5 Impactful PR Campaign Examples and Steps to Successfully Create One
Last update: 3 October 2023 at 03:36 pm
3.00/5A Public Relations (PR) campaign is a strategically launched plan that, if executed effectively, improves a company or brand’s reputation, sales, and more. And demand for PR has only increased in 2022 and 2023 (for more on that, check out our state of PR report)
Yet, there’s more to PR than just launching a press release or organizing fundraisers. PR campaigns also include other functions that require software tools to measure the success of each PR project.
For this reason, we’ll share everything there’s to know about creating an effective PR campaign. Today, you’ll learn about the best practices of PR campaigns, including the steps to start and examples.
The Purpose and Concept of a PR Campaign
A PR campaign’s concept involves setting a set of planned activities to achieve a clear objective in a fixed time frame.
For instance, if your client is a company that wants to increase its sales over a certain amount of time. Then, your PR campaign will have the same goal of increasing sales for the company over the set deadline.
Also, companies may have new products or services that require to be promoted. In addition, other common objectives of PR campaigns are spreading awareness, getting publicity, and building a positive relationship with the audience.
Whatever the main objective is, the PR professional’s purpose is to use their flair, creativity, and organizational skill sets to launch a PR campaign that adheres to the client’s goals and predefined timeframes.
5 Unforgettable PR Campaign Examples
Now, get inspiration from the following list of the best game-changing PR campaigns ever launched. Likewise, make sure to include some elements from these examples in your public relations strategy.
Example 1: Carlsberg Adopt-a-Keg
Carlsberg is the famous Danish brewery known for its slogan “probably the best beer in the world”. During the lockdown in 2020, the company launched a PR campaign with the objective of helping bars in Denmark survive.
The campaign asked people to “adopt a keg” by scanning a barcode which they could fill up virtually and redeem for real beers (up to four cans) as soon as bars were open again.
Yet, the impact of the campaign was not only helping local bars. Also, it spread hope to people that there was going to be a tomorrow where we will all be drinking beers at bars together again.
Example 2: Imagine by CPB London
CPB London is a British ad agency that successfully capture the attention of a larger audience with its campaign “Imagine” launched during International’s Women Day in 2022.
The agency’s focus was to spread awareness of gender bias by posing questions that are generally associated with gender prejudice.
Example 3: Save Ralph
2022 Webby award-winning short film by Humane Society International presents through animation the life of a lab test rabbit.
Most consumers ignore the process behind the making of a product. The reason why this campaign was so successful is that it emphasizes the cruelty done to animals for testing.
Moreover, it pressures companies to stop animal testing in the hopes of promoting animal rights.
Example 4: Dove Real Beauty Sketches
Dove is a company dedicated to personal care products. In 2013, they launched a successful campaign to spread awareness of “real beauty”. In fact, online platforms such as social media channels play a role in setting unattainable standards of beauty.
The campaign’s core concept is a self-reflection of how each one of us perceives ourselves if we were asked to describe ourselves physically against the reality of how others perceive us.
With the message “You’re more beautiful than you think”, Dove created an effective method to promote its brand values and connect in a positive way with its audience.
Example 5: Lego Rebuild the World
In this campaign, the famous toy company encourages both adults and kids to foster their creative minds.
Lego created a campaign to tell us that each one of us can “rebuild” the world with a little creativity to solve problems in unique ways.
The Most Popular Reasons for Launching a PR Campaign
Ensuring the long-term success of the brand or business is the main reason for PR campaigns.
Below are some of the most popular reasons companies and brands employ PR campaigns:
- Helping to educate people and consumers.
- Assisting the company or the brand to receive more media attention.
- Increasing a company’s revenue and profitability.
- Raising awareness of new services and products.
- Building brand loyalty and brand reputation.
- Drawing attention to the company or brand.
- Establishing company or brand identity and credibility.
- Sharing company news.
- Addressing negative comments to enhance the company or brand’s public image.
Public Relations Campaign: Best Practices
The best PR campaigns continue to aid a business’ success long after the campaign has come to an end due to effective communication and best practice strategies.
Here are our best practice tips to assist you in getting your PR campaign off to a great start.
- Predetermine the PR campaign’s overall objective, deadline, and target audience.
- Once you have the above, you can establish the financial budget and roadmap of the PR campaign.
- Employ your creative talents and flair to create an exciting story and illustrate how the story will add value to the target audience.
- Build relationships with media role players who are in the business of covering the specific industry of the brand or company you’ll be representing in your PR campaign. Make sure you have 360 media coverage over all media outlets, including print, news, social media, television, radio, and more.
