Nowadays, companies are fighting to attract people’s attention. Whether it’s through social media marketing, offline marketing, or newsletters, it’s definitely a challenging task to stand out from the crowd, be seen and noticed.
One common practice is launching PR campaigns.
? Read Digital PR Explained: Best Strategies and Tools
To show you some of the best public relations examples, we introduce you to some of the most creative, impactful, and successful PR campaigns done by companies of various sizes and from different industries.
Without further ado, let’s dive right in.
A Public Relations Campaign – What Is it and Why Should you Make it a Part of Your Marketing Strategy?
A public relations (PR) campaign is a broad marketing strategy aimed to forge an emotional connection between your product, service, or business and your target audience. PR campaigns can involve researching social media trends, naming opportunities, booking preferred spokespeople for interviews or media tours.
Essentially, a public relations campaign consists of a variety of activities that serve a specific purpose and contribute to one and the same goal for a business. Public relations campaigns always have a specific objective, as well as a fixed timeline.
Making a PR campaign is an excellent method for marketing your company.
It helps publicize your company’s success, shows potential customers what you are proud of, develops communication between clients and vendors, and introduces new products.
Nowadays, there are plenty of PR campaign tools. They can make the work of PR managers easier in many ways. For example, by simplifying communication with customers (all you need is the correct address, easy to verify with a email validation API). Or, by creating press releases on popular media websites without making too much effort to promote your event.
Best Public Relations Examples
As promised, below you’ll find some of the greatest public relations examples to inspire your next PR campaign.
#1 Carlsberg and the “Adopt a Keg” Campaign
If you’ve been following our blog for a while now, you’re probably already familiar with this campaign. If not, now’s the perfect time to find out what it was all about.
In an attempt to deal with the challenging period of time mixed with isolation caused by the COVID-19 virus, the world’s famous beer company from Denmark came up with a highly innovative and thoughtful “Adopt a Keg” campaign in 2020.
The pandemic forced plenty of us, including bargoers, to stay home and avoid public gatherings. Many people had to say a firm “No” to our favorite meetings in bars and restaurants.
Luckily, Carlsberg found a very interesting solution to respond to the decreasing number of beer units sold, while also staying on top of their efforts to maintain great brand awareness and image.
During the campaign, customers could scan Carlsberg products bought in-store to fill a virtual keg. When the establishments reopened, customers would receive two free beers for every 4 cans that they scanned with their smartphone while in isolation.
Besides generating immediate in-store sales, this PR campaign built a lasting impression for the brand by emphasizing the importance of the safety and health of its consumers. It showed a customer-centric approach that is adjusted to the current situation and puts consumers’ needs first.
Read Revolutionizing PR: How AI-powered Media Monitoring Can Benefit PR Professionals
#2 Dove – Real Beauty
Another company on our list of great public relations examples is Dove. It’s now been almost a decade since Dove, a women’s skincare brand, launched its Real Beauty campaign. It’s still a very powerful move for the brand to this today.
In the campaign, women and girls were shown at every stage of a certain process. The idea was centered around an artist who drew 2 sketches of one and the same woman. The first one is drawn based on how a woman describes herself. The next one reflects how a different woman describes the first one.
As a result, the second drawing always turned out to be a bit better. That way, Dove wanted to share a message that women are more beautiful than they think they are. From discussing beauty standards to deconstructing the “throw like a girl” phrase, Dove’s Real Beauty campaigns have shown great solidarity with their customers.
#3 Lego and the Rebuild the World Campaign
How great would it be if we could all rebuild our world to what it was before COVID-19 hit us? Well, LEGO had a similar idea…
The year 2021 began with many people rebuilding and reinforcing their lives following a year of ups and downs. To promote hope, creativity, and resilience, LEGO launched its Rebuild the World campaign in pursuit of its brand vision. The idea perfectly fits into LEGO’s values, which highlight that the ability to build anything begins in early childhood.
With a 13ft globe exhibiting creations from around the world, the LEGO Group has unveiled an awe-inspiring installation. The installation showcased the endless imagination and creativity of children. Hundreds of LEGO creations were sent to the company’s headquarters in Denmark. After over 2700 hours of work – a giant globe was finally put together.
Adults and their children needed that message of unity and creativity now more than ever before. LEGO knew exactly how to address this need.
This PR marketing campaign presented the brand’s products in a way that goes beyond their basic functionality. That also shows creativity in linking a meaningful message and the brand’s products together.
This can be considered a great public relations example since it was well-timed, fits great with the nature of LEGO and their products, and drew a lot of attention.
