaging social plan.

Find the information above helpful and want to find out more about how to get the most out of your media coverage? Contact us at 01260 271429 or email anthea.fosti@zeuspr.co.uk for more information!

by Zeus PR

How To Leverage Your PR Coverage

We are delighted to share this insightful article by one of our fantastic interns, Tom Smith-Wrinch. Tom is a well-rounded student studying English and French at the University of Birmingham.

Here at Zeus PR, we believe that visibility is key. In a world in which the average human attention span has fallen down to just 8 seconds, we understand the importance of the ability to maximise coverage beyond the pages of a magazine. One piece of media coverage can go a long way; however, this can go even further if leveraged in the right way. Over the past few weeks, our hardworking team has secured national consumer pr coverage for our clients including Fabulosa, Horlicks, Real Stone & Tile, Kanula, Solution Fires and Weru UK, just to name a few.

Following on from these successes, we are proud to present you with a beginner’s guide to becoming more visible in the media.

1. Share, Share, Share

This one may seem obvious; however, one can never underestimate the importance of sharing. It is vital to start sharing content all over your social media today and in the future too to ensure maximum coverage. Think also about changing your wording from, ‘So excited ___ shared our story' to ‘In case you missed it…’. Shares will not only give you maximum media outreach, but they will also build your reputation as a source outlet for the reporter of today.

2. Create and Articulate

Why not try thinking about creating a blog post or a LinkedIn article about your media coverage and don’t be afraid to pop in a link to read the published piece. Give your audience and potential future clients the chance to bask in your successes. You could also think about utilising your blog to explore an in-depth behind-the-scenes look surrounding how your media coverage came to be or try exploring a certain topic a little deeper in order to pique further interest in what you have done.

3. Flaunt your visibility

Your visibility is your image. You have worked hard to get your coverage out into the public eye so why not flaunt it a little? Don’t be afraid to get in your ‘As seen in…’ image onto your website and into your social media cover pictures. After all, you are curating your credibility.

4. Sharing definitely is caring

Let the people around you know that you are doing well. Share your success with your newsletter list and clients. Acknowledging your client’s role in your achievement will only strengthen your relationship further. Don’t be afraid to remind clients why they chose to do business with you in the first place.

5. Sign off with a bang

Why not think about adding your piece of media coverage to your email signature? Not only will this reinforce your credibility as a thriving business but it will help bolster future media outreach from potential clients. Let companies know that you have what it takes.

When you leverage a piece of media coverage right, this will open up the doors to so more opportunities for both you and your business. The leveraging stage is probably the one that is the most overlooked by many businesses, however, it is indelibly the most crucial. Here at Zeus PR, we understand the importance of effective media coverage. We are proud to help companies get the most out of each media mention. We see your potential.

Found the information above helpful and want to find out more about how to get the most out of your media coverage? Contact us at 01260 271429  or email anthea.fosti@zeuspr.co.uk for more information!

by Zeus PR

Is your brand getting the attention it deserves?

For the past 12 months, life has been a struggle. We have changed the way we live in ways we never could have imagined.  It has been especially challenging for business owners, particularly those who’ve had to close their doors for long periods due to lockdown restrictions.

But finally, there is light at the end of the tunnel! The government announced its ‘roadmap out of lockdown’, and by June 21, we will be living in a world as close to the way things used to be with no limit on social contact.

From 12^th April, ‘non-essential’ shops, salons, hairdressers, theme parks, zoos, outdoor hospitality, holiday and camping facilities can all reopen, and it will be extremely important for businesses to tell their stories and get the attention it deserves.

Many people think that PR is only for large, multinational brands that have huge marketing budgets, but this is certainly a myth! PR is super essential for small businesses.  It can help you reach new customers and establish credibility for your business in ways that otherwise wouldn’t be possible with other marketing channels.

To help get business owners thinking about reopening once lockdown restrictions end, we have shared six key benefits a small business will gain from doing PR.

1) PR helps build credibility and won't break the bank

For small business owners, every penny has to go a long way. Getting journalists and influencers to write about your business won’t cost you a lot of money, but it does take time.

By investing in PR, you’re building credibility for your brand without breaking the bank. By getting others to consistently bring up your name in a positive context – be it journalists, influencers, happy customers, and even employees – will undoubtedly make your business grow in the long run.

2) It’s more effective than advertising

PR content provides an authentic touch to your business and getting a favourable mention of your brand, or providing an expert comment, holds much more weight than an ad.

While advertising builds exposure, Public Relations builds trust.

3) PR is supportive

PR is great for supplementing and supporting your initiatives and campaigns. Use PR to provide and deliver real value to your audience.  You’ll win people’s attention with something useful, educational, or inspiring.

