Case Studies Archive - Sharp Minds Communications

Case study

Taking the world stage with a global first

Superior brand-building through thought leadership on a global scale to showcase an innovative new product among both commercial sectors and consumers to drive sales.

Snapshot

230m+

Global digital audience

118

Increase in sales

Media articles generated across four continents

The Challenge

Although internationally recognised for its flight case hardware, world-leading steel manufacturer Penn Elcom faced challenges in driving awareness of its new, innovative Penn Parcel Box and the solution it presented for consumers, e-commerce and logistics. Following the coronavirus pandemic, this became crucial as the core business was heavily impacted. However, the company had no reputation or international media exposure in the relevant sectors to drive sales.

marketing PR strategic counsel expertise Kent Sussex London

The strategy

Sharp Minds introduced groundbreaking and award-winning thought leadership by designing, creating and launching the world’s first parcel theft report, surveying 2,000 people in five territories. The report revealed growing global consumer concern, which retailers and couriers needed to address to retain customer confidence.

The 30-page report allowed Penn Elcom to alert the world to the rise in parcel theft, initiating discussion and proactive collaboration about changes required within the logistics sector, whilst driving sales and building brand recognition for the group. Sharp Minds planned and executed a global PR campaign to generate visibility for the report’s findings and the Penn Parcel Box as a consumer and commercial solution, supported by digital, social and video marketing.

Services: Go-to-market planning, strategic PR, thought leadership, digital PR, media training, digital marketing, social marketing, video

The outcome

Penn Elcom obtained brand recognition across the world, which led to discussions with major retailers and couriers as well as crime experts.

Sharp Minds generated 76 pieces of positive coverage in the media across the four main countries and 13 in Tier 1 press, which included The Independent, The Mail on Sunday, Bloomberg, Daily Mail, The Wall Street Journal, Los Angeles Times, Arabian Post, with a digital circulation of 230m+. This coincided with web site traffic increasing by 137% during the course of the campaign and sales increasing by 118%.

Read about our thought leadership services

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For a deep dive into this project, read our full overview

We appointed Sharp Minds to help us, which they have done with superb branding and marketing advice, and the delivery of a media campaign which would be worthy of competitors a hundred times our size in terms of global manufacturers. It was thoroughly researched and expertly executed, including designing the report with easy-to-understand graphics to communicate the key narratives effectively. The results speak for themselves: high value, enormous productivity, enhanced brand awareness, increased sales and the intellectual property to leverage introductions to industry leaders, with whom we are now collaborating.

Roger Willems, Chairman - Penn Elcom

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Case study

Raising brand currency to build corporate confidence

Dootrix had struggled to find a marketing and PR partner that could understand their bespoke cloud architecture solutions to explain the business benefits to a highly tech-literate target audience. They needed an agency that could communicate the complex to build brand awareness and currency among enterprise decision makers.

Snapshot

MEDIA

Exposure in target tech press

£m

Extended contracts with key enterprise clients

BUS DEV

Collateral produced for deployment across CRM

The Challenge

Offering a high level of expertise and nimble solutions to highly complex technical solutions in the cloud, Dootrix punch way above their weight. Increasingly in competition against global systems integrators, they needed to increase their brand reputation and currency to encourage key decision makers within target corporates to choose them over their blue-chip rivals.

The strategy

An initial Discovery Process enabled us to understand the business ambitions, opportunities and challenges. From these insights, we devised a comprehensive marketing and PR strategy to increase brand reputation and currency to reposition Dootrix from a small agency to an agile, resourceful and dedicated partner for enterprise clients.

With an emphasis on case studies and thought leadership, we created wide-ranging content repurposed across digital and social channels, supported by strategic PR, to shift brand perceptions and increase reputational reach.