All of this certainly contributed to LEGO’s brand reputation and awareness, bringing great results both in terms of PR and profit.
#4 State Street Global Advisors’ Fearless Girl
Moving on, let’s have a look at how companies promote gender diversity. State Street Global Advisors’ Fearless Girl statue situated in New York, became a symbol of the financial sector’s lack of gender diversity, as well as the women working to change it.
Additionally, it was a carefully crafted advertisement for the fund’s exchange-traded Gender Diversity Index SHE. Since putting up the statue, State Street Global Advisors has received a lot of publicity and even some criticism. It hasn’t always been 100% clear if it’s truly committed to gender diversity.
When it comes to PR campaigns, your company should make sure your words comply with your actions. Be sure you’re backing up your claims with your company’s real actions. Don’t use social topics for a marketing and publicity stunt.
This PR campaign was great as it touched upon a very relevant and current issue. It showed the public that the investment management division cares about the state of their industry.
#5 IKEA and the #StayHome Campaign
Ikea is worldwide known for its highly accessible home accessories and appliances. This Swedish home decor giant recognized the opportunity to encourage people to enjoy staying at home as lockdowns were being implemented around the world.
As part of its #StayHome campaign, the brand paid tribute to homes around the globe. In the campaign, we were reminded there’s no place like home for those who are experiencing nostalgia, comfort, and togetherness. Although Ikea is a brand that is able to supply us with furniture and home goods that can improve any space quickly and affordably, that wasn’t the direct part of the brand’s message in this particular campaign. This time, the brand focused less on promoting itself and more on uniting with its consumers, showing empathy and understanding.
This PR campaign showed appreciation for homes around the world, encouraging people to adapt to and embrace the new reality. Not only was it interesting to watch, but it also portrayed the company in a very positive light, clearly showing that it cares about the well-being of its customers.
#6 Zara’s At-Home Photoshoot
Moving on with the best public relations examples, it’s important to mention Zara. The internationally recognized clothing retailer also hopped on the stay-at-home trend to promote the idea that fashion is also important at home, even if no one apart from you can see what you’re wearing. The Shot From Home campaign featured models who took photos from their own homes rather than photoshoot studios or exotic locations.
It was a fantastic response to declining clothing sales. And that’s because people were dressing for comfort rather than style due to the pandemic and a decreased number of opportunities to go out and dress up.
#7 Tesco’s Support for the Hospitality Industry
It is always a pleasure to see a corporate organization display its solidarity – especially when they are large corporations.
Businesses in the UK took a hit in 2020 (except for maybe those that produce hand sanitizers or face masks). The hospitality industry faced the consequences of the virus the most. Time in lockdown passed through and by mid-April, restaurants, bars, and pubs slowly began opening up again in the UK. This was when Tesco showed their British consumers that Tesco stores aren’t the center of the world by encouraging them to shop for their favorite beers in… local pubs.
This is just one of many public relations examples that show thoughtfulness, empathy, and solidarity.
#8 KFC and their New Version of the Finger-Lickin’ Tagline in a PR Campaign
Despite the “Finger-Lickin’ Good” tagline being firmly embedded in KFC’s branding strategy, it didn’t seem like the most appropriate message to be spreading in the middle of the pandemic. To stay relevant and up to date, KFC decided to temporarily cover the finger-lickin’ part in their communication – quite literally.
By changing the previous slogan to one with the phrase finger-lickin’ being blurred out, the brand was able to advertise personal hygiene in a funny and humorous way, putting a hold on licking fingers for the duration of the pandemic.
Public relations campaigns don’t have to be boring and highly corporate and KFC is the perfect example of that.
Get Inspired by These Public Relations Examples and Create your Next Successful PR Campaign with Determ
Now that you know how far creativity and the ability to stay up to date with PR activities can take various brands, it’ll be easier for you to come up with your own set of great ideas for your next public relations campaign.
In order to be perfectly prepared for the moments when a PR campaign will be more than needed for your brand, it’s important to always know what people are talking about you online. What’s the sentiment towards your brand like? How often are people talking about you? Are they talking positive or negative things? These are some of the things that absolutely must be monitored on a regular basis to react in time – before a public crisis around your brand’s name escalates.
A very helpful solution here is Determ – an award-winning media monitoring and social listening tool which tracks your brand’s mentions all across the Internet.
Besides tracking mentions, Determ will help you understand the virality, reach, engagement, sentiment, and many more metrics crucial for understanding the perception of your PR campaign.
