The Challenge
Hodge approached us wanting to attract more attention in B2C publications with a mindset of using Digital PR to get ahead of its competitors. They wanted to get their name and their expert opinion out there, with the aim of building trust, improving their domain authority and making Hodge a recognisable name. But in the hugely competitive market that we know finance to be, we needed to be competitive.
Our Approach
To ensure that we were always quick off the mark, we set up Google Alerts for a range of keywords that were similar to the audiences and topics Hodge wanted to target.
Some of these keywords included basics such as money UK, finance UK, and cost of living UK, but we also set up Hodge’s competitors on alerts too, so we knew exactly what types of coverage they were getting too. We, also, subscribed to various financial newsletters and analysed them for trends.
From these, we liaised with Hodge and their team of experts for comments. We created a solid backlog of comments, meaning we were able to respond to journalists quicker, giving us a competitive edge over our competitors.
Our experience so far with Balance has been incredibly positive. The team is responsive and creative, it’s a pleasure to work with them.
Carys Frampton, Senior Marketing Manager
The Results
Our setup for quick responses was gratified when it was announced that TV licence fees would be going up, we compiled some research on how a TV licence fee equates to more than the average streaming service. This gained Hodge 32 new bits of coverage within two hours from big names like MSN, Express and the Daily Record.
Another major win happened when we were able to get Hodge’s expert comments when we collated the average cost of keeping a child entertained over the six-week summer holiday. Using online data from key entertainment sites such as cinemas and bowling and utilising our experts at Hodge to comment on the cost of keeping a child entertained, and ways to cut these costs slightly.
This press release gained 21 new bits of coverage, with an average domain rating of 65.
Similarly to the above, we also created a press release to then mark the end of summer, by creating a press release on the cost involved with a child going to school. We looked at the average cost of packed lunches, transport and uniforms. We utilised our expert at Hodge to add a personal stamp on the release by adding an informative quote.
This press release gained 23 new coverage with an average domain rating of 65, and something we’ll be able to reutilise after the school holidays, which means we can utilise our fast response times which has proven to be a successful strategy.
