For Women’s History Month, BusinessFinancing.co.uk highlighted some of the most influential women in business around the world. After analysing data from Crunchbase, the financial advice company made a list of the top female founders in every country.
Studies have found that female entrepreneurs are less likely to receive funding than their male counterparts, and are more likely face negative attitudes during pitches. The results of this campaign were based on female founders who secured the most funding for their business.
When you use publicly available data for a Digital PR campaign, you need to make sure you present it creatively.
Sending journalists a table of names and numbers won’t gain much traction, but presenting that data in a striking, informative and visual way makes a huge difference, and makes it your own.
BusinessFinancing.co.uk took the data and presented it in a set of eye-catching maps, one for each continent and one for the whole globe.
This is a creative, insightful, and impactful campaign; and all it took was a little bit of number crunching, some slick graphic design, and many hundreds of inspiring women.
Clarks Originals rounded out a month of Women’s History Month celebrations by launching the #InHerShoes campaign in collaboration with black-owned accessory brand FANGIRL.
Digital PR isn’t all just water cooler stunts or data-diving infographics; this campaign found success by simply showcasing true talent and telling important stories.
Directed by FANGIRL founder Rani Patel Williams, #InHerShoes amplifies the voices of black women and spotlights black women’s influence on culture.
The content series explores the stories of five influential black British creatives: Girls Can’t DJ founder Jordss, The Curve Catwalk founder Trina Nicole, musician Raheaven, designer Priya Ahluwalia, and Mata Labs founder Mata Marielle.
The multimedia campaign involved short films, photography, writing, and fashion, and was launched across Clarks’ and FANGIRL’s social pages.
We love this campaign; the concept is simple but meaningful, the message is important, the execution is stunning, and we love to see two brands come together to create some magic.
If you’re still a bit apprehensive about heading straight back to the pub when they open next week, or perhaps you simply weren’t quick enough to get a booking in – don’t worry – Dave can bring the pub to you!
The TV channel teamed with comedian Jon Richardson to launch the world’s first flat-pack pub – a 15-piece home assembly kit that brings all the charm of the pub right to your living room (sticky floors not provided).
It comes with a bar, two stools, and a classic pub backdrop; the booze is on you.
Earlier, we mentioned those ‘water cooler stunt’ campaigns – and this one is textbook. This kind of Digital PR, where a brand will design an unusual or controversial product that’s more focused on turning heads than profits, is getting more and more popular.
A lot of the time, you don’t even have to sell the product – just make a mockup, let the picture do the rounds and enjoy those all-important links. Or, like Dave, make a few of them, give some away through competitions, and sell a few as a limited offer to cover some costs.
While I wouldn’t be surprised if every flat-pack pub sold out with ease, I’d find it somewhat distressing if even one person buys this product.
Nonetheless, this campaign from Betfair did everything it needed to do, while potentially filling the nostril-sized void many horseracing fans felt in March.
The Cheltenham Festival went on without a crowd this month, and Betfair wanted to build some hype around the event, which usually attracts hundreds of thousands of spectators.
To do so, it released a one-of-a-kind, multi-layered candle that is said to provide the distinct aroma of the races.
The brilliantly named Smell-tenham Candle burns for 40 hours and blends the alluring scents of saddle leather, grass, creamy stout, bacon sarnies, and, of course, horse manure.
I’ll be sure to suggest these fine ingredients during Adapt’s candle making evening in April!
Discussing the rationale behind the campaign, Barry Orr of Betfair said:
“Of the five senses, the sense of smell is considered the most important for evoking memories. So, to celebrate this unusual year, we thought we’d have some fun and bring racing fans the chance to experience the smells of the festival in their very own living room.”
A manure scented candle to evoke your fondest memories. That’s about as good a digital PR hook as it gets.
Like Dave’s flat pack pub, Betfair have released a limited number of Smell-tenham Candles for sale on their website – just 200 – so get in while stocks last!
The stats you reveal in a Digital PR campaign don’t always have to inspire hope and positivity. In fact, sometimes quite the opposite can be far more effective. People love a bit of cynicism, and this month Expensivity.com capitalised on that fact by putting a price on our happiness.
The website looked at data on purchasing power ratios from the World Bank alongside local cost-of-living stats and research on income satiation from Purdue University, in order to find the countries and cities with the highest price of happiness.
Their research found that life satisfaction is priciest in Bermuda, with a salary of $143,933 USD required to achieve income satiation, while Australia, Israel, Switzerland and New Zealand round out the top 5.
If you’re looking for happiness on a budget, Suriname is the place to be, with the lowest price of happiness at $6,799 USD per annum.
The interactive graphics let you filter the results by region. A look at UK cities shows that, unsurprisingly, London puts the highest price tag on happiness at $110,400 USD – the 16th most expensive in the world - while happiness is cheapest in Kingston Upon Hull, at $83,481 – the 88th most expensive city.
A fairly complex methodology went into this piece, and the results are super engaging and can be spun in lots of different ways, making this a versatile PR campaign that can tell a number of stories.
Women’s history is severely underrepresented in media and in education. Representation matters, especially for young people who need to see that they can achieve anything regardless of gender, race, sexuality or otherwise.
This campaign from Minecraft’s learning platform celebrates women’s history while empowering girls to change the world.
Good Trouble: Lessons in Social Justice presents a series of lessons cleverly taught within the immersive Minecraft universe. Two new Minecraft worlds celebrate the work and impact of activist Malala Yousafzai and suffragette Emmeline Pankhurst.
Minecraft: Education Edition is a brilliant idea as it is – giving kids a new, fun and engaging way to learn. The addition of Good Trouble: Lessons in Social Justice, which is available for free, is simply brilliant. Kids can learn about the journey, struggles and successes of two feminist icons in a creative, interactive and collaborative environment.
Games are an interesting avenue to explore for digital PR, and one that hasn’t really been tapped into all too much - yet. This campaign is meaningful, fun, and innovative, and one of many campaigns this month that show how digital PR can certainly be used for good.
