We set up Fever Citizen, a pro-bono PR and consultancy support service in 2020 and our first sign-up was Food4Heroes. They wanted to spread the word about the work they were doing to get frontline NHS workers delicious and nutritious meals (cooked by local chefs of closed catering companies and restaurants) at the height of the first national lockdown.
In April 2020, the media agenda was completely saturated by stories about the impact of COVID-19 and many other brands were launching initiatives to support frontline staff at a critical moment. How did we stand out and ensure penetration of a very worthy cause and message?
Due to the regional focus of the business (Norwich, Oxford and Kent were priority regions), we needed to deliver a strong and consistent message to local media, influencers and consumers and educate them about the charity’s efforts.
We created toolkits for each region introducing the brand, highlighting key spokespeople in each region to talk about their work and profiling local success stories. We conducted a full media engagement programme in each region, making sure we left no stone unturned.
We secured coverage with key outlets such as BBC Radio Oxford, BBC Radio Kent and Huddersfield Examiner and helped Food4Heroes to raise £340,000 and deliver 100,000 meals to front-line staff in the first wave of the pandemic.
The work we delivered armed Food4Heroes to continue publicising their work across other regions in the UK in the latter half of 2020.