Services: C-suite strategic counsel, strategic PR, reputation management, thought leadership, digital PR, digital marketing, social marketing, video

The outcome

Sharp Minds succeeded where other agencies had failed, understanding and communicating Dootrix’s complex technology solutions and thought leadership into content that connected with its targets of corporate Chief Information and Chief Technology Officers. Working closely with the business development team, we repurposed digital and video content to create collateral that they could deploy across the customer journey to build confidence among prospects. Proactive social sharing of content increased company followers on LinkedIn, increasing brand engagement, while successful media campaigns messaged Dootrix as a trusted partner for enterprise, increasing brand awareness and credibility among target audiences.

Read about our thought leadership services

Go deeper

For a deep dive into this project, read our full overview

7 items secured in tech media titles from one campaign
Profile feature opportunity secured in CIO magazine
Client collaboration secured for joint PR campaigns
Client video interview providing testimonials and extensive thought leadership content rolled out over several months
Thought leadership e-brochures produced to create data-capture opportunities
Proactive media outreach to identify future features for Dootrix contribution

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Case study

Compelling storytelling delivers measurable ROI

Making the PR and marketing budget work harder through relatable case studies increases market share in a highly competitive sector.

Snapshot

20%

Year-on-year growth in self-pay business

12,000

Monthly views in Google searches

PAGE 1

On Google – up from page 5

The Challenge

To position Nuffield Health as the go-to health provider within the target geographical area by raising brand awareness, taking away market share from competitors and increasing loyalty among self-funding patients.

The strategy

In a highly competitive market, Nuffield Health Tunbridge Wells Hospital had an established marketing budget, but we advised that the advertising spend could work smarter and digital marketing honed to ensure the hospital and its services were at the top of relevant online searches to drive traffic and enquiries.

We revised the messaging strategy to focus on relatable case studies, creating compelling advertorials and digital content that showcased the consultants’ expertise and exceptional customer experiences to boost SEO and drive offline brand engagement. Social marketing and strategic sponsorship, PR and media partnerships were aligned to consolidate brand reputation.

Services: Strategic PR, SEO, digital marketing, social marketing, offline marketing

The outcome

Our multi-layered strategic marketing and PR led to measurable outcomes, including 20% year-on-year growth in self-pay business – with £60,000 generated from a single patient education event. Our successful SEO strategy saw the hospital climbing from page 5 on Google to page 1 for relevant searches, leading to 12,000 search views and 4,000 views on Google maps per month. This correlated with an additional 200 phone calls and 300 more website visits per month. We brokered a prime sponsorship opportunity and associated media partnership, which resulted in 14 articles from one campaign and significantly increased brand awareness among target audiences in the hospital’s catchment area

Read about our SEO services

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For a deep dive into this project, read our full overview

Sharp Minds’ support enabled us to raise our profile with our target customers in a competitive marketplace, drive more traffic to our website and prompt more calls to our switchboard. They got our name into new places in a way that appeals to different audiences and leads to measurable results. They think beyond their immediate brief to look for every opening to support our business needs.

Grace Wilson, Sales and Services Manager - Nuffield Health Tunbridge Wells Hospital

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Case study

Reimagining later-life lending for the UK

Boosting visibility and profits through a strategic rebrand to provide the platform to compete nationally against sector giants, using tactical communications to win headlines and educate the public to instil confidence in the sector.

Snapshot

Articles in first three months

National newspaper articles per month

New advisers recruited to support national expansion

The Challenge

A boutique challenger in the equity release market, 55Plus had no clear marketing or PR strategy to promote its expert solutions. The brand wanted to break into the national media to increase presence and turnover, but its existing branding, visuals and messaging did not provide the right platform for its new direction, ambitions and service proposition.

The strategy

A thorough communications and branding review was conducted to identify the strengths and weaknesses of 55Plus. This included a full discovery process and resulted in Sharp Minds creating a new and evolved brand, website and messaging that better aligned with the company’s growth and evolved goals.

A compelling thought leadership campaign drove awareness and repositioned the firm’s perceived priorities. A national media roadshow was held with target journalists to overhaul perceptions of equity release, with the leadership team established as go-to commentators on relevant media topics. This was supported with monthly blogs, social media posts and newsletters to drive referrer and client engagement.

