PLMR Group Media Snapshot: June 2024

June was a busy month as the nation celebrated Glastonbury Festival, the Trooping of the Colour and the start of the Euros 2024.

Meanwhile, we continued to achieve excellent results for our clients including media coverage across national, trade and regional outlets. Please read on to find out more about some of our media highlights for June 2024!

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/.

The Guardian: Acid offences up 75% in UK but only 8% go to court, data suggests

Client: ASTI (Acid Survivors Trust International)

Sector: Charity

In June, PLMR were proud to support ASTI for a second consecutive year to publicise the results of their research into the prevalence of acid attacks across the UK. The charity’s findings showed that acid offences have increased by 75% across the UK, with ASTI calling for urgent action on the issue by the next Government.

Working closely with the ASTI team, PLMR prepared a tailored press release and distributed the story widely to our media contacts at a range of national and local publications. The story was covered across the UK media landscape, with articles in a range of national outlets, and ASTI’s CEO Jaf Shah being interviewed on both Sky News and Good Morning Britain. Through our work, we were able to successfully support ASTI to raise awareness of a vitally important issue at a crucial moment.

The Times: Inside the weird and wonderful mansion of ‘Mr Poundland’

Client: Fisher German

Sector: Property

PLMR Advent supported client Fisher German to promote the sale of Ludstone Hall Estate, in Shropshire, which is being marketed by the leading property consultancy for £7,775,000.

Uniquely, the stunning property was owned by Keith Smith, who co-founded Poundland with his son Steve Smith in 1990. Although they sold Poundland in 2002, the property still has a museum dedicated to the high street chain in its grounds to this very day. Keith passed away in 2022 and the family is now selling the property.

PLMR Advent used the Poundland connection as a media hook. We pitched the estate to The Sunday Times and welcomed Deputy Property Editor, David Byers, for a guided tour of the property with Steve Smith himself. This resulted in a double-page spread in the title’s property supplement. We also secured coverage in titles including The Daily Mail, MailOnline, The Sun, Daily Star, Time Out, Country Life, Birmingham Mail, Express and Star and Insider Media, and welcomed ITV Central to film at the property.

BBC East Midlands: Hundreds of schoolchildren take part in eco event

Client: Judgemeadow Community College

Sector: Education

PLMR has been working with Judgemeadow Community College to build positive relationships with local media and showcase the brilliant work at the school.

The school recently held a trust-wide Eco Rally, with more than 1,000 pupils from Lionheart Educational Trust coming together to learn about sustainability and biodiversity. To highlight the strength of the teaching and learning experience at the school and how this project helped further develop students’ understanding of global issues, we worked with them to put together a strong story and media package, including offering interviews with the school’s science teacher and some members of the school’s Eco Club.

We secured a broadcast feature on BBC East Midlands Today and liaised with the production team to ensure the filming ran smoothly. We also secured coverage in the Leicester section of BBC News and a BBC Radio Leicester interview.

East Anglian Daily Times: Memberships invited for David Lloyd gym in Bury St Edmunds

Client: David Lloyd Clubs

Sector: Health & Wellbeing

David Lloyd Clubs is developing a new Club in Bury St Edmunds which is planned to open later this year. PLMR Genesis is working with the team to raise awareness of the new Club, promote the facilities on offer and the benefits, and increase membership sign-ups.

As part of a 12-month campaign plan, we drafted and issued a press release on the launch of membership sign-ups which achieved prominent coverage, including online in the East Anglian Daily Times.

East Anglian Daily Times

Yorkshire Evening Post: Celebrations as care home opens, creating 100 jobs

Client: Exemplar Health Care

Sector: Social Care

PLMR Group worked with Exemplar Health Care, the UK’s leading complex needs care provider, to spotlight the opening of their new Leeds care home, Hillside Court. At the time of opening, Hillside Court was Exemplar Health Care’s 50th care home, with its opening having created 100 new jobs in the area. PLMR has supported Exemplar Health Care with approximately 15 care home openings in the past almost two years.

This story received excellent local and trade press coverage, including in the print version of the highly influential Yorkshire Evening Post. This announcement helped boost awareness of the brand and its growth journey, as well as the much-needed care services on offer at the new home.

You can read the article in print.

In other news...

Clusters of Change: Key Electoral Battlegrounds for the Life Sciences Sector

Client: PLMR Healthcomms

Sector: Health

PLMR Healthcomms launched its latest insight report ‘Clusters of Change: Key Electoral Battlegrounds for the Life Sciences Sector,’ an in-depth analysis of the UK’s innovation activity across the life sciences, the key electoral battlegrounds for these clusters of activity, and the candidates set to win these seats.

Utilising the Innovation Clusters Map from the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology, which presents the most comprehensive picture of innovation activity across the UK, Clusters of Change maps the innovation activity of the pharmaceutical and medical technology sectors against the constituencies being fought in the general election.

With information from the PLMR Candidates Portal and polling data from Electoral Calculus, Clusters of Change provides the contact information for the leading candidates for seats set to change hands in a few days. This is paired with top-line insight into which parties are set to win which seats, and which Party would form a Government in a Life Sciences Parliament.

Key findings include:

  • Of the 285 constituencies covering pharmaceutical and medical technology innovation activity, 234 are predicted to be won by the Labour Party, 82% of all available.
  • Across a Life Science Parliament, the Liberal Democrats would be the formal opposition, on course to win 23 seats.
  • Across those areas only containing pharmaceutical activity, the Conservative Party are predicted to lose all their seats, with Labour on track to win 32 seats and the Liberal Democrats four.
  • The Conservative Party have their best showing in innovation hubs unique to medical technology, set to win 10 seats (10% of those available).

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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