PLMR Group Media Snapshot: January 2024

January is usually known for its dark nights, slower weeks, and forlorn faces as we all try to stick to our “new year, new us” commitments which for many are likely to be short-lived. However, this year, January has flown by in a flurry of activity – storms Henk, Isha and Jocelyn blew in and then out again, VAT on period pants was abolished, teenager Luke Littler made darts fans out of all of us as he became the youngest finalist of the PDC World Darts Championship and of course, The Traitors final caused intrigue and outrage across the country.

There has certainly been no slow start to the year at PLMR either. Members of our Education Practice attended The Bett Show, the largest education technology festival in the world. We also hosted a packed-out event with Jim Pickard, Deputy Political Editor at the Financial Times with a look ahead to what’s to come in the world of UK politics in 2024, and we have been busy preparing for our upcoming roundtable event with Sir Conor Burns MP, the Prime Minister’s Trade Envoy for the USA, on 6th February.

Alongside this, we started the new year off strong, securing masses of media coverage across national, trade and regional outlets for our clients. We will keep you in suspense no more – take a look below at our media highlights for January 2024!

Daily Mail: ‘Care home inquiries for parents made by more daughters than sons’

Client: carehome.co.uk

Team: PR and Corporate Communications

Sector: Social Care

carehome.co.uk is a care home reviews website, with more than 300,000 reviews, allowing residents and their families to rate care homes in a bid to make finding the right home easier for care seekers.

Drawing on carehome.co.uk’s unrivalled expertise in the social care sector, PLMR analysed internal data from enquiries made on carehome.co.uk’s free care helpline to create an original and newsworthy story. PLMR focused on the number of sons and daughters looking for care and highlighted the gender disparity among children seeking care for their parents.

PLMR then crafted a press release and secured interest from national journalists and publications across the UK. The story brought carehome.co.uk’s sector-leading expertise to a wide audience and was featured in more than 170 publications, including national titles such as the Daily Mail, Evening Standard, and The Independent, local titles, and specialist trade publications, such as Care Home Professional.

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The Guardian: How rice hidden by a woman fleeing slavery in the 1700s could help her descendants

Client: The Crop Trust

Team: Energy and Sustainability

Sector: Food & Sustainability

The Crop Trust is an international nonprofit organisation with a mission to safeguard global crop diversity. PLMR worked with the Crop Trust to pitch an exclusive story to The Guardian about how rare hinterland rice species, stored in the hair

of women escaping slavery in 1700, are being safeguarded and used to help fight the climate crisis in Suriname. The hinterland rice which is used by the Samaaka Maroon community in Suriname will be backed up in the remote Svalbard Global Seed Vault for the first time.

PLMR identified the opportunity following research shared by the Trust from a research trip to Suriname and worked closely with The Guardian Age of Extinction team to secure an exclusive. PLMR supported the Crop Trust with the arrangements for a press trip to Suriname, where the reporter was able to visit the rice research centre SNRI/ADRON, interview members of the Samaaka Maroon community and experts from The Crop Trust. The final piece included an excellent write-up of the work of the Trust and a range of interviews with key spokespeople.

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The BBC: Pandemic puppy owners struggle with bad behaviour say vets

Client: The Royal Veterinary College

Team: Education

Sector: Higher Education & Animal Welfare

The Royal Veterinary College (RVC) is the top vet school in the world, with campuses in Camden and Potters Bar. PLMR worked closely with the RVC’s researchers to promote the latest instalment of the Pandemic Puppies research which examined the impact of the pandemic on the behaviours of dogs, dog owners and wider industry trends.

In collaboration with the RVC team, PLMR identified the most newsworthy angle to the research, drafted a press release which highlighted the key messages of the study and portrayed the importance of dog welfare. Having established a strong relationship with the BBC, PLMR liaised to agree an exclusive. As a result, interviews with the lead researchers and the story were featured across all BBC platforms achieving 500 pieces of coverage, including BBC Breakfast, national BBC Radio stations and many regionals and a feature on the BBC News Instagram account which has over 27 million followers and the post received more than 48,500 likes and more than 550 comments. In addition, PLMR also secured coverage in key national and trade publications such as The Guardian, The Times, Sky News and Vet Times.

Read the article

The Sun: Award-winning Travel

Client: No Ordinary Hospitality

Team: PLMR Advent

Sector: Hospitality

PLMR Advent secured national print coverage for No Ordinary Hospitality venue, Coombe Abbey Hotel, this month. The Sun issued a glowing review of a one-night stay in its ‘Check In Check Out’ column after PLMR Advent pitched the 12th-century venue, which drew high praise from the visiting journalist who described it as “a magical place in a wonderful setting”. The review comes as PLMR Advent continues to grow its links to national travel media, with regular coverage achieved over the last year.

The Coventry-based hospitality operators have also been in the trade media spotlight with news of a supplier partnership with an acclaimed local vineyard featured in Hotel Owner, as well as key regional business titles.

Read the article

Heating and Plumbing Monthly: Squaring the circle for off-grid heating

Client: OFTEC

Team: PLMR Genesis

Sector: Energy

OFTEC is a leading trade organisation for the heating and cooking industries of the UK and the Republic of Ireland. In the current cost of living crisis, there are naturally concerns about how consumers will afford the costs of switching to low-carbon heating, so PLMR Genesis worked with OFTEC to outline their proposals to the sector and build support in their industry.

The team secured a full-page editorial for OFTEC in a leading trade magazine, Heating and Plumbing Monthly, outlining how the government could help rural homes off the gas grid transition to affordable, greener heating systems by adopting multi-technological solutions in its net zero policies.

The full story is available in print.

In other news...

Tech UK: Revolutionising Healthcare in the UK: The Transformative Impact of Data on Patient Outcomes, with Emphasis on Data Security

Client: Mastek

Team: Healthcomms

Sector: Digital health

Mastek is a digital and cloud transformation specialist that helps enterprises navigate the digital landscape and stay competitive. PLMR Healthcomms secured a strategic opportunity for the client to place a thought leadership piece on the Teck UK website and have it circulated to their mailing list. Mastek Senior Vice President, Healthcare UKI and Europe, Assad Tabet by-lined an article which outlined the importance of data security on patient outcomes in the NHS.

We’ll be back next month with PLMR Group’s latest media hits, but in the meantime, you can read more about PLMR’s award-winning PR services over on our case studies page: https://plmr.co.uk/case-studies/.

Find out more

We’ll be back next month with PLMR Group’s latest media hits, but in the meantime you can read more about PLMR’s award-winning PR services over on our case studies page.

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PLMR’s crisis communications experience is second to none, and includes pre-emptive and reactive work across traditional and social media channels. We work with a range of organisations to offer critical communication support when they are faced with difficult and challenging scenarios.