The ‘big freeze’ that struck the UK earlier this month undoubtedly had a negative impact upon business. With people unable to get to work and vital deliveries delayed, the cumulative loss to UK enterprise is predicted to top £1 billion.
Nevertheless, some businesses ploughed on through the terrible conditions and got good PR out of the bad weather.
Here, in no particular order, is a selection of examples:
1. Positive Computing, based in Berkshire, were relatively unaffected by the bad weather, with managing director Julian Lewis able to run the business from home whilst keeping in touch with his home working staff. In fact, according to the resulting press report, the bad weather saw demand for the company’s expertise – setting up remote workers – soar.
2. Internet telephony service Skype made the press repeatedly, being cited as a vital tool for many business looking to avoid having to cancel meetings or lose contact with clients.
3. The workers at Cleveland Potash salt mine sacrificed large parts of their Christmas break to ensure that the incredible demand for salt was met. Indeed, some even worked on Christmas Day, winning some positive press.
4. Despite schools and nurseries being closed across the UK, some remained open. Indeed, Daisy Chains Day Nursery in Flint, Wales even went as far as to accommodate extra children from other nurseries that had been closed, winning favour with the media and, no doubt, parents.
5. Outsourcery, a communications and hosted IT company, garnered some positive publicity when they reported a 20% increase in enquiries over the cold snap as small and medium sized businesses looked to for communications solutions to the problems caused by the snow.
The lesson here: good PR practice isn’t just about making announcements when you have a new product or service, it’s about keeping an eagle eye on current events (local and national) and being ready to make a comment or provide additional information wherever relevant.
Did you manage to get positive press for yourself or a client during the freeze? Please add your stories in the comments section below.
(Hat tip to Marketing Donut for giving me the idea for this post)