Services: C-suite strategic counsel, brand development, websites, strategic PR, reputation management, thought leadership, digital PR, offline marketing, SEO, digital marketing, social marketing

The outcome

Sharp Minds successfully rebranded the business and launched 55Plus into the national media, establishing the company as the leading voice on equity release and later life lending, simultaneously helping to educate the public and offset previous negative perceptions of equity release.

27 media hits were generated in the first three months, including tier-one media titles: The Financial Times, The Daily Telegraph, The Sunday Telegraph, Financial News and The Mail on Sunday.

This resulted in a stronger and more authoritative brand and increased business.

Read about our brand development services

Go deeper

For a deep dive into this project, read our full overview

Sharp Minds helped support 55Plus’s business model to adapt and change as a direct result of rapid growth. The Sharp Minds team orchestrated a dramatic rebrand to help showcase our improved customer services initiatives and attract new clients, as well as implementing a mature marketing and communications strategy to have a more targeted and collaborative way of working with our clients/introducers and provide initiatives for feedback. Sharp Minds has excellent press and media contacts and achieved positive and helpful national coverage for us in a very short space of time. The Sharp Minds team was always on hand to help with difficulties and would work overtime to remove any bumps in the road.

Jan Johnson, Founder and Director - 55Plus

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Case study

Overturning poor reputation and media blacklisting

The incoming General Manager inherited a difficult legacy. A period of leadership instability had led to mixed customer experiences and reviews, and the hotel was blocked by key local media due to a conflict of interest. Our brief was to help restore its reputation.

Snapshot

MEDIA

Successful PR, raising brand profile

⬆

Repeat retail and business bookings

AWARD

Application success – raising profile further

The Challenge

With the owner of the local newspaper and magazine also owning two rival venues, coverage of Hotel du Vin Tunbridge Wells had been blocked by the target titles. With more than 250 hospitality venues competing for customers within the Borough, we were briefed with finding creative ways to circumvent the media blacklisting to raise the hotel’s title and restore confidence among local consumers following a period of leadership churn.

The strategy

We suggested that the hotel stage social, business and charity events of sufficient scale that it would be impossible for the local media to omit them. We provided introductions to brands with aligned values to curate an events calendar that had greater magnitude than the hotel could achieve on its own. This additionally helped increase the hotel’s database of warm retail and business customers, which we leveraged further through digital marketing campaigns to encourage repeat bookings and positive reviews, alongside proactive social campaigns and sector award applications. All this was wrapped in a charm offensive with the local media, nurturing our strong relationships with the editorial and sales teams.

Services: Strategic PR, digital marketing, social marketing, offline marketing

The outcome

Sharp Minds met the objective of increasing brand recognition for Hotel du Vin within the target locality as a go-to hospitality venue for domestic and business events.

We successfully overturned the media blacklisting, securing monthly coverage in target local publications. Helping the hotel secure five prestigious award wins within two years further raised its profile and brand currency with target demographics. Combined with improved online reviews, the poor perceptions due to previous inconsistent customer experiences were largely reversed, with repeat customer bookings increasing.

Read about our strategic PR services

Go deeper

For a deep dive into this project, read our full overview

Sharp Minds worked hard to build relationships on our behalf with journalists in target publications, with the net result that we now appear in almost every issue of one publication and have managed to get coverage in another that had previously blanked us. They think far beyond the brief, providing adaptable support and blue-sky thinking, creating the partnerships necessary for game-changing initiatives.

James McComas, General Manager - Hotel du Vin, Tunbridge Wells

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Case study

Building the brand and business through PR

Successful launch of new business direction in the media to transition Loch’s reputation to a multi-service, mid-sized firm and establish it as a go-to commentator.

