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Bloccs: a healthcare product PR case study

PR case study: how Avalanche turned a little known UK healthcare product into a British manufacturing success story with royal approval

How Avalanche turned a little known UK healthcare product into a British manufacturing success story with royal approval

Background

Although the best quality product of its kind, the British manufacturing firm behind Bloccs waterproof cast protectors struggled to gain product awareness in a busy medical marketplace. We were therefore called upon to create a PR and social media strategy to boost brand recognition and sales.

The PR brief

Raise consumer product understanding and brand recognition for Bloccs arm and leg waterproof protectors for plaster casts.

What we did

We launched Bloccs’ first media campaign, bringing the brand to life by creating a strategic calendar of compelling news stories;  writing media-ready press releases; commissioning short films; producing winning award entries; and managing social media accounts, with creative, engaging content and targeted advertising campaigns.

A news story was built around the number of family holidays spoiled by broken bones and injuries sustained before going away. While the writing and media sell-ins of this story were underway, we were busy building a Facebook community and using Twitter to further investigate the market and identify sales opportunities.

These social platforms also provided us with the opportunity to capture and share customer feedback from happy customers who act as brand ambassadors, sharing their experience with the products and providing online testimonials, helping to build further targeted awareness of Blocccs. This customer feedback was also useful in shaping new press releases and PR story ideas for the product.

We also identified award opportunities, researching, writing and submitting compelling entries for further marketing and product sales results.

The results

Bristol-based Precision Dippings Manufacturing celebrates its 2016 Queen's Award for Enterprise - awarded for the family-run business

Media coverage gained for Bloccs has included the UK’s top selling newspaper (The Sun), the world’s most popular news website (MailOnline), one of the country’s top parenting websites (babyworld.co.uk) and within a leading trade media title (The Manufacturer).

We helped Bloccs to win the Made in the South West award for Manufacturing Innovation and the Bristol Post’s Innovator of the Year award. In addition, we enabled Bloccs to be shortlisted for The Guardian newspaper’s Small Business Trade Mission to America – and, in July 2016, gained two golden tickets to Buckingham Palce for the directors of parent firm Precision Dippings Manufacturing, to receive a Queen’s Award for Enterprise, from the lady in charge! The results from which continue to boost sales for Bloccs waterproof protectors, both in the UK and internationally.

To date our media campaign has reached an audience of more than 206 million, helping to increase sales for Bloccs by positioning it as a trusted brand, as well as raising the profile of its maker, Precision Dippings, as a leading light in British manufacturing now armed with a royal seal of approval.


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