Some of the most important sporting events aren’t the ones that draw crowds or have heavy investment behind them, but ones that set out to change people’s lives.

Delivering work that strives to have a positive impact on society is an ethos that runs throughout PLMR, and is one of the reasons why I am delighted to be leading on the PR for the Westfield Health British Transplant Games, which is taking place in Sheffield this summer.

The Games sees transplant recipients, donors and their families competing across various sports, and is a crucial tool to raise awareness of organ and stem cell donation.

More than 8,000 people are currently on the waiting list for a transplant, at a time when people are being urged to ‘have the conversation’ with their family about consenting to donate and register their decision on the NHS Organ Donor Register.

During our early days of working for the Games, it was obvious that this event has the power to amplify the benefits of consenting to organ donation through its competitors and supporters.

Having strong human-interest stories is one thing, but how you use and pitch them to the media requires proper thought, and if executed correctly, creates the potential to generate publicity not just for the four days of the Games in August, but all year round.

This is where the importance of news hooks come in; and most recently we were able to tie one of our case studies to Valentine’s Day, and the media “loved it”!

We pitched a story to consumer media about a wife who donated her kidney to her husband on Valentine’s Day itself, who is now going on to compete in golf at the Games.

It appeared in the Daily Mirror and i-Weekend, through to the Yorkshire Post, and a prime-time interview slot on ITV Calendar, all of which were important in trying to get the general public talking about organ donation.

In every case study we create, there are real life examples of the key messages we want to get across whether it is encouraging people to consent to organ donation, celebrating and thanking donors and their families, or promoting the importance of physical activity for transplant recipients.

Showcasing these personal stories is a PR tool that every organisation should be utilising to help its key messaging stand out in a crowded media landscape.

It’s an approach that has enabled us to generate results for an array of clients over the years on both owned and earned media channels, from the 2023 International Blind Sport Federation World Games, through to helping the British Judo Association to reach

non-traditional audiences, all at a time where attention spans are increasingly shrinking.