To develop a successful PR campaign, you need to know and understand your audience to as much provide something they would consider valuable.

4) PR boosts brand visibility

Unlike traditional media, online media doesn’t have a shelf life. News articles remain visible on search engines indefinitely. This means any PR content you create can gain more value as it lives on.

Moreover, other news outlets, bloggers, and even customers may link and share the media coverage. By sharing timely and relevant stories across earned, owned, and shared channels you will keep your business high up in search engine rankings, which will, in turn, bring more customers knocking on your door.

5) Good PR strategies prevent problems

A key part of PR is to stay on top of what’s being said about your business and making sure that the information is accurate.  If you’re not monitoring your business, you could be risking your reputation. Remember, one negative comment can escalate and ruin your brand while building real trust and credibility takes years – so don’t take the risk.

6) PR helps you reach the right audience

With a PR campaign, you can be hyper-focused and reach out to the publications and online communities that are most relevant to your business—increasing the likelihood that any traffic back to your website is going to be more relevant and more likely to convert into a sale.

Whether you are interested in becoming a client, or just have a question in general, let’s talk. We’d love to start a discussion. Please give us a call on 01260 271450 or send us an email to anthea.fosti@zeuspr.co.uk

by Zeus PR

Wrapping up 2020 on a high note

At Zeus PR, we are proud to offer a tailored approach to propel our clients into the limelight. We are experts in product placement and we work extremely closely with our clients to deliver press exposure and substantial media coverage.

With the covid pandemic consuming most of the news over the past 10 months, we continued to remain positive and stay focused in delivering our targets for each and every client.

Over the past few weeks, our hardworking team has secured national consumer pr coverage for each of our lifestyle clients including Weru UK, Not a Box, Holly Johnson Antiques, Kanula, and Beelivery.

We have achieved enormous success, landing on pages of some of the most prominent media titles, including Living Etc, Woman & Home, The Sun, The Guardian, Style at Home, and Homes & Antiques!

Managing Director, Anthea Fosti said, “At the heart of everything we do is truly understanding what makes our clients stand out. We take a deep dive in our clients’ brand values and then activate thoughtful and proactive campaigns to get them noticed.

“For example, when Beelivery informed us that they were recruiting 20,000 drivers by Christmas, we executed a plan and landed the brand across many national media titles including The Sun, The Daily Mirror, and Hello! Magazine. And, to top it all off, we secured a feature on regional news programme, BBC NW Tonight, where they highlighted their successful year and ambitious plans for growth.”

by Zeus PR

Education PR in the Face of Adversity …

Throughout the pandemic, our inspirational school and college clients have continued to provide a first-class education, and so as education PR specialists the team here at Zeus has continued to use our sector expertise to secure media coverage for their latest news and views, helping to raise awareness and drive pupil recruitment in an increasingly competitive market.

First and foremost, a priority was to showcase how each school and college swiftly adapted to online teaching and learning.

Abbey College Manchester adopted a global approach to education during the college shutdown, ensuring that while it may not have been ‘lessons as normal’ it was certainly ‘learning as normal’, as it extended its educational reach to territories as far afield as the Far East. The college also switched to virtual open events, holding webinars which the agency promoted to the Cheshire-based media. Coverage was secured in key local and education titles including In Cheshire, Living Edge, Cheshire Life magazine, Independent Education Today and BBP Media.

Following a period of virtual teaching and learning, and online musical soirees, the extraordinary academic year at Beech Hall School culminated with an exciting digital awards ceremony, which saw 300 attendees from the school community join together virtually to commend the triumphant efforts made. Great coverage was secured in publications including Living Edge magazine, School House and the Macclesfield Express.

A Level and GCSE results days are always a significant event in the academic calendar. This year, in addition to preparing and sharing press releases and success stories, the team at Zeus was busy reacting to the latest government announcements to negotiate radio and TV interviews for our leading principals and head teachers to offer their views. We generated significant broadcast coverage for our clients including a duo of interviews on BBC Radio Manchester’s Mid-Morning Show with Mike Sweeney and That’s TV Manchester, as well as Cheshire’s Silk FM and Hits Radio.

As well as working with radio and TV stations, and, online news sites and newspapers, the agency is in regular contact with specialist independent education publications including Independent School Parent Magazine, School Report, Absolutely Education, School House and Tatler. To discuss how we can support you with education PR, get in touch with us here!

by Zeus PR

Generating News Through a COVID Lens

The wake of coronavirus and the UK lockdown has left many businesses reeling, and we have all had to adapt quickly to change. With further uncertainties looming in the months to come, we have all had to consider new ways of operating with creativity and resourcefulness.

As we watched the news agenda change completely over the past 6 months, our team at Zeus has been working as close as ever with our clients to contribute news and information that is relevant, helpful and appropriate to their sector under the circumstances.

One thing that has remained true is that good news is always worth shouting about.

Anthea Fosti, Managing Director of Zeus PR said, “When lockdown first hit in March, journalists and reporters were keen for positive stories, which helped break up the barrage of the negative stories that took centre stage for a few months. As things start to feel slightly more ‘normal’ and people are coming back from furlough, we are seeing publications continuing to share good news. As experts in PR, it our job to find the golden nuggets of relevant, good news stories, and we have had some great success in securing coverage for our clients through the pandemic in national, regional, local and trade press.”

Throughout the pandemic and ever-changing times, we have been asking ourselves a few questions to help generate the right type of exposure with the right tone of voice for our clients.

• Is your business doing anything to support others during this time?
• Is there anything positive or uplifting happening within your business that is relevant to the general public?
• Have you spotted any new or emerging trends within your sector?
• Has your business adapted something new or unique due to covid?

Here are some examples of coverage secured for our clients through a Covid lens:

Beelivery, the UK’s largest on-demand grocery delivery service, announced that the company is hiring 20,000 drivers as well as home-based HQ staff between now and Christmas in response to this year’s rising demand for their service.

The company was featured in BusinessLive, Insider Media, Retail Times, Love Money, and A1 Retail. The business editor of BusinessLive also interviewed Lee Parkinson, Co-Founder and CEO of Beelivery for an exclusive in-depth interview about the business growth and how they have continued to flourish throughout the pandemic.  Read more about Beelivery’s job creation news here

Teletext Holidays was keen to share recent key insights and trend data on the success of their Christmas bookings. Despite the travel industry thrown into disarray due to ever changing travel restrictions, Teletext Holidays has seen a highly impressive 97% Week on Week increase in bookings for the Christmas period (and an overall 164% increase in passengers), driven by Canaries, despite it still being on the quarantine list. Read more here

The positive news story featured in The Independent, The Telegraph and Travel Weekly!

To discuss how we can support you, get in touch with us here!

by Zeus PR

What a Year! Our 2019 Key Highlights…

Well, another year has flown by extremely quickly here at Planet Zeus – a whirlwind of product launches, events, news placement and digital content provision with busy schedules of social campaign planning and influencer outreach.

Here is a flavour of what we have been up to…

We absolutely love shouting about our client’s latest products and services from food & drink and cleaning products to wellness brands, luxury high-end interiors, fashion companies and online travel agencies, and have relished in the national media response we achieved for each and every one.

We started off the year with a majorly successful press and influencer launch with Englana, and their brand ambassador and former supermodel Jodie Kidd at The Ivy in Soho.

For Horlicks, we ran highly successful campaigns launching their New, Improved Horlicks Chocolate, and Horlicks Pods – Original and Chocolate, simply delicious and full of malty goodness that always go down a treat at Team Zeus!

And for Drink me Chai, we loved spreading the word of how you can create indulgent, barista-style beverages at home with the introduction of Drink me Chai’s deliciously aromatic, Spiced Chai Latte and Superblends. Again, the national newspapers, lifestyle mags and lovely high netting influencers loved receiving their samples and were all extremely complimentary in their product reviews.

Building on our travel PR portfolio, we have had major success for our client Teletext Holidays for whom we generated a whopping  229 items of national print and digital media coverage, with an impressive combined campaign reach of 141,130,642  - including 119 write ups in the two largest circulation tabloids The Sun /Sun on Sunday / Daily Mirror / Sunday Mirror.

And for our home and interiors clients; high-end home fragrance brand - madebyzen, premium German glazing manufacturer – Weru UK, and luxury bathroom and tile specialist - Real Stone & Tile, we amassed significant national lifestyle magazine, national newspaper and trade media coverage week in week out.

We also were thrilled to be appointed by two health and wellbeing brands. We are now the retained PR agency for iconic lubricant brand KY Jelly, for which we have been very busy working closely with the wider team, to generate significant exposure across the back end of 2019 and beyond into 2020. After supporting the brand previously, Zeus has also been reappointed by pioneering JL Aesthetics and have since secured press interest for their latest developments.

The year also saw the agency become the PR partner of the prestigious Women of the Year Luncheon and Awards. The glittering occasion took place at the Hilton Birmingham Metropole back in October and was an extraordinary celebration of female achievement.

Not to forget our very important education clients – leading colleges and schools located across the UK, for whom we very much enjoyed sharing news in 2019 of their very frequent successes. Big shout outs to DLD College London, Abbey College Manchester, Beech Hall School, Falcon’s School for Girls, Falcon’s Prep School for Boys and Portland Place School.

by Zeus PR