Snapshot

25+

Media hits in the first two months

⬆

Profile established as a multi-service business

TIER 1

Coverage in FT, Telegraph and Sunday Telegraph

The Challenge

Whilst having received accolades and recognition within the legal sector, Loch Associates Group, a South East law and HR business, was a relatively unknown brand – despite having a strong team of dedicated solicitors. It wanted to progress its reputation from predominantly being viewed as a niche local law firm to a multi-service law and HR medium-sized business.

The strategy

Sharp Minds created a strategic communications plan, media relations and brand campaign to the raise the profile of Loch Associates Group in two ways. Firstly, to gain it deserved recognition as a leading law and HR business. Secondly, to convey mature corporate governance to stakeholders.

Sharp Minds recommended expanding the reputation on the quality and experience of the team, rather than just the founder, and to transition to a forward-looking narrative emphasised through thought leadership and industry insight. Sharp Minds advised that media relations execution beyond the legal press would be essential.

Services: Strategic PR, digital PR, thought leadership, reputation management, offline marketing

The outcome

Over 25 media hits were generated in the first two months, including tier-one publications, such as The Financial Times, The Telegraph and The Sunday Telegraph, with an average media generation of nearly 10 pieces per month.

Rapid brand awareness was achieved for the company’s legal and HR services, with the press regularly asking for comment. Loch Associates Group became firmly established as a go-to commentator and industry expert on multiple topics, building the brand and business across the South East.

Read about our strategic PR services

Go deeper

For a deep dive into this project, read our full overview

Key highlights

Our comprehensive Discovery Process enabled us to create a messaging matrix to position senior leaders within the business as key commentators within their field. This enabled us to:

Secure national Tier 1 coverage
Establish Loch partners as go-to commentators for key trade titles, enabling us to capitalise on multiple newsjacking opportunities
Secure regular expert columns in target local media

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Case study

Leading the way for a cleaner, greener future

Using tactical communications to change an industry, while achieving brand exposure to support business development targeted at large corporates.

Snapshot

Articles across the UK from three campaigns

£m

Secured a multi-million-pound contract

⬆

Website traffic rocketed

The Challenge

Although recognised in the UK for print services, ARC-UK Technologies faced challenges in driving sales compared to its parent company in the US. It was missing out on winning larger contracts with corporates due to limited brand exposure of its sustainability credentials, which had become increasingly key for landing multi-million-pound contracts. The company lacked news and insight that could gain attention in the media.

The strategy

Sharp Minds produced a strategic, emotionally resonant narrative and implemented an effective public relations strategy to weave and communicate the company’s compelling sustainability journey and how it was shaping a greener future.

Our approach was multi-layered to engage across audiences, including making complex issues more accessible and amplifying the voices of the leadership team. We positioned the business in key industry, regional and sustainability publications, proactively joining the debate around carbon offsetting, and placing the company as the leading voice and poster case study for the print industry.

Services: C-suite strategic counsel, strategic PR, digital PR, thought leadership

The outcome

Sharp Minds helped ARC-UK Technologies articulate its commitment, bringing the different strands of its decarbonisation strategy to life. The company’s proactive engagement in sustainability dialogues allowed the business to shape industry norms, foster collaborations and be recognised as a genuine innovator.

Our campaigning helped the company: win a multi-million-pound contract with real estate giant, Landsec; attract major business leads for commercial partnership opportunities; and secure meetings with several councils to discuss how ARC-UK Technologies can support public net zero ambitions.

Read about our C-suite strategic counsel services

Go deeper

For a deep dive into this project, read our full overview

“Sharp Minds’ combination of communication skills, understanding of social and environmental issues, strategic counsel and media connections has dramatically helped our brand and has had an extremely positive impact on our business, but it has also helped to drive real change in the print industry.”

Ross Snell, Vice President EMEA - ARC-UK Technologies

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Case study

Building reputation and brand to overtake the competition

As a challenger brand, Maddisons Residential are shaking up expectations and experiences of estate agency – for the better. But they needed a coherent strategy to raise awareness and instil confidence among target sellers and landlords, especially in the face of established competition from national brands.

Snapshot

NO 1

Agent for properties with 3+ bedrooms in target area

Direct, organic and social traffic to website

Social followers and page impressions

The Challenge

Operating in a saturated market, Maddisons Residential had grown successfully through organic word of mouth. But to take the business to the next level, the stretched directors needed support to accelerate brand awareness and shift perceptions of them from an interesting alternative to trusted property partners.

The strategy

To support sustainable business development, it was essential to shift the brand away from a personal founder brand and instead message the expertise of the team. Emphasising the breadth and depth of experience that cumulatively creates superior, bespoke property marketing enabled us to align the messaging to address the expectations and concerns of the target audiences of sellers and landlords with higher-value properties and portfolios, who more naturally tended towards the established, national brands.

The revised messaging was rolled out across a multi-channel marketing and brand strategy that encompassed local press and PR, sponsorship, SEO and digital marketing to improve organic search, advertising and partnership marketing to increase direct leads.

Services: C-suite strategic counsel, strategic PR, reputation management, digital PR, offline marketing, SEO, digital marketing, social marketing

The outcome

Maddisons Resi d ential has become one of the most recognised brands in its target catchment area, securing the position of the most dominant agent in Tunbridge Wells for properties with three bedrooms or more, gaining traction in new residential areas, hitting record property sales and increasing its lettings portfolio.

Messaging the expertise of the wider team and the robust quality control processes has supported the development of the business model, enabling the brand and the expectations of clients to evolve beyond the founder to provide the foundations for sustainable business growth.

Read about our digital marketing services

Go deeper

For a deep dive into this project, read our full overview

In three years, Sharp Minds have helped set us on a great course with our marketing and supported us coming out of the pandemic, to build a brand that is now well recognised in our local market. In the early days of our partnership there was much to do; strategies were formed, and new practices put in place to create a sequence of marketing outputs that have supported our growth. The effective relationship with our account manager kept momentum and activity on course and we now have confidence in implementing new strategies and techniques as we evolve.

Deborah Richards, Founder and Managing Director - Maddisons Residential

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Case study

Effective go-to-market planning smashes business goals

A revolutionary concept in financial services needed a brand identity and tactical PR, digital, social and offline marketing strategies to create instant impact among target audiences. Our comprehensive strategy helped smash the year one targets.

Snapshot

BRAND

Created, launched, recognised

MEDIA

Wide exposure in target titles

SMASHED

Year One targets

The Challenge

To launch a new concept in financial services – from brand creation through to full digital, print and social campaigns – to establish brand awareness, recognition and engagement among target audiences within the defined catchment area to create demand for the revolutionary, holistic financial services hub.

The strategy

Our go-to-marketing planning started with a thorough Discovery Process to identify the ideal clients, business goals and key points of difference to enable us to shape targeted brand visuals, assets, website, messaging and PR. This included defining a recognisable tone of voice and key messaging to appeal to distinct audience demographics across all service areas and marketing materials.

Sharp Minds then delivered a series of PR campaigns in local media titles to build excitement about the launch of The Finance Hub’s office and upcoming professional speaker events. This was combined with a regular advertising schedule, social media posts and community business networking to create the most impact with a local audience, as well as data capture of potential leads and digital newsletters to drive contact engagement.

Services: Go-to-market planning, brand creation, websites, SEO, offline marketing, strategic PR, digital PR, digital marketing, social marketing

The outcome

The new brand, with it’s core message ‘Let’s talk’, conveyed at a glance how The Finance Hub is changing experiences of financial services by demystifying finance and making it accessible to all. The holistic offering was clearly communicated through the website UX and offline advertising, to educate both domestic and business customers that The Finance Hub offers a revolutionary way to manage all their financial affairs under one roof.

Successful PR, including an exclusive photographic feature with a key media title of the launch, helped to establish The Finance Hub as a game-changing source for expert financial advice in Tunbridge Wells. National trade coverage has also provided the credibility to explore future franchise opportunities.

Read about our go-to-market planning services

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For a deep dive into this project, read our full overview

When I had the idea of The Finance Hub, I knew I wanted to launch with a bang so everybody within five miles of Tunbridge Wells knew we were here to provide all the business and personal financial services that anybody would need under one roof. Sharp Minds oversaw the entire operation from start to finish, had a great understanding of our key audience types and were essential to driving visibility and engagement. Their strategic recommendations, project management and marketing and PR expertise were vital for a successful launch. Sharp Minds’ support helped us smash our year-one targets, and we are now significantly ahead of our business plan goals.

Gillian Palmer, Founder - The Finance Hub

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Case study

Reputation management fuels rapid growth

Full-service marketing and PR to establish national brand awareness for a boutique consultancy to drive exponential growth, attracting larger, target clients through strategies including successful thought leadership, reputation management, strategic PR and digital marketing.

Snapshot

400%

Increase in turnover in two years

Client size and spend

550%

Increase in profit in two years

The Challenge

Boutique home care consultants Fulcrum Care needed to improve their brand currency to attract higher-value clients. With the senior leadership team continuing to service clients, Fulcrum needed an agency with expert knowledge of the care sector to minimise the input required from the directors.

The strategy

Initially commissioned to deliver a narrow digital marketing brief, Sharp Minds’ expertise in the care sector encouraged Fulcrum Care to expand our remit over time to full-service marketing and PR. This enabled us to repurpose content across platforms to optimise Return on Investment.

We applied our knowledge of the care sector to advise Fulcrum on current trends and opportunities, as well as identifying areas to explore to put the consultancy ahead of the curve. Delivering everything from social media management through to annual thought-leader e-brochures providing strategic business intelligence for target clients, we scaled our resource flexibly in response to business need.

Services: C-suite strategic counsel, strategic PR, digital PR, reputation management, thought leadership, digital PR, websites, offline marketing, SEO, digital marketing, social marketing, videos

The outcome

Our multi-layered marketing and PR strategies helped Fulcrum Care move from affordable consultants for owner-managed care homes to strategic advisers to large providers across the UK, driving exponential growth in both turnover and profit.

Building a national reputation for the brand, we established Fulcrum Care as go-to commentators with the sector press, which in turn helped them develop beneficial industry partnerships with target clients and key care sector bodies. Advising on sponsorships and awards, we helped Fulcrum Care beat blue-chips EY and PWC to win Turnaround Of The Year at the prestigious Turnaround, Insolvency and Restructuring Awards.

Read about our reputation management services

Go deeper

For a deep dive into this project, read our full overview

Refining our messaging and consistently layering more expert messages on the right platforms has led to us getting enquiries from larger providers with a greater number of care homes, which is exactly the kind of clients we want to attract. We are actively recruiting to deal with the volume of enquiries we have coming in.

Tony Thiru, CEO - Fulcrum Care

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Our services

Our services

Our sectors

Taking the world stage with a global first

Snapshot

The Challenge

The strategy

The outcome

Go deeper

Raising brand currency to build corporate confidence

Snapshot

The Challenge

The strategy

The outcome

Go deeper

Key highlights

Compelling storytelling delivers measurable ROI

Snapshot

The Challenge

The strategy

The outcome

Go deeper

Reimagining later-life lending for the UK

Snapshot

The Challenge

The strategy

The outcome

Go deeper

Overturning poor reputation and media blacklisting

Snapshot

The Challenge

The strategy

The outcome

Go deeper

Building the brand and business through PR

Snapshot

The Challenge

The strategy

The outcome

Go deeper

Key highlights

Leading the way for a cleaner, greener future

Snapshot

The Challenge

The strategy

The outcome

Go deeper

Building reputation and brand to overtake the competition

Snapshot

The Challenge

The strategy

The outcome

Go deeper

Effective go-to-market planning smashes business goals

Snapshot

The Challenge

The strategy

The outcome

Go deeper

Reputation management fuels rapid growth

Snapshot

The Challenge

The strategy

The outcome

Go deeper