Despite a rather disappointing month of typical British weather, the month of May has had some consolations, with some amazing PR campaigns, the light at the end of the Covid tunnel getting closer and closer by the day…and a surprise sunny bank holiday to finish it off as well!
With International Harry Potter Day on the 2nd of May, it’s only right to continue the ‘theme of theme-ing’ by celebrating the world’s most magical holiday. So, as your resident Hatch Sorting Hat, I will be assigning some of May’s best PR campaigns to their hypothetical houses.
But first, let’s take a look at what’s been going on behind the walls at Hatchwarts School of Pitchcraft and Releasery.
At the start of the month, we helped Russell Hobbs partner up with PG Tips to spread ‘Positivitea’, sending out wellness packs to give you that warm fuzzy feeling inside.
Also, we worked with renowned talent management and theatre training programme, Stagebox, to find the next young Daniel Radcliffe by spreading the good news about their free auditions at Leeds Playhouse.
Elsewhere, the Boost team have hopped on their brooms to bring a slice of holiday back home, hosting a fantastic beach experiential in Covent Garden as part of the ‘Man-Go for it’ campaign to launch the tropical new Mango flavour.
A moment for the troopers who had to put all that sand back into the bags after they were done.
Right then, with that covered, on to The Sorting Ceremony – let’s take a look at what else has been happening this month in the wonderful world of PR…
Hufflepuff
Standing for all things loyal and kind, a Hufflepuff campaign should be thoughtful and have a good sense of all things fair. Hence, this month’s nomination is Instagram, with its decision to offer their users the option to hide the number of likes they receive as a means of reducing social media pressure. Mental health is always an important topic and although there’s definitely more to do in this space, the new feature enables users to have more control over their ability to shape their social consumption into what’s good for them.
Gryffindor
Described as the house of the daring and the brave, a Gryffindor campaign is bold and can even challenge authority to set things right. Therefore, something that stood out was this video by Greenpeace, which challenged the UK government’s plastic policy. Despite its humorous style, there is a powerful message behind this video that puts the true nature of our country’s waste into perspective.
What’s the UK government’s plastic policy? Dump it on other countries! Less than 10% of our plastic recycling is actually recycled in the UK.
The rest is sent overseas where it’s often burned or dumped, fuelling health and wildlife emergencies.RT to expose. #Wasteminster 1/5 pic.twitter.com/Jx1IzpRipE
— Greenpeace UK (@GreenpeaceUK) May 17, 2021
Ravenclaw
As the house of the wise, Ravenclaw is perfect for those clever stats-based campaigns for things make you go “Hmmmm….”. So, this month’s winner is a survey conducted by StudyInnGroup looking at ‘The Most Fun Cities to be a Student in 2021’. Looking at factors such as the number of pubs, average pint price, societies and student satisfaction, Leeds was named the top city!
Shocker 😉
Slytherin
Finally, it’s Slytherin’s turn. Sly and cunning, this house represents all the campaigns that don’t quite hit the mark. This month, West Midlands Trains are the ones to be sent to Azkaban, after they sent staff a fake bonus email in a cyber-security test. The email promised a financial reward for their “hard work” during the Covid pandemic, only to be told it was a security test after clicking the link. With staff members making very real sacrifices over the past 12 months, it was deemed crass and reprehensible by the union and wider public.
Anyways, that’s all for now. Get your sunnies ready and prepare yourselves for a blistering 3 weeks of British June sunshine.
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