June 13th, 2024
Getting Our Kicks With Award 66
You could say Catapult PR is getting its kicks after award 66! There’s definitely something to celebrate, especially as our latest award has underlined our expertise in travel PR and also heritage marketing, once again.
I’ve always had a penchant for devising and delivering hugely creative and high-impact PR and content campaigns. It’s fantastic to see what that can do for a client and the results and growth it can bring. Having an award that recognises the strategy, and the creative ideas that bring it to life, is the icing on the cake.
As PR agencies go – whether that’s in the travel sector or the insurance and financial services sector, in which we are also serial PR winners – this agency is a minnow. But, if you look at our record of achievement, how many agencies, of any size, can match it.
Our 66th award – for a travel PR campaign
The 66th award has come in the PRCA DARE Awards and in the Low Budget PR Campaign category. I’m thinking that I shouldn’t have cut back on awards this year. It was a one category entered, one award won success rate, so maybe I could have scooped more!
We won the Small Budget PR Award in the Prolific North Marketing Awards, last November, so clearly this travel PR campaign delivered greatly for the budget that was committed to it.
Our first ever award was in insurance PR
When I look back at our award record, it’s hard not to recall the first ones, way back in late 1999. This included a Grand Prix award for the best PR campaign, in any category, delivered in the North West that year. This was for an insurance PR campaign and it t was a huge thrill to start my new business journey with that sort of success – unheard of for a Lancashire PR agency. I had, however, won other PR awards in previous agencies – for a financial services campaign for a bank and for an insurance PR campaign.
The Catapult PR, content and copywriting difference
Acting as a PR consultant for a variety of tourism attractions, events and festivals, insurance-sector companies and retail businesses, as well as a copywriter of blogs, content downloads, brochures and other collateral for a variety of B2B clients, I think I’ve made Catapult PR evolve in a way that provides a very different approach within the world of PR agencies.
All is handled, on a day-to-day basis by me. I call upon decades of experience to help steer clients in what is hopefully the right direction. It invariably is. I get my buzz from being part of so many different client teams, all of whom, I think, believe that I’m ‘theirs’. In many ways, I am. I split myself in so many parts, to be 100% committed to each.
Little spots of happiness
But what I always like to remember about an awards’ night are the little things that made it special. The Guns N’ Roses necklace was out in force again, for one. The taxi driver was really lovely (and we all know I love to chat to a cabby) and he told me, totally unexpectedly, how nice I looked. That was a big morale boost before getting to the venue. When I said I was off to awards, he asked if I was a singer, which really made me laugh. As I told him, I have various talents, but singing is definitely not one of them!
I met a very friendly person from another agency, who seemed genuinely pleased for me when I won. I also received my award from a very nice-seeming celeb – comedian Matt Richardson. He’d told the room that they’d probably never heard of him. I had – and he seemed really pleased to hear that, but then I do regularly go to see comedians and so maybe I’m more into that world. Matt also took a real interest in what the campaign was about. And, as I was grabbing my bag to go, he went past and said “Congrats again.” How nice of him.
I also have to say that, as awards hosts go, he was brilliant. Really witty (and I love sharp witted people) and extremely funny. For once, a host actually seemed to understand what PR people do (and all the things that go on in the world of PR!).
I’ve had some nice likes on my LinkedIn post but the joy of an award can soon evaporate and it’s the day-to-day feedback from clients that really matters. Imagine my delight, this afternoon, after sending off some copy for approval, to get back an email that read, “Has anybody ever told you that you are a genius?”
So, I’m getting Catapult kicks from award 66. But no resting on laurels – or topiary bushes. Onwards and upwards, even if genius is next to madness!