- Always allow ample tweaking of your campaign project plan. Experience has taught PR professionals that there are always some unforeseen events that occur, which disrupt project plans and deadlines. Be prepared to think fast on your feet and have a plan B in place to get the project plan back on track as soon as possible.
The Best Steps to Create PR Campaigns
Now that you have more information on the basics of PR campaigns, you can jump right in and start creating your own unique PR campaign.
Here are the best steps that we recommend you follow.
Establish the campaign’s objectives
As mentioned, it’s critical to determine the PR campaign’s goals or objectives first. Establish the time frame, budget, and target audience.
Each PR campaign is unique. These factors influence your PR roadmap, and this step is critical to the success of your PR project.
Survey competitor strategies
Complete digital and non-digital media reviews of competitors and benchmark these. Analyze market trends and establish how your PR campaign will fit into the broader market segment.
Form an effective plan to counter competitors’ strategies or create a fresh new PR strategy.
Determine the target audience’s needs
It would help if you found out more about your target audience for your PR campaign to succeed.
For example, if you plan to increase awareness and sales of nappies, your target group will be expecting mothers or moms with babies or toddlers, not female consumers with teen kids.
Establish what these mothers’ needs are. In this case, specific needs could include value for money, comfort, and more.
Arrange focus groups to generate new ideas and get fresh perspectives from consumers. Get the target audience mix and needs right.
Link the feedback and create a roadmap
Once you have the information mentioned above, you’ll be able to connect the suggestions and feedback to create a PR campaign roadmap.
Determine the campaign message that’ll attract your target audience and establish which media outlets you’ll employ to broadcast your message.
Choose the right platform according to what your target audience uses the most. Also, consider off-line media platforms such as press releases, conferences, billboards, and more.
Consider also using social media influencers and digital marketers. Here, you need to define project tasks, role players, and internal project deadlines.
Obtain initial feedback
It would be best to get early feedback before launching your PR campaign. Here, you’ll be able to catch mistakes and avoid communicating immaterial or inaccurate messages.
Does your message still target what’s essential to your audience? Will your PR campaign help solve pain points, and does your main message reverberate with your target audience?
These are a few of the questions you should ask. Present your overall PR roadmap to your customer and ensure that it still aligns with objectives, brand values, and preferences.
Complete a final check before the launch
Complete a final check by double-checking if suppliers will hold fast to launch dates. Ensure everything is accurate and will take place according to the PR project plan.
Include room for adjustments should Murphy make an appearance. Ensure your PR roadmap has made holiday concessions and be vigilant of competitor updates.
Track the success of your PR campaign
It will help if you monitor the success of your PR campaign. If your objective was to increase sales of a specific product then you can review sales statistics.
You should also monitor mentions in press articles, social media outreaches, brand website traffic and backlinks, and the brand referenced in media content.
Our PR agencies can help you |
Discover the most relevant agencies for your project based on your own specific requirements.
Find me an agency!Monitoring Software for Public Relations Campaigns
There are various software tools available that’ll help you monitor your success. These software tools are critical in becoming a PR powerhouse.
Here are some of the PR software tools that’ll assist you:
- Targeting software for social media influencers.
- Software tools that track media broadcasting extensively.
- Distribution software that stores press releases and their information in a database.
- CRM software that serves as an interface to manage suppliers, customers, and assets.
- Analytical and reporting software that analyzes website traffic.
FAQs
We’ve compiled a list of questions about PR campaigns to help you on your PR journey.
What is the best PR campaign?
The Carlsberg Adopt-a-Keg PR campaign is rated as the most successful in 2021. The Denmark beer producer cleverly allowed customers to use their mobile phones by scanning Carlsberg products and filling up a virtual Carlsberg keg.
A customer would receive a credit to redeem at a restaurant or bar after scanning four Carlsberg products into the virtual keg. This increased sales and awareness of the brand significantly.
What are the steps of a PR campaign?
PR campaign steps include:
- Establishing the campaign objectives
- Surveying competitor strategies
- Determining the target audience needs
- Connecting feedback and creating a roadmap
- Obtaining initial feedback
- Completing a final check
- Monitoring the success of the PR campaign
What are PR campaign objectives?
PR campaigns can have many objectives. Some of the most popular objectives include increasing sales and profitability, building brand loyalty, and establishing brand awareness, credibility, or identity.
What are the elements of a PR campaign?
The main elements of a PR campaign include strategically launching a set of activities within a predetermined timeframe that, if executed effectively, improves a company or brand’s public image.
Start Your Own Campaign!
If you follow this guide, you’ll be running your own successful PR campaign in no time. Promote your customers’ brand and tell their story by employing your unique creative angle to distinguish them from the competition.
Public relations campaigning is extremely rewarding. Contact our experts in PR and get started now with your next PR campaign